Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh: A pride to the nation
Hiren Pandit:
This year marks the centenary of the birth of the father of our nation and the golden jubilee of our independence. In the meantime, the month of victory has brought new significance in the life of Bengalis–this time also the golden jubilee of our victory. It has been reported in the media that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will administer the oath to the people on the golden jubilee of the victory. The news is fancy, startling and promising. This ceremony will undoubtedly be considered a national oath-taking ceremony.
We hope that the Bengali nationalist consciousness and ideology will be transmitted to the younger generation through this event. Motivation to inspire future generations to uphold the freedom, sovereignty and victory achieved through the war of liberation will glorify the oath ceremony. The spirit of liberation war will be sharpened again among all including the new generation. The new generation will remember that our independence has been achieved in the bloody war against Pakistan based on great ideology.
December is the month of victory, the month of pride of the Bengali nation, the month of achieving excellence and the month of making history. This is the month of building the country with new strength, new impetus, new motivation and moving forward with a new oath. We are celebrating the golden jubilee of 50 years of victory in 2021 under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Today the Bengali nation is glorious in the glory of victory. Let a non-communal, self-reliant and poverty-free Bangladesh be built on the spirit and ideology of the war of liberation.
The contribution of the young generation in the creation of independent Bangladesh is huge. But when you look at many of the young generations of this land, that historical truth also turns into a false mirage! It is difficult to imagine the future of Bangladesh with some young generation who have deviated from the norm, that is why we have to work now.
The father of our nation, the great architect of Bangladesh, the great leader of the liberation war, the greatest son of all time of Bengal, the great hero Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has always held the seat of our dignity. The undisputed leader of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu because of his visionary leadership, realized at the beginning of March 1971 that war against Pakistanis was inevitable. Therefore, on March 7, 1971, he instructed the people of Bangladesh to prepare for the war of liberation.
He said this time the struggle is for our liberation, this time the struggle is for freedom. In the face of the enemy, he instructed the Bengali nation, “Be ready with whatever you have.” Inspired by this hypnotic speech of the Father of the Nation, the Bengali nation started preparing for the armed liberation war.
The historic inflammatory speech of this earth-shaking thunderbolt of just 19 minutes on March 7 was a thousand years of passion, a thousand years of dreams, a reflection of a thousand years of aspirations, which was a firm promise to liberate Bengalis. Bangabandhu uttered in a radiant voice, “When I have given blood, I will give more blood, I will set the people of this country free, InshaAllah.” It was this historic speech that inspired the liberated Bengali nation under the leadership and direction of Bangabandhu to wage armed struggle in the great war of liberation against the invading Pakistanis; and it was through this speech that the future of the Bengalis became clear.
The people of this country jumped into the people’s war in response to the call of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. After 9 months of heroic struggle, through sacrifice of 3 million lives and chastity of 2 lakh mothers and sisters liberation finally came in our national life. The Pakistani invaders surrendered on 16 December. This December, the Pakistanis, with the help of their ally Razakar Al-Badr Al-Shams, carried out a brutal massacre of the nation’s best child intellectuals. For this reason, the Bengalis celebrate the month of victory with joy and sorrow at the same time.
December is the month of our victory, glory and pride. The long struggle of the Bengalis for independence was completed on 16th December 1971. The invading Pakistani forces were defeated in the bloody 9-month war of liberation. The nation is celebrating this Victory Day with a special atmosphere of the golden jubilee of independence. Every year, Bangladesh celebrates the joy of victory by organizing various events with great enthusiasm. Countless red-green flags fly across the country.
Bangladesh and Bangabandhu complement each other, one cannot be imagined without the other. History has repeatedly proved that ‘Mujib belongs to Bengal and Bangla belongs to Mujib’ or in other words, ‘Bangabandhu is Bangladesh, Bangladesh is Bangabandhu.’ We have achieved a lot in various fields! Bangabandhu’s contribution leads us to the highway of development by overcoming the various adversities around. If we did not get an independent country, we would still have to be crushed in the mill of Pakistan.
We can think everything independently because we have got an independent country. Our success in various indicators of society and economy has become the focus of the world. Needless to say, all this was made possible because of Bangabandhu. As the great architect of independence, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has not only unveiled that infinite horizon of possibilities, but at the same time has inspired the despairing nation to conquer fear.
We have won the great war of liberation. We are a victorious nation. As a victorious nation, we will not bow down to anyone in the court of the world. By utilizing all the resources that Father of the Nation Bangabandhu has repeatedly said, we will build ourselves and we will walk with our heads held high in the world. This will be an important step for the people of this country. In this way, our beloved motherland Bangladesh, built by Bangabandhu, will move forward as the role model of development in the hands of Sheikh Hasina.
Hiren Pandit is a Research
Fellow, BNNRC
Courtesy: The Bangladesh Observer
