Staff Correspondent
The 54th Independence and National Day was celebrated across the country, commemorating the Liberation War heroes whose sacrifices ensured its freedom from Pakistani oppression in 1971.
The government took elaborate programmes marking the day.
The day's programmes began by heralding gun salutes early in the morning as a mark of profound respect to the heroic struggle of this nation, which suffered a protracted subjugation under foreign rule from time to time till achieving its Independence in 1971.
Marking the day, President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid rich tributes to the Liberation War martyrs by placing wreaths at the National Martyrs' Memorial in Savar, the outskirts of the capital, early this morning.
Besides, Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who is now on a four-day official visit to Bangladesh at the special invitation of Bangladesh President Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the 54th Independence Day celebrations, also paid respect to the Liberation War heroes by placing wreath at 5:57 am.
As part of marking the day, the President first placed the wreath at the altar of the memorial at about 5:56 am, followed by the Prime Minister and the Bhutanese King.
Bhutan was the first country to recognize Bangladesh as an independent state on December 6, 1971. After a long 11 years, Wangchuck along with his wife came to Dhaka to attend the Independence Day function of Bangladesh.
Earlier, the king and queen visited Bangladesh in 2013.
After laying the wreaths, the President, the Premier and the King stood in solemn silence for some time as a mark of profound respect to the memories of the martyrs of the Great War of Liberation in 1971.
A smartly turned-out contingent drawn from the Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force presented a state salute at that time while the bugles played the last post.
The Head of the State, the Head of the Government and the Bhutanese King and Queen Jetsun Pema also signed the visitors' book kept on the memorial premises.
Flanked by her party leaders, Sheikh Hasina, also the President of the Bangladesh Awami League, paid glowing tributes to the Liberation War martyrs by placing another wreath at the National Memorial on behalf of her party.
Representatives of parliament, the Speaker, chief justice, ministers, advisers, senior politicians, leaders of the AL-led 14-party alliance, members of parliament, valiant freedom fighters, chiefs of the three services, diplomats, representatives of different development partners and high civil and military officials, among others, were present there.
AL Presidium Member and Deputy Leader in House Matia Chowdhury, party's General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Presidium Members Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, Shajahan Khan, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Abdur Rahman and Khairuzzaman Litton, Joint General Secretaries- Dr Hasan Mahmud, Mahbubul Alam Hanif and AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Organizing Secretary Ahmed Hossain, Publicity Secretary Dr Abdus Sobhan Golap, Information and Research Secretary Dr Selim Mahmud, Office Secretary Barrister Biplab Barua, Deputy Office Secretary Sayem Khan, among others, were present.
Later, people from all walks of life, including families of Bir Shreshthas, war-wounded freedom fighters, members of the diplomatic corps, leaders of different political parties, social, cultural and professional bodies, placed wreaths at the National Memorial.
After returning from the National Memorial, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing a wreath at his portrait in front of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32 in the capital this morning.
After laying the wreath, she stood in solemn silence for some time as a mark of profound respect to the memory of Bangabandhu, also the great architect of independent Bangladesh and the greatest Bangalee of all time.
Bangabandhu's younger daughter and only sister of the Premier, Sheikh Rehana, was also present there.
Besides, a smartly turned out contingent drawn from the Bangladesh Army,
Navy and Air Force presented a state salute at the time.
Flanked by party leaders, Sheikh Hasina, also the President of the
Awami League, paid rich tribute to Bangabandhu by placing another
wreath in his portrait on behalf of the party.
Marking the day, the Prime Minister later released a commemorative
postage stamp, a first-day cover and a data card at her official
Ganabhaban residence here.
A delegation of Awami League (AL) Central Working Committee led
by its organizing secretary SM Kamal Hossain, MP, today paid rich
tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman by placing a wreath at his mausoleum at Tungipara in
Gopalganj.
Awami League organizing secretary Afzal Hossain, executive member
Iqbal Hossain Apu, Gopalganj district Awami League president
Mahabub Ali Khan, Tungipara upazila Awami League president Abul
Bashar Khair, its general secretary Md. Babul Sheikh, Municipal
Mayor Sheikh Tozammel Haque Tutul, a large number of leaders and
activists of Awami League and associate bodies, among others, were
present.
After laying the wreath, the leaders stood in solemn silence for some
time as a mark of profound respect to the memory of the Father of
the Nation.
Later, they offered prayers seeking eternal peace of the departed
souls of Bangabandhu and other martyrs of the August 15, 1975,
carnage.
Doa mahfils (special prayers) were also arranged at the mosques
across the country, including Baitul Mukarram National Mosque
after Zohr prayers.
Christian community members arranged special prayers at Mirpur Baptist
Church (3/7-A Senpara Parbata, Mirpur-10) at one minute past zero
hours, Buddhist community members held prayers at International
Buddhist Monastery at Merul Badda at 10am and Hindu community
members arranged prayers at Dhakeshwari National Temple at 11am.
National dailies brought out special supplements, while Bangladesh
Betar, Bangladesh Television, private radio stations and television
channels aired special programmes on the Liberation War highlighting
the significance of the day.
Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Bangla Academy, National Museum,
Liberation War Museum, Bangladesh Shishu Academy and other social
and cultural organisations arranged discussions, cultural programmes and
sports competitions while painting competitions, essay and debate
competitions were organised for children.
Liberation War-based documentaries and movies were screened at
cinema halls across the country.
Receptions were accorded to the freedom fighters and the members of
martyred freedom fighters at city, district and upazila levels, while the
Bangladesh Post Office published commemorative postage stamps.
Improved meals were served to the inmates of hospitals, jails, old homes
and orphanage centres to mark the day.
The country's all children's parks and museums remained open for all.
Ships of the Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard were kept open for the
public at Chittagong, Khulna, Mongla and Payra ports and Dhaka's
Sadarghat, Narayanganj's Pagla, Barisal and Chandpur BIWTA dockside
from 9 am to 2 pm.
The missions abroad also celebrated the day through similar programmes.
Marking the Independence Day, the Awami League will hold a discussion
at the party's Dhaka district unit office in the capital's Tejgaon at 11am on
March 27.
AL President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will chair and address
the discussion.
Every year, March 26 brings the most tragic reminiscence of history's
blackest episode, which heralded a nine-month bloody ordeal from the
night of March 25, 1971, achieving on long-cherished independence on
December 16 the same year at the cost of a sea of blood.
In the wake of the military crackdown, Father of the Nation
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who became the undisputed
leader of the then Pakistan following the massive victory of his party,
Awami League, in the 1970 general elections, declared the independence
of Bangladesh through the then EPR (East Pakistan Rifles) wireless at 00-
30 hours on March 26 (the night following March 25) in 1971 at his
historic Road-32 residence at Dhanmondi here.
The great leader also called upon the people to build up strong resistance
against the Pakistani occupation forces. The Pakistani military junta, in a
bid to stop the legitimate movement of the Bangalees, arrested
Bangabandhu on that night following his declaration of independence.
Later, Bangabandhu was taken to the then West Pakistan where he had to
spend nine months in a dark condemned cell. Bangabandhu wrote down
the declaration of independence soon after the Pakistani army cracked
down on the fateful night of March 25, 1971.
The declaration of independence was soon put on air by wireless. The
declaration was first broadcast by Awami League leader MA Hannan
from Kalurghat Radio Station in the port city of Chittagong on March 26,
1971. The Pakistani military junta in their monstrous outburst
unleashed a bloody holocaust, breaking the silence of the night following
March 25 in 1971, when they mercilessly killed hundreds of innocent
sleeping Bangalees, including teachers, students, police, soldiers,
pedestrians and rickshaw-pullers, here.
The nation soon launched the War of Liberation at the call of Father of
the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the early hours of
March 26.
Bangladesh emerged as an independent and sovereign country on
December 16, 1971 with the surrender of the Pakistani occupation forces,
who killed three million innocent civilians, perpetrated atrocities on two
lakh Bangalee women and burnt down thousands of houses across the
country during the nine-month bloody war.
