Today, 15 August, marks the death anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On this day in 1975, he was brutally assassinated by a group of disgruntled army personnel. Today marks 51 years since that heinous and most brutal assassination in history, which took place at Bangabandhu's residence at Dhanmondi 32.
Along with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, his wife Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, his three sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and young son Sheikh Russel, daughters-in-law Sultana Kamal and Rosy Jamal, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's only brother Sheikh Abu Naser; Colonel Jamil, who rushed to save his life after receiving a phone call from Bangabandhu; SB official Siddiqur Rahman and army personnel Syed Mahmudul Huq were also killed on the night of 15 August, 1975.
Another group of army personnel attacked the residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's nephew, the then-Jubo League leader Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni that night and killed him and his pregnant wife Arju Moni.
Furthermore, they attacked the residence of Bangabandhu's brother-in-law Abdur Rab Serniabat, killed him and his daughter Baby, son Arif Serniabat, grandson Sukanta Babu, Serniabat's elder brother's son Sajeeb Serniabat and a relative, Abdul Naim Khan.
At that time, Bangabandhu's two daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, survived because they were staying in Brussels, Belgium. Twenty-one years after that assassination on 15 August, the Awami League came to power in 1996 under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina.
Afterward, the trial of the killers began. At the same time, 15 August was declared National Mourning Day and a public holiday.
On 8 November 1998, the court sentenced 15 people to death in the Bangabandhu murder case. Later, the higher court upheld the death sentences of 12 defendants. So far, the death sentences of six defendants have been executed. One has died abroad, and five are still fugitives.
In 2009, the Awami League returned to power under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina. During its nearly 15 and a half years of consecutive rule in this term, the Awami League used to observe month-long programs centered around 15 August and the 21 August grenade attack. Various arrangements, including paying homage at Bangabandhu's portrait at Dhanmondi 32 and at his grave in Tungipara, Gopalganj, were made on 15 August.
In 2024, Sheikh Hasina's 15-year fascist rule fell in the July mass uprising. In the changed circumstances, there is no longer a public holiday on the death anniversary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This holiday was canceled in 2024.
On 5 August, 2024, the day of the mass uprising, Bangabandhu's residence at Dhanmondi 32 was set on fire and vandalized. Six months later, a second attack was carried out, and the house was demolished.
In the late 1960s, although there were many well-known politicians in the country, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman came to the forefront, surpassing others through his leadership qualities. Through a long struggle with nationalist politics as his ideological foundation, he became the undisputed leader of Bangladesh's war of independence.
On 7 March, 1971, Bangabandhu's speech at the then Ramna Racecourse Maidan (now Suhrawardy Udyan) served as inspiration for the freedom fighters during the war days. Standing before a gathering of millions that day, he said,
"The struggle this time is the struggle for our emancipation, the struggle this time is the struggle for independence."