National Day of Mourning

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

The fifteenth day of August is the National Day of Mourning in Bangladesh. It was on this day that the killers assassinated the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. They killed most of his family, including women and children. There is no precedent to such a brutal assassination in our history. Bangabandhu’s two daughters, Sheikh Hasina (presently the prime minister) and Sheikh Reyhana escaped death as they were both outside of the country at the time. We express our deepest respect for those who were killed on that fateful day of 15 August 1975.

Why did the conspirators target Bangabandhu that day? This was not just the killing of an individual. It was a blow to the existence of the nation. They killers wanted to destroy the very principle and ideals upon which Bangladesh was established. At the very first opportunity, they slashed the four pillars of state; they changed the name of Bangladesh Betar to Radio Bangladesh (in keeping with the style of Radio Pakistan). And secularism was obliterated from the constitution.

Though the conspirators of 15 August could not remain long in power, they created a wound in the state system, a wound that festers on till today. After 15 August, the killers also assassinated four of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s close associates in jail, Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, AHM Kamaruzzaman and M Mansur Ali.

Taking over power Khandkar Mushtaque Ahmed declared an indemnity that obstructed trial of the 15 August killers. Later, Ziaur Rahman made that ordinance into a law by means of the fifth amendment. It took 21 long years before that was abolished.

Sheikh Hasina’s government finally began the trial of the killers of Bangabandhu, but could not complete it in one term of the Awami League rule. They finished it when they resumed their second term in power and five of the killers were hanged. It is unfortunate that six of the killers remain fugitive abroad.

The government was to keep up diplomatic efforts in this regard, but nothing has materialised in this regard so far. Canada refuses to send back the killer Nur Chowdhury on grounds that it does not uphold the death penalty. US does not have such bindings in the case of Rashed Chowdhury, but has not responded to Bangladesh’s appeal so far, though former president Bill Clinton had said that the US was not a haven for killers.

If indeed the US is not a safe haven for killers, how is a self-confessed and convicted killer remaining there in safety? The crime was committed before those two persons entered Canada and America and so the laws of those lands cannot apply to them. Diplomatic efforts must continue with all countries where the killers remain sheltered.

On this 43rd death anniversary of Bangabandhu, we need some introspection. He dreamt of a Golden Bengal, of putting a smile on the faces of the poor. How far have we fulfilled that dream? He had a vision of a democratic and non-communal nation, free of all exploitation. That spirit, those values still remain a far cry. His words must be put into deed, and only then will the vision of a Golden Bengal emerge. On this national day of mourning, let the pledge be to implement his dream of a democratic, non-communal, exploitation-free and prosperous Bangladesh.