Bangabandhu's Homecoming Day tomorrow

The historic Homecoming Day of father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman will be observed tomorrow across the country.

Bangabandhu, the undisputed leader of the nation and supreme commander of the country's Liberation War, returned to the sacred soil of independent Bangladesh via London and New Delhi on January 10 in 1972, after 290 days of confinement in Pakistan jail.

President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages on the eve of the day.

Awami League has taken up various programmes to observe the day.

AL's programmes will begin with the hoisting of national and party flags at AL central office, Bangabandhu Bhaban, and its party offices across the country at 6:30am tomorrow.

Party leaders and activists will pay homage to Bangabandhu by placing wreaths at his portrait in front of Bangabandhu Bhaban in the city's Dhanmondi 32 at 8:30am.

On the occasion, a rally will be held at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka at 2:30pm with AL President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Besides, all district, city, upazila, thana, union and ward level units of the AL, its' associate and like-minded bodies will organise similar programmes to observe the day.

On the night of March 25, 1971, Pakistan army arrested Bangabandhu from his Dhanmondi residence and sent him to a West Pakistani jail the following day.

Bangabandhu was subjected to inhumane torture where he had been counting days for the execution of his death sentence that was pronounced in a farcical trial.

"I was a prisoner in the condemned cell awaiting hanging. From the day I went into jail, I didn't know whether I would be alive or not. I was mentally prepared to die. But I knew Bangladesh would be liberated," Bangabandhu spoke emotionally about his ordeal in Pakistani prison at a news conference in London.

About the Pakistan army's genocide on Bangalees, Mujib said: "If Hitler had been alive today, he would have been ashamed."

Though the final victory through the nine-month-long bloody War of Liberation was achieved defeating Pakistani occupation forces on December 16 in 1971, the nation's expectations were fulfilled and the people got the real taste of victory with the homecoming of Bangabandhu on January 10, 1972.

On reaching Dhaka (Tejgaon) airport in the afternoon on January 10, Bangabandhu was greeted by tens of thousands of people who had been eagerly waiting to see their beloved leader since the victory on December 16, 1971.

From the airport, Bangabandhu was escorted to the Racecourse Maidan (now Suhrawardy Udyan) where he addressed a spontaneous reception accorded to him by the cheerful countrymen believed to be one million.

He recalled with deep respect the contribution of all during the war and urged the people to rebuild the war-ravaged country.

Bangabandhu took the oath of office as the country's prime minister on January 12 in 1972.