Friday, 18 October, 2024
The government has issued a notification scrapping the observance of eight national days, including the historic Mar 7 and National Mourning Day on Aug 15, the day of the assassination of the nation’s founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family.
The cabinet division issued the notification on Wednesday, enforcing a decision made during a meeting of the interim government's advisory council. This means no state-sponsored programmes will be organised on these dates going forward.
Of the eight cancelled days, five are associated with the birth and death anniversaries of members of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's family.
These include Mar 17, marking the birth anniversary of Bangabandhu and National Children's Day; Aug 5, the birth anniversary of Hasina's brother, Shaheed Captain Sheikh Kamal; Aug 8, the birth anniversary of her mother, Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib; Aug 15, commemorating Bangabandhu’s death anniversary and National Mourning Day; and Oct 18, previously observed as Sheikh Russel Day, in memory of her younger brother.
The three others cancelled are the commemoration of Bangabandhu’s historic Mar 7 speech, National Constitution Day on Nov 4, and Smart Bangladesh Day on Dec 12.
Both Mar 17 and Aug 15 were previously public holidays.
Earlier on Monday, the chief advisor sat with the leaders from various political parties, including the BNP, at his State Guest House Jamuna. They also discussed Aug 15 there.
Prior to that, several student organisations reached an agreement on not observing Aug 15 as National Mourning Day at a meeting at Dhaka University’s TSC.
Hifazat-e Islam, a religion-based outfit, also demanded repealing the public holiday on Aug 15, giving an ultimatum to remove all Bangabandhu sculptures from across the country by Thursday.
Within four years of winning independence from Pakistan, the independence architect Sheikh Mujib, along with most of his family members, was assassinated by some rogue army officers on Aug 15, 1975.
The self-confessed killers did not even spare 10-year-old Sheikh Russel on the darkest night in Bangladesh's history. Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana survived at that time as the two daughters of Bangabandhu were abroad.
The Aug 15 massacre was not commemorated for 20 years from 1975 to 1995 at the national level. It was declared National Mourning Day by the Awami League after it came to power in 1996, which was again scrapped by the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami coalition government in 2001.
The day has been observed as National Mourning Day since 2008 following a High Court order.
Over the past 15 years, the Awami League has been observing the day with numerous programmes spanning the month. Similar events were planned for this year too but the government was brought down by a student-led mass movement. Hasina fled to India after resigning from her premiership.
Later, Awami League offices and houses of its leaders were attacked, vandalised, looted, and set on fire. The Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, which was the residence of Bangabandhu, was set ablaze after the Aug 5 overthrow of the government.
Sculptures of Bangabandhu were also vandalised in several places.
Leaders and workers at different levels of the party said they are making preparations to pay respect at the portrait of Bangabandhu at Dhanmondi 32 on Aug 15. They are also releasing posters created for the event on social media, according to bdnews24.com.
The party’s agriculture and cooperative affairs sub-committee member Md Zaber Hossain shared a sticker in a Facebook post saying ‘The 15th August is the National Mourning Day. March to Dhanmondi 32. Join in groups to make the event successful.
When the Awami League was in power, National Mourning Day was observed across the country. Along with Dhaka, a major event was held at Bangabandhu's mausoleum in Gopalganj's Tungipara.
The party’s Tungipara unit announced several events to mark National Mourning Day. The programmes include hoisting the national flag on the morning of Aug 15, wearing black badges, paying homage at Bangabandhu's mausoleum, prayer services, discussion events and distribution of food among the poor.
Comments
The government has issued a notification scrapping the observance of eight national days, including the historic Mar 7 and National Mourning Day on Aug 15, the day of the assassination of the nation’s founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family.
The cabinet division issued the notification on Wednesday, enforcing a decision made during a meeting of the interim government's advisory council. This means no state-sponsored programmes will be organised on these dates going forward.
Of the eight cancelled days, five are associated with the birth and death anniversaries of members of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's family.
These include Mar 17, marking the birth anniversary of Bangabandhu and National Children's Day; Aug 5, the birth anniversary of Hasina's brother, Shaheed Captain Sheikh Kamal; Aug 8, the birth anniversary of her mother, Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib; Aug 15, commemorating Bangabandhu’s death anniversary and National Mourning Day; and Oct 18, previously observed as Sheikh Russel Day, in memory of her younger brother.
The three others cancelled are the commemoration of Bangabandhu’s historic Mar 7 speech, National Constitution Day on Nov 4, and Smart Bangladesh Day on Dec 12.
Both Mar 17 and Aug 15 were previously public holidays.
Earlier on Monday, the chief advisor sat with the leaders from various political parties, including the BNP, at his State Guest House Jamuna. They also discussed Aug 15 there.
Prior to that, several student organisations reached an agreement on not observing Aug 15 as National Mourning Day at a meeting at Dhaka University’s TSC.
Hifazat-e Islam, a religion-based outfit, also demanded repealing the public holiday on Aug 15, giving an ultimatum to remove all Bangabandhu sculptures from across the country by Thursday.
Within four years of winning independence from Pakistan, the independence architect Sheikh Mujib, along with most of his family members, was assassinated by some rogue army officers on Aug 15, 1975.
The self-confessed killers did not even spare 10-year-old Sheikh Russel on the darkest night in Bangladesh's history. Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana survived at that time as the two daughters of Bangabandhu were abroad.
The Aug 15 massacre was not commemorated for 20 years from 1975 to 1995 at the national level. It was declared National Mourning Day by the Awami League after it came to power in 1996, which was again scrapped by the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami coalition government in 2001.
The day has been observed as National Mourning Day since 2008 following a High Court order.
Over the past 15 years, the Awami League has been observing the day with numerous programmes spanning the month. Similar events were planned for this year too but the government was brought down by a student-led mass movement. Hasina fled to India after resigning from her premiership.
Later, Awami League offices and houses of its leaders were attacked, vandalised, looted, and set on fire. The Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, which was the residence of Bangabandhu, was set ablaze after the Aug 5 overthrow of the government.
Sculptures of Bangabandhu were also vandalised in several places.
Leaders and workers at different levels of the party said they are making preparations to pay respect at the portrait of Bangabandhu at Dhanmondi 32 on Aug 15. They are also releasing posters created for the event on social media, according to bdnews24.com.
The party’s agriculture and cooperative affairs sub-committee member Md Zaber Hossain shared a sticker in a Facebook post saying ‘The 15th August is the National Mourning Day. March to Dhanmondi 32. Join in groups to make the event successful.
When the Awami League was in power, National Mourning Day was observed across the country. Along with Dhaka, a major event was held at Bangabandhu's mausoleum in Gopalganj's Tungipara.
The party’s Tungipara unit announced several events to mark National Mourning Day. The programmes include hoisting the national flag on the morning of Aug 15, wearing black badges, paying homage at Bangabandhu's mausoleum, prayer services, discussion events and distribution of food among the poor.
Comments
