Sea of humanity gathers to mark martyrdom of Father of the Nation

DHAKA, Aug 15, 2014 (BSS) –A sea of humanity gathered at the Bangabandhu Bhabhan at Dhanmandi to commemorate the 39th Martyrdom Day of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and National Mourning Day.

To pay respect to the founder of independent Bangladesh, the greatest Bengali of the millennium and Father of the Nation people from all walks of life gathered in front of Bangabandhu Bhabhan at Dhanmandi.

The Day started with placing wreaths on the portrait of the Father of the Nation at the Bangabandhu Museum.

The first to pay respect at 6.45 am was President Abdul Hamid. He was followed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury.

They were followed by the chiefs of the three services.
Later, a guard of honor was presented.

Members of the cabinet and leaders of Awami League also placed wreaths at the portrait.
They included Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Suranjit Sen Gupta, Mohammad Nasim, Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Begum Matia Chowdhury, Advocate Sahara Khatun, Syed Ashraful Islam and Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif.

After paying her respects, Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina entered the memory-laden house and spent about half-an-hour there. She scattered some rose petals in the stairs where Bangabandhu was killed. Later, she went to one of the rooms and read out the fateha.

From Dhanmandi, the Prime Minster went to the Banani Graveyard where many of those killed in the carnage of August 15, 1975 were buried. They include her mother, brother and sisters-in-law. She prayed for their souls and scattered rose petals there, too.

By 6 in the morning Road 32 was full. Women and men, children and elderly, adolescent and youth – all were there. All had black banners in their hands and black badges on their chests.

The memorial was opened to all at 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Despite the sad ambience there were a few slogans, too, that demanded bringing back the fugitive killers of Bangabandhu.

The 14-Party Alliance under the leadership of Mohammad Nasim also placed wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu.

The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Jasod) under the leadership of its president, also information minister, Hasanul Haque Inu, placed wreaths at the memorial.

Apart from the political parties and their units, hundreds of organizations ranging from universities to NGOs paid their respect to the great leader.

Across the city black flags, banners, festoons, placards and arches were put up in remembrance of the Day. Through microphones, the historic March 7 speech of Bangabandhu was broadcast along with songs from the Liberation War.