Bangabandhu And Bangladesh: One Soul, One Destiny

Fifty Years of Grief and Reverence – A Nation Remembers Bangladesh’s Founding Father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and His Beloved Family, Martyred in the wee hours of 15th August 1975.

The sorrow-laden month of August is drawing swiftly to its close. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman—Bangladesh’s Founding Father and President—had been scheduled to visit the University of Dhaka on the morning of 15 August 1975, the very institution from which he had once been unjustly and permanently expelled by the reprobate Pakistani rulers.

In that fateful August, I was a senior student at Dhaka University, residing in Sergeant Zohurul Haque Hall (SZHH). As a freedom fighter who had stood on the war front in 1971, I was filled with exhilaration, as were countless friends, at the thought of welcoming this most honoured leader to our campus. On the eve of his visit, the University of Dhaka was adorned in festive splendour. The surrounding streets, draped in colour and anticipation, took on the air of celebration. To me, youth then seemed like spring—so often lauded as a season of beauty and delight, yet in truth, it is not always so, for the biting, bitter winds from the northern military cantonment of Dhaka could chill even the warmest breeze of hope.

But before the dawn of that day could break, tragedy struck. My roommate and dear friend, Abdus Sobhan Khan Arif, woke me with a terrified voice, dragging me from my slumber to deliver the unspeakable news: Bangabandhu had been murdered in cold blood. Half in disbelief, I followed him to a nearby room, where a small one-band radio crackled with a voice dripping with malice—the voice of Major Dalim: “Sheikh Mujib is killed. The army has seized power. Martial law has been declared throughout the country…”

The words struck like a dagger. Shock and grief consumed us; rage burned alongside disbelief. A pall of darkness fell over Dhaka and across the nation. The wind ceased to blow, leaves hung motionless, and the world itself seemed to stand still.

In that moment, a line from TIME magazine, August 1971, returned unbidden to my mind: “A man of vitality and vehemence, Mujib became the political Gandhi of the Bengalis, symbolizing their hopes and voicing their grievances. Not even Pakistan’s founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, drew the million-strong throngs that Mujib has attracted in Dacca. Nor, for that matter, has any subcontinent politician since Gandhi’s day spent so much time behind bars for his political beliefs.”

On this day of 15^th August 2025, let us also not only mourn the man we lost but vow to protect the Bangladesh he built. Bangabandhu lives. And so long as he lives in us, Bangladesh will never die.

On 17 March 1920, in a quiet village of Gopalganj, Bangladesh a boy was born who would one day become the very soul of his nation—Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Even as a schoolboy, he displayed the courage and compassion that would define his life. In a famine, he defied his father’s dismay to share rice with starving neighbours. This was Mujib—always for the people, always for justice.

Bangabandhu’s journey was one of unyielding resolve. He fused a bold, progressive vision for Bangladesh with a pragmatic ability to unite diverse voices. His people named him The Father of the Nation not as a mere title, but as a covenant of gratitude. He was, and remains, the most beloved leader of his time—before and after his martyrdom.

A master orator, Mujib sacrificed personal comfort for national liberation. His thunderous 7 March 1971 speech did not merely address a crowd—it ignited a war of independence, transforming 75 million Bengalis into one unbreakable force against the Pakistani junta. Like Eleanor Roosevelt’s belief that history is shaped by the “combined voices of the people,” Mujib’s genius lay in giving those voices a single, commanding roar.

He was a lion who wrote his own history—not in ink, but in courage and sacrifice. Friend of Bengal, leader of the oppressed, icon for liberation movements worldwide—his legacy is etched in the soul of our nation. Even today, his name is spoken in every home, his ideals a living call to unity and justice.

True political leadership demands integrity, accountability, and vision—qualities rare in our time but abundant in Mujib. He did not see power as privilege, but as a solemn responsibility to uplift the poor, protect the vulnerable, and guard the dignity of his people. His assassination on 15 August 1975 was not merely the death of a leader—it was an attempt to wound the heart of Bangladesh itself.

Yet Bangabandhu lives on. In our freedoms, in our flag, in our very identity, he breathes still. He remains the singular Great Leader of both our pre- and post-independence history—a stature unmatched to this day.

On his 50th death anniversary, let us not only honour his memory but carry forward his ideals. For as long as the Padma, Meghna, Jamuna, and Gouri flow, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman will remain the pulse of Bangladesh.

Bangabandhu’s high road of grace will get us somewhere a whole lot faster than the freeway of spite.

As long as Padma, Meghna, Gouri, Jamuna flows on, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, your accomplishment will also live on.” - Annada Shankar Ray

 As we wrap up today, we wish to remember the words of Journalist Cyril Dunn, "In the thousand-year history of Bengal, Sheikh Mujib is her only leader who has, in terms of blood, race, language, culture and birth, been a full-blooded Bengali. His physical stature was immense. His voice was redolent of thunder. His charisma worked magic on people. The courage and charm that flowed from him made him a unique superman in these times." Joy Bangla. Joy Bangabandhu.

By Anwar A. Khan

Anwar A. Khan, was a frontline freedom fighter in 1971 to establish Bangladesh, based in Dhaka and is an independent political analyst, writing on politics, leadership, and international affairs.

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