Bangabandhu
FOSA pays tributes to Bangabandhu
The executive committee(EC) of the Foreign Office Spouses’ Association (FOSA) has paid tributes to the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing a wreath on his portrait.
The association led by its chief patron Selina Momen, wife of Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, paid the homage by visiting the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi-32 on Friday, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a media release on Saturday.
Read: Bury differences for national unity to build Bangabandhu’s Sonar Bangla: President Hamid
FOSA's patron Ayesha Akhtar, wife of State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, and President Fahmida Soma Zebin, wife of Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, were also present, among others
The FOSA EC members prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul of Bangabandhu and other martyrs of August 15, the darkest chapter of history.
Read: In eulogy, S African FM calls Bangabandhu, Mandela great visionary leaders
In eulogy, S African FM calls Bangabandhu, Mandela great visionary leaders
South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Dr Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor has paid tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman termed both Bangabandhu and President Nelson Mandela as great visionary leaders for humanity.
She recognized the unparalleled dedication and sacrifices of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and also highlighted the values and ideals of the Father of the Nation.
Dr Pandor visited Bangabandhu Memorial Museum on Thursday accompanied by officials of the South African Foreign Ministry and South African High Commissioner in India.
The South African Foreign Minister was received by Bir Prateek Lieutenant Col (retd) Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahir and the officials of the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.
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The officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were also present during the visit to the Memorial Museum.
The South African Foreign Minister was briefed about the life and glorious historical role of the Father of the Nation in the national history of Bangladesh and his supreme sacrifice.
Dr Pandor laid a wreath to pay tribute to the memories of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
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She visited the different corners of the museum accompanied by Sajjad Zahir and officials of the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.
Bangabandhu Biopic: A joint production of Bangladesh and India
The shooting of the Bangabandhu Biopic film was scheduled to start on March 18, 2020, the day after the celebration of the first Mujib Centenary. The plan was halted by the pandemic Coronavirus. The filming of Bangabandhu started in Mumbai on January 21, 2021. For the film, the shooting in Bangladesh started on the first of November. The new release date is March 2022. Let's take a look at the details of Bangabandhu’s historical biopic.
Story of Bangabandhu throughout the screenplay
Apart from the significant political career of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, viewers will discover the beloved leader of millions of Bengalis as a child, a husband, and a father.
Screenwriters Shyama Zaidi and Atul Tiwari rely heavily on primary sources for research in writing the biopic. And this primary source was none other than the daughter of Bangabandhu, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina.
Zaidi and Tiwari have artistically designed the screenplay with their best to highlight the entire life of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Furthermore, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh has been cooperating with the screenwriters for a long time to serve every important moment thoroughly.
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The making of ‘Bangabandhu’, a historical biopic
Eighty-six-year-old Indian director Shyam Benegal has been directing the biopic since its inception. Dedicated to the genre of biography, Shyam Benegal has previously worked on biographies of Subhas Bose, Gandhi, and Nehru.
By April 2021, Bangabandhu's personal and family part of the film was shooted in various places including Dadasaheb Film City in Mumbai. The shooting, which started in November, will focus on his political aspects.
Dayal Nihalani is co-directing the film, while Nitish Roy is taking care of the art direction. The costume is directed by Pia Benegal, daughter of Shyam Benegal. Akashdeep Pandey is acting as the cinematographer. Music is directed by Shantanu Maitra.
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Jail Killing Day to be observed Wednesday
The nation is set to observe the Jail Killing Day on Wednesday with due solemnity.
Awami League and its associate bodies will pay tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the four national leaders slain in state custody on this day in 1975.
A press release said the Awami League leaders and workers will pay homage by laying wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu in front of the Bangabandhu Bhaban on Dhanmondi Road No 32 on a limited scale following Covid-19 health guidelines.
Tributes will also be paid to the four national leaders: Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Capt. Mansur Ali and AHM Qamruzzaman.
It also said the party leaders and workers will place wreaths at the graves of August 15 martyrs and national leaders.
The party will arrange a discussion at its central office at Bangabandhu Avenue in the city at 11 am.
Meanwhile, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have issued separate messages on the occasion.
Read: AL to observe Jail Killing Day Wednesday
The President, in his message, said, “The aim of the killers was to erase the ideals of the Liberation War from the spirit of the young generation apart from giving rise to an undemocratic autocratic rule which failed.”
He urged all to work from their respective positions to complete the unfinished works of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to build a happy, prosperous Sonar Bangla. “This should be our promise in the Jail Killing Day.”
In her message, the Prime Minister said, “The killing of the four national leaders was the continuation of the assassination of the Father of the Nation along with his family. Through it, the defeated forces and anti-state quarters made an evil attempt to destroy the Liberation War spirit and render the Bangali national leaderless by erasing the name of Awami League.”
She urged people of the country to build poverty-free and happy, peaceful golden Bangladesh as dreamt by Bangabandhu.
On November 3, 1975, four national leaders and heroes of the country’s Liberation War -- Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmad, Captain Mansur Ali and AHM Quamruzzaman -- were assassinated inside the Dhaka Central Jail.
The four leaders played a key role in leading the Mujibnagar government, that led the Liberation War effort in 1971 with Syed Nazrul Islam as the acting president, Tajuddin Ahmad as the prime minister, Mansur Ali as the finance minister and AHM Qamruzzaman as the home, relief and rehabilitation minister.
HC writ seeks investigation commission on Aug 15 tragedy
A writ petition has been filed in the High Court seeking its order to form an independent investigation commission to find out the conspirators of the August 15 mayhem that witnessed the assassination Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members.
Advocate Asfakozzoha filed the writ on behalf of the Supreme Court lawyer Subir Nandi Das, on Monday.
Hearing on the writ would be held next week in the HC bench of Justice JBM Hasan and Justice Rajik Al Jalil, said Subir Nandi Das.
Also read: Writ seeks judicial inquiry into e-commerce scams
In the petition, the cabinet secretary, secretary of the ministry of law and parliamentary affairs, secretary of the home ministry and secretary of the finance ministry have been named as defendants, he said
Adv. Subir said, “Based on the primary report of the investigation commission into the Bangabandhu’s assassination formed by members of the British Parliament in 1982, I have filed a writ petition seeking an independent investigating commission to fully unmask the conspiracy and subsequent steps taken regarding the assassination.”
Also read: HC turns down writ challenging tree felling at Suhrawardy Udyan
The petition said it was necessary to unearth the individuals involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Bangabandhu and who were the beneficiaries, who did not allow the trial to take place and whose failure it was, he added.
icddr,b team pays homage to Bangabandhu
Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, the Executive Director of icddr,b, along with the members of the Senior Leadership Team, visited the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum on Tuesday.
They also paid homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the occasion of his birth centenary.
The icddr,b team also placed a floral wreath at the portrait of the Father of the Nation, said a press release.
During the visit, Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, said, “I recall our colleagues remembering the day when Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman instructed a team of doctors of icddr,b to investigate an unknown outbreak that occurred in Saint Martin’s island in April 1973.
“icddr,b is indebted for the compassionate and visionary leadership of the Father of the Nation for entrusting us to fight the severe dysentery outbreak that ravaged the community,” he said.
After paying tributes to Bangabandhu, Dr Tahmeed and the team visited the historic residence of Father of the Nation at Dhanmondi Road No. 32, Dhaka.
icddr,b Senior Director, Maternal and Child Health Division and member of the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 Dr Shams El Arifeen, Acting Director, Laboratory Science and Services Division Dr Dinesh Mondal, Director, Human Resources Mr Hugues-Marie Bello; Director, Finance Mr Thomas Liam Barry, Controller, Finance Ms Annrita Muthoni Mugambi and Acting Lead, Research Administration Ms Armana Ahmed were, among others, present during the visit.
BKSP tops National Age Group Swimming medal table
The Bangladesh Krira Sikkha Protishtan (BKSP) claimed 34 gold medals till Monday to remain a runaway leader in the Bangabandhu 34th National Age Group Swimming and Diving Competition 2021.
The BKSP secured 103 medals, including 37 silver and 32 bronze medals, up to the second day of the three-day meet at the Syed Nazrul Islam National Swimming Complex in Mirpur.
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Bangladesh Ansar remained in second place with 18 golds, eight silvers and four bronzes. The third-placed Bogura Swimming Centre collected three golds, four silvers and two bronzes.
Thirty-six events were completed today, featuring six new national records – five in swimming and one in diving.
Five swimming events were boys' and girls' 200-metre breaststroke (18-20 year group), boys' 200-metre backstroke (18-20 year group), boys' 100-metre butterfly (18-20 year group), boys' 100-metre freestyle (18-20 year group) and one-metre springboard diving.
READ: Bangabandhu 34th National Age Group Swimming begins on Sunday
Sunday, President of the Bangladesh Swimming Federation (BSF) and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral M Shaheen Iqbal inaugurated the three-day meet at a simple ceremony, chaired by Tarafder M Ruhul Amin, the BSF vice-president and managing director of the meet's sponsor Saif Powertek.
Miller gets Bangabandhu's photos of 1958 as gift
ABM Sarwer-E-Alom Sarker, assistant press secretary to the prime minister, has gifted US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller some photos of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The photos were taken at Tufts University during the US Department of State's Foreign Leaders Exchange Programme in 1958.
The US ambassador tweeted the photos Thursday on his verified Twitter account.
Bangla in UNGA: Continuation of legacy from father to daughter
September 25 is a glorious day in the history of the Bengali nation and the Bangla language as Bangabandhu addressed the UN General Assembly in Bangla for the first time on the day in 1974.
Terming the day as significant, Prime Minister’s ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy on Saturday shared a video of Bangabandhu’s UNGA speech, the Prime Minister of independent Bangladesh, on his verified Facebook page remembering the day.
When Bangabandhu delivered his UNGA speech (on Sept 25, 1974) in mother tongue Bangla, it marked the culmination of a process that had started on February 21, 1952.
The language rights movement for Bangla had snowballed into a movement for an independent Bangladesh under Bangabandhu’s leadership. So, his UNGA speech not only announced the birth of a new nation but one based on linguistic and cultural pride rather than religion.
Earlier, on September 17, just one week ago, Bangladesh became a member of the United Nations, Joy said.
It was the first time that the use of the Bangla language started in any official meeting of the international body, he said.
Read: Bangabandhu’s maiden UNGA speech remembered with fondness
Columnist Ajoy Dasgupta says Bangladesh is a classic case of continuity of legacy from father to daughter, despite the massacre of much of the Sheikh Mujib family in 1975 and the dozens of assassination attempts against Bangabandhu’s daughter, now the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
Dasgupta, an Ekushey Padak awardee, says the military rulers who had taken over and ruled Bangladesh for the next 15 years legitimized the pro-Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami, introduced constitutional amendments that undermined the country’s secular democratic polity, and finally declared Islam as the state religion of Bangladesh.
He said some parties like BNP (founded in the barracks) and its ally, Jamaat-e-Islami have tried to restore the Pakistani military-fundamentalist model of radical Islam but failed.
When the world worries for Afghanistan, specially its women, and terror-sponsor Pakistan sinks into an economic abyss, the world is all praise for Bangladesh's amazing economic turnaround and social inclusion, for its battle against climate change and gender empowerment -- all rooted in Bangladesh unique Bengali culture and the language, Dasgupta mentioned.
This September, as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina again addressed the UNGA in Bengali, two women diplomats flanked her to chair the session and translate-- an amazing reminder of the Bengali roots of this fast modernising nation from the basket case of the 1970s, he said.
"Only those countries who have earned freedom after long years of struggles and sacrifices have strong will and strength of mind, Remember President, my Bengalis can endure sufferings but will not die. In the challenge to survive, the will of my people is my greatest strength,” Bangabandhu reminded the UNGA.
Read: PM joins opening session of 76th UNGA general debate
Twenty-five years later, his daughter Sheikh Hasina moved the UNESCO, in 1999, to secure recognition for 21 February as the International Language Day.
Bangabandhu secured global recognition for Bangla, spoken by the seventh largest linguistic group in the world, a global recognition.
His daughter carried it further and got institutionalised recognition of Bengali, the only language to have produced a Nobel Laureate in Literature in South Asia.
Bangabandhu’s maiden UNGA speech remembered with fondness
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a strong advocate of multilateralism and called the United Nations ‘as the centre of people’s future hopes and aspirations.”
On the very first day of Bangladesh’s journey in the United Nations, Bangabandhu delivered his maiden speech to the UNGA on September 25, 1974.
“Our goal is self-reliance; our chosen path is the united and collective efforts of our people. International cooperation and the sharing of the resources and technology could, no doubt, make our task less onerous and reduce the cost in human suffering,” the Prime Minister quoted Bangabandhu as saying at the UNGA in 1974.
He called for building a world to be free of economic inequalities, social injustice, aggression, and threats of nuclear war.
“These are as relevant today as they were forty-six years ago. As such, we continue to lend our voice and leadership to all those issues that aim to build an inclusive and equal society,” said the Prime Minister.
She termed the current the year 2021 a very special year, noting that this year they are celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Independence. “This celebration coincides with ‘Mujib Year’, the Birth Centenary of our Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.”
Read: PM joins opening session of 76th UNGA general debate
The Prime Minister, while delivering her speech at the UNGA for the 17th time, paid her profound respect and homage to Father of our Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose selfless, lifelong struggle and visionary leadership brought us our long-cherished Independence.