Liberty is a basic necessity

The struggle for the consciousness of identity and cultural freedom began with the advent of the student movements of the 1960s gained momentum in the mass movement of non-cooperation in 1969

Liberty does not come out spontaneously; a lot of struggle, hurdles and obstacles have to be overcome to pave its way. The ultimate victory what we passionately desire and so, it is the outcome of wholehearted collective efforts of an united nation. Freedom is the birth right of a person; nobody has the legal right to snatch his or her sovereignty. But, unfortunately we, the people of Bangladesh, had to endure inhuman sufferings under the shackles of the British colonial rule and about 25 years under the domination of the Pakistani rulers. After the nine months long bloody struggle and the supreme sacrifices  of all patriotic people of our country, Bangladesh gained victory on the 16th December, 1971 and since then 16 December has become our national day; a red-letter day in the history of Bangladesh. 

Freedom fighters are our real heroes; they are the heroic sons of the soil and we, the entire people of Bangladesh, are greatly indebted to their supreme sacrifices and bravery. Now, we can speak in Bengali and can demonstrate ourselves before the global community that Bangladesh is a sovereign country; Bengali is our mother language and we are the people of Bangladesh. Our freedom fighters are our inspiration to fight against the all odds. All the freedom fighters of our country were generally known as ‘Mukti Bahini’ and there were two broader sections among them. First one was ‘Niyomito Bahini’ that was called regular forces and the rest of the section was ‘Gono Bahini’ that referred to the people’s forces. Here, those who came from military, paramilitary and police forces were considered as regular forces whereas, the freedom fighters from a non-military background were referred to people’s forces.
To mark the significance of this historic day, every year 16th December is celebrated all over the country and globally as well with its unique flavor. The occasion creates an immense opportunity for both the elderly and the young people from every sphere of our life to join the events, and also to get a chance of remembering and learning about the glorious history of our dear motherland, Bangladesh.
The 16th December is known as “Bijoy Dibos”. Here, “Bijoy” means “Victory” and “Dibos” means “Day. All the people enjoy this day with parades and paying respect at the National Mausoleum at Savar. This day reminds us the terms that ‘man’ and ‘freedom’ are integrated with each other deeply and it is a deep-rooted twin existence which can never be separated from each other. They are so integrated that they can better be compared only to the two flowers bloomed in the same petal on the same brace of a tree.
We achieved independence through the Liberation War and it is the day when the entire environment assumes a festive look. The uniqueness of liberty reflects our life and living. It is a day of great importance to our nation and so, every year we celebrate the day with dedication, great enthusiasm and an immense pleasure.  Moreover, it is absolutely different from our routine bound life. It is the day of memorizing the bloody struggle of our liberation war and our people’s unalloyed love and supreme sacrifice that convey our selflessness attitude as a token of nationalism. It is absolutely a symbol of heroism. Therefore, the victory conveys a special significance for the citizens  of Bangladesh.
 Who doesn’t like liberty?  Who likes to remain in shackles? If we observe the true picture of nature, even a bird can be found flying here and there out of joy and its urge for liberty is evident when we imprison a bird in a cage. Same is the case of  human life.  Do human beings have the same sort of feelings like a bird? Why not? The people of Bangladesh know the significance of liberty. In 1971 when we became independent, it was the day of transformation; it turned caged bird into a free one and then, our life changed for the rest of our life. It was like a knife  which severed the past from the future and it erased forever the ignominy of being ruled by others and brought us the resplendent dawn of freedom.
Now, it is high time to reveal the real history of Bangladesh’s birth as an independent nation. The Language Movement of Bangladesh took place in 1952. It was a bloody struggle; a time demanding fact the objective was to establish our identity as a free nation and also to boost our spirit of nationalism. It was 1947 when the British left India dividing it into two countries: India and Pakistan. Bangladesh was then the East Pakistan, a part of Pakistan which was put together by combining two geographically, culturally, and linguistically separate groups of people. Gradually, the people of Bangladesh began to realize the two nation theory created by the Pakistan. There was a little scope for the distance culture of Bangladeshis to flourish. At that time, people realized the significance of the mother tongue, the most important vehicle of the cultural expression for the people of this land. The refusal of the central government in West Pakistan to grant official status to the Bangla became the focal point of struggle.
The racial oppression, a sky high disparity and the exploitation of the West over the East was gradually unveiled simultaneously in the political, economical, social, cultural and also in the different spheres  of our national life which was created by the Pakistani rulers  to take over the whole control in hand. Oppressive attitudes of the Pakistani rulers created serious grievances and resentments among the Bengalees and at one time, they lost the limits of their patience and rose up and revolted against the Pakistani oppression. 
The struggle for the consciousness of identity and cultural freedom which began with the advent of the student movements of the 60's gained momentum in the mass movement of non-cooperation in 1969. However, it brought about the fall of a mighty military ruler like Ayub Khan but the ultimate goal of self-governing nation was not achieved then. After this, came the general election in 1970. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won a landslide victory in the election. But, they refused to accept his electoral triumph. This acted as the immediate cause for the Bengalees to stand up against them and demand independence.
Now, the climax of the liberation war got its maturity. The leader of the nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman played a vital role to stand up and fight to liberate Bangladesh from the dominion of the Pakistani ruler.  He roared like a lion, he urged the freedom loving people of Bangladesh to come forward. His inspiring speeches touched the people’s mind to get ready to fight against the Pakistani rulers for the sake of their own identity as an independent nation.
Gradually, the ritual of the celebration has got its uniqueness with a distinctive character by the combination of a number of similar elements: Military Parade by Bangladesh Armed Forces at the National Parade Ground, ceremonial meetings, speeches, lectures, receptions and fireworks. On this day, local popular cultural events play an emphatic role to highlighting the core philosophy of the Victory Day and on the other hand, numerous TV channels and radio stations broadcast special programs 
and patriotic songs highlighting the day. 
 Victory Day is our pride, an inspiration to rectify ourselves, a 
motivation to fight against all odds, a spirit of liberty and a bravery of taking challenges to defeat the enemies and an aspiration to go towards the ultimate victory. It is the day of sharing emotion of both joy and sorrow; sorrow for those who have sacrificed their lives willingly for the joy of those who have survived, for those who are there now, and for those who are yet to come to share the joy. 

The writer is Assistant Deputy Secretary, BKMEA.
E-mail: [email protected]

Liberty is a basic necessity

The struggle for the consciousness of identity and cultural freedom began with the advent of the student movements of the 1960s gained momentum in the mass movement of non-cooperation in 1969

Liberty does not come out spontaneously; a lot of struggle, hurdles and obstacles have to be overcome to pave its way. The ultimate victory what we passionately desire and so, it is the outcome of wholehearted collective efforts of an united nation. Freedom is the birth right of a person; nobody has the legal right to snatch his or her sovereignty. But, unfortunately we, the people of Bangladesh, had to endure inhuman sufferings under the shackles of the British colonial rule and about 25 years under the domination of the Pakistani rulers. After the nine months long bloody struggle and the supreme sacrifices of all patriotic people of our country, Bangladesh gained victory on the 16th December, 1971 and since then 16 December has become our national day; a red-letter day in the history of Bangladesh. Freedom fighters are our real heroes; they are the heroic sons of the soil and we, the entire people of Bangladesh, are greatly indebted to their supreme sacrifices and bravery. Now, we can speak in Bengali and can demonstrate ourselves before the global community that Bangladesh is a sovereign country; Bengali is our mother language and we are the people of Bangladesh. Our freedom fighters are our inspiration to fight against the all odds. All the freedom fighters of our country were generally known as Mukti Bahini and there were two broader sections among them. First one was Niyomito Bahini that was called regular forces and the rest of the section was Gono Bahini that referred to the peoples forces. Here, those who came from military, paramilitary and police forces were considered as regular forces whereas, the freedom fighters from a non-military background were referred to peoples forces. To mark the significance of this historic day, every year 16th December is celebrated all over the country and globally as well with its unique flavor. The occasion creates an immense opportunity for both the elderly and the young people from every sphere of our life to join the events, and also to get a chance of remembering and learning about the glorious history of our dear motherland, Bangladesh. The 16th December is known as Bijoy Dibos. Here, Bijoy means Victory and Dibos means Day. All the people enjoy this day with parades and paying respect at the National Mausoleum at Savar. This day reminds us the terms that man and freedom are integrated with each other deeply and it is a deep-rooted twin existence which can never be separated from each other. They are so integrated that they can better be compared only to the two flowers bloomed in the same petal on the same brace of a tree. We achieved independence through the Liberation War and it is the day when the entire environment assumes a festive look. The uniqueness of liberty reflects our life and living. It is a day of great importance to our nation and so, every year we celebrate the day with dedication, great enthusiasm and an immense pleasure. Moreover, it is absolutely different from our routine bound life. It is the day of memorizing the bloody struggle of our liberation war and our peoples unalloyed love and supreme sacrifice that convey our selflessness attitude as a token of nationalism. It is absolutely a symbol of heroism. Therefore, the victory conveys a special significance for the citizens of Bangladesh. Who doesnt like liberty? Who likes to remain in shackles? If we observe the true picture of nature, even a bird can be found flying here and there out of joy and its urge for liberty is evident when we imprison a bird in a cage. Same is the case of human life. Do human beings have the same sort of feelings like a bird? Why not? The people of Bangladesh know the significance of liberty. In 1971 when we became independent, it was the day of transformation; it turned caged bird into a free one and then, our life changed for the rest of our life. It was like a knife which severed the past from the future and it erased forever the ignominy of being ruled by others and brought us the resplendent dawn of freedom. Now, it is high time to reveal the real history of Bangladeshs birth as an independent nation. The Language Movement of Bangladesh took place in 1952. It was a bloody struggle; a time demanding fact the objective was to establish our identity as a free nation and also to boost our spirit of nationalism. It was 1947 when the British left India dividing it into two countries: India and Pakistan. Bangladesh was then the East Pakistan, a part of Pakistan which was put together by combining two geographically, culturally, and linguistically separate groups of people. Gradually, the people of Bangladesh began to realize the two nation theory created by the Pakistan. There was a little scope for the distance culture of Bangladeshis to flourish. At that time, people realized the significance of the mother tongue, the most important vehicle of the cultural expression for the people of this land. The refusal of the central government in West Pakistan to grant official status to the Bangla became the focal point of struggle. The racial oppression, a sky high disparity and the exploitation of the West over the East was gradually unveiled simultaneously in the political, economical, social, cultural and also in the different spheres of our national life which was created by the Pakistani rulers to take over the whole control in hand. Oppressive attitudes of the Pakistani rulers created serious grievances and resentments among the Bengalees and at one time, they lost the limits of their patience and rose up and revolted against the Pakistani oppression. The struggle for the consciousness of identity and cultural freedom which began with the advent of the student movements of the 60s gained momentum in the mass movement of non-cooperation in 1969. However, it brought about the fall of a mighty military ruler like Ayub Khan but the ultimate goal of self-governing nation was not achieved then. After this, came the general election in 1970. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won a landslide victory in the election. But, they refused to accept his electoral triumph. This acted as the immediate cause for the Bengalees to stand up against them and demand independence. Now, the climax of the liberation war got its maturity. The leader of the nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman played a vital role to stand up and fight to liberate Bangladesh from the dominion of the Pakistani ruler. He roared like a lion, he urged the freedom loving people of Bangladesh to come forward. His inspiring speeches touched the peoples mind to get ready to fight against the Pakistani rulers for the sake of their own identity as an independent nation. Gradually, the ritual of the celebration has got its uniqueness with a distinctive character by the combination of a number of similar elements: Military Parade by Bangladesh Armed Forces at the National Parade Ground, ceremonial meetings, speeches, lectures, receptions and fireworks. On this day, local popular cultural events play an emphatic role to highlighting the core philosophy of the Victory Day and on the other hand, numerous TV channels and radio stations broadcast special programs and patriotic songs highlighting the day. Victory Day is our pride, an inspiration to rectify ourselves, a motivation to fight against all odds, a spirit of liberty and a bravery of taking challenges to defeat the enemies and an aspiration to go towards the ultimate victory. It is the day of sharing emotion of both joy and sorrow; sorrow for those who have sacrificed their lives willingly for the joy of those who have survived, for those who are there now, and for those who are yet to come to share the joy. The writer is Assistant Deputy Secretary, BKMEA. E-mail: [email protected]