Bangabandhus homecoming day
The victory
did not seem complete until Bangabandhus homecoming on January 10, 1972
On this day 45 years back the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returned to his liberated homeland after his release from Pakistani prison following the emergence of independent Bangladesh through the victory in the Liberation War. The day has arrived this year at a time when the country is progressing steadily and surely towards becoming a developed country under the guidance of the great mans daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The people are especially happy as not only have most of the killers of Bangabandhu have been punished some of the most notorious war criminals have also been executed. Bangladeshis are near to a closure that is essential to free the people of the stigma.
When the country was floating in the high waves of jubilation over the historic victory in the War of Liberation through the surrender of the Pakistani troops on December 16, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was still detained in the Pakistani jail. The entire nation was then worried over the security of his life and anxiously waiting for his return to the country. The victory did not seem complete until Bangabandhus homecoming on January 10, 1972.
When the Bengalis learned about his homecoming it was time for a great celebration. All roads led to the old the airport on the day and the crowd swelled until it turned into a sea of people who were waiting with bated breath to greet the supreme leader on the soil of the new, though war-ravaged, country. Many recall the moments when he appeared at the door of the aircraft and waved at the waiting crowd assembled there to have a glimpse of this man who had been instrumental in liberating them from the clutches of oppressors and exploiters. He looked frail and was in tears. But it was genuinely a momentous occasion for the entire nation.
After his arrival Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman did not promise his people the moon, rather he advised them to be more tolerant and brace for more sacrifice to see better times. He inspired them, urged them on and instilled in them the confidence that was so necessary at that point in time. His life was cut short along with the members of his familys after only a little over three years time. Tasks remained unfulfilled and history took a different turn. Still, every year, on this historic day, the nation recalls with fondness the momentous homecoming of the great leader.
