The government has extended the celebrations of Mujib Year, which was declared to celebrate Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth centenary, to December 16, 2021.
The Cabinet Division on Tuesday announced the decision considering that the programmes could not be held properly in the designated period – March 17, 2020, to March 26, 2021, - due to the coronavirus outbreak, reports bdnews24.com.
Born in Gopalganj’s Tungipara on March 17, 1920, Bangabandhu eventually led the Bengali to the struggle for independence from Pakistan.
He declared the independence of Bangladesh right before he was arrested by the Pakistani army on March 26, 1971. It triggered the Liberation War and Bangladesh emerged as a sovereign state after the nine-month-long bloodbath when the Pakistani occupational forces surrendered on Dec 16, 1971.
But the defeated forces continued scheming and brought about the darkest chapter in Bangladesh’s history. On August 15, 1975, the greatest Bengali of all time, Bangabandhu, was assassinated with most of his family by a group of rogue army personnel.
Bangabandhu’s daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, survived as they were abroad at the time.
The nation is celebrating the birth centenary of Bangabandhu at a time when Hasina is the prime minister of Bangladesh.
The government had announced the period from March 17, 2020, to March 26, 2021, as Mujib Year to celebrate the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation. Bangladesh will also celebrate the golden jubilee of independence in 2021.