Criticising past attempts to diminish the contributions of the proclaimer of the country’s independence, Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has said the late leader was one of the essential figures of independence and the Liberation War.
“The way through which attempts were made in the past to humiliate Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and deny his contribution and work has proven that Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman is certainly an inevitable character in the Liberation War of Bangladesh,” he said.
The prime minister said this, drawing the attention of the young generation as he addressed a discussion at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) auditorium in Dhaka on Friday afternoon, March 27.
BNP organised the discussion on the occasion of the Independence and National Day with its Secretary General and LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in the chair.
Highlighting the role of Ziaur Rahman in the proclamation of the country’s independence, Tarique Rahman, also BNP chairman, said that Ziaur Rahman did not declare independence suddenly.
Though Ziaur Rahman was not a political activist in his early life but a military officer, the premier said, he (Ziaur Rahman) had long nurtured the vision of an independent Bangladesh, which is supported by his own article- “Birth of a Nation” published in now defunct the Dainik Bangla on March 26, 1972 on the first anniversary of the country’s independence.
“It was then 2:15 am. March 26, 1971. A day etched in the Bangalee's heart in blood letters. The people of Bangladesh will remember this day forever. They will remember and love it. They will never forget this day. Never, never,” Tarique Rahman quoted from the article, saying that the article reflects Ziaur Rahman’s thoughts clearly.
“What happened at 2:15 am on March 26 in 1971. I think this information can definitely be an important document for those who conduct research on the history of independence and the Liberation War,” the premier said, adding, when the article was published all of the freedom fighters or those directly or indirectly involved in the Liberation War were alive.
But, he pointed out, none had challenged the article’s authenticity at the time.
Noting that Weekly Bicitra, a sister concern of the same newspaper, reprinted the same article in 1974, the Prime Minister said but none raised any objection at that time too, because those who were there at that time knew that every sentence, every word of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman mentioned in the article was true.
“But, later, we saw many attempts to humiliate Shaheed Ziaur Rahman. But I said earlier that what is true is true. There is no way to hide the fact that Shaheed Zia is an inevitable character of the Liberation War,” he added.
Source: BSS