The nation is set to celebrate the Month of Victory with much festivity and enthusiasm amid a series of programmes throughout the month of December that began on Saturday.
Forty-seven years ago on this day, Bangladesh was liberated from the Pakistani occupation forces after a nine-month-long bloodstained War of Liberation and the supreme sacrifices of three million people and the honour of nearly half a million women.
Different socio-political, educational and cultural institutions and organisations have chalked out numerous programmes to celebrate the nation’s great victory that was achieved under the leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The programmes will include placing of wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu at the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi in capital and processions, discussions, photo exhibition and cultural events, reports news agency BSS.
Different organisations will observe Dec 1 as the ‘Freedom Fighters Day’.
To mark the day, Muktijoddha Dibas Udjapana Jatiya Committee is scheduled to stage a programme at Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals Memorial on Saturday morning.
Dhaka University (DU) teachers, students, officers and employees will bring out a victory procession on the campus tomorrow as part of the Victory Day celebration programme, the report adds.
The procession to be led by Vice-Chancellor Professor Md Akhtaruzzaman will begin from Aparajeyo Bangla at 10:45 am which will end at Swadhinata Chattar in the historic Suhrawardy Udyan.
He will also be the chief guest at another function titled 'First Dawn of Month of Victory', arranged by ‘Podokkhep Bangladesh’ on the university campus in the morning as well.
As part of month-long programme, Bangabandhu Parishad will pay homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing wreaths at his portrait on the premises of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi.
Besides, many other organisations will organise various programmes across the country to celebrate the month of victory.
On December 14, the nation will observe Martyred Intellectuals’ Day to commemorate those intellectuals who were killed by Pakistani forces and their collaborators during the 1971 Liberation War, particularly on 25 March and 14 December 1971.
The Victory Day of the country will be celebrated on December 16 paying homage to the martyrs for their supreme sacrifice for freeing the country from the misrule and occupation of Pakistani ruler.
On this day in 1971, the commander of Pakistan occupation army, General AAK Niazi, and his 93,000 soldiers surrendered to the allied forces of freedom fighters and Indian army at Ramna Racecourse, now Suhrawardy Udyan, in Dhaka following a miserable defeat in the war of independence that broke out in March 25.