The foreign ministry has extravagant plans to celebrate Mujib Year, the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
As part of the ministry’s initiatives to make the celebrations global, over 260 programs have been organised in 77 Bangladeshi missions abroad.
“Bangladesh is moving forward with Bangabandhu’s vision,” a foreign ministry official speaking on the condition of anonymity told Bangla Tribune.
“Bangabandhu was a global leader and in order to showcase the development of this country following his vision to the world, nine out of 29 programmes proposed by the foreign ministry have been accepted,” he added.
He said a Bangabandhu corner has been opened in the Bangladesh mission in Australia since last December. Sources said that eight sub-committees for Mujib Year celebration have been formed and one of them is being led by the foreign minister.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau and Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad are among the global leaders who have consented to attend the celebrations. Along with them UAE crown prince Zayed Al Nahyan, former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, Indian Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will also grace events.
Moreover, some of the global leaders will also join the special programme on March 17, marking Bangabandhu’s birthday.
Chief ministers of seven Indian states along the border of Bangladesh have also been invited for their the role of the states in the 1971 War of Independence.
Another government employee said that they want a member of the Kennedy family and economics Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz or economist Jeffery Sachs to take part in the program.
He added that the government aims to discuss the future possibilities of Bangladesh and not just reminisce about the past.
The foreign ministry has also planned several programs including exhibitions in Delhi, Kolkata, Moscow, Washington and eight other countries.
A foreign ministry official said that the Bangladeshi missions abroad have planned two big programs in March this year and the next.
Moreover, in Poland, Thailand and Biswabharati, Bangabandhu Chair has been inaugurated, he added.
Another official said that the UNESCO has accepted a proposal from Bangladesh to name an award after Bangabandhu which they are likely to start conferring from the end of next year.
Bangabandhu’s birth centenary celebrations, officially termed “Mujib Borsho” or Mujib Year, will take off on his birthday, Mar 17, and will continue till March 26, 2021, which marks the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s Independence Day.
The “Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Birth Centenary Celebration National Implementation Committee,” the committee in charge of the celebrations, will organize a program for the launch of the countdown.
The event is set to take place at the National Parade Ground in Tejgaon.