Bangabandhu’s historic Homecoming Day Today

It is the day when Bangabandhu returns home, known as “Homecoming Day.”

Today, the whole nation will celebrate the homecoming of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the greatest Bangalee in history and the man widely regarded as the Father of the Nation.

Homecoming Day

In 1972, on January 10th, after spending 290 days in a Pakistani prison, Bangabandhu, the unchallenged leader of the nation and supreme commander of the country’s Liberation War, arrived back in Bangladesh through London and New Delhi.

Each year, the Awami League (AL) and other like-minded organisations hold a variety of events to commemorate the day.

Bangabandhu was taken from his home in Dhanmondi by the Pakistani military on the evening of March 25, 1971, and he was sent to a prison in West Pakistan the following day.

In the Pakistani prison where Bangabandhu was counting down the minutes before the execution of his death sentence, he was exposed to unspeakable torture.

“I was a convicted prisoner in the dungeon awaiting my execution. For the first time in my life, I had no idea whether I would make it out of prison alive. In my mind, death was imminent. Even yet, I was certain that Bangladesh would eventually be freed “At a press conference in London, Bangabandhu talked movingly about his time spent in a Pakistani jail.

Mujib added, “If Hitler had been alive today, he would have been embarrassed,” referring to the Holocaust deniers in the Pakistani army’s treatment of the Bangalee people.

On March 26, 1971, Bangabandhu declared Bangladesh’s independence and called on citizens from all walks of life to join the War of Liberation.

After the announcement of independence, the Pakistani military junta quickly moved to have Bangabandhu arrested and sent to a jail in West Pakistan.

Bangabandhu’s return to Bangladesh on January 10, 1972, satisfied the nation’s hopes and gave the people a true sense of success, even though the ultimate victory in the nine-month deadly War of Liberation was accomplished by defeating Pakistani occupation troops on December 16, 1971.

As Bangabandhu landed at Dhaka (Tejgaon) airport in the afternoon of January 10, he was met by tens of thousands of cheering fans who had been longing to see their leader since the victory on December 16 of that year.

From the airport, Bangabandhu was whisked away to the Racecourse Maidan (now Suhrawardy Udyan), where he addressed an estimated one million of his fellow countrymen who had gathered to greet him.

He spoke of the sacrifices made by everyone throughout the conflict and asked the people to work together to restore the nation.

On January 12, 1972, Bangabandhu swore his oath of office as Prime Minister of Bangladesh.