MUJIB NAGAR DAY
The Mujib Nagar SritishowdhaThe plan for Mujib Nagar Smritishowdha at Mherpur was formulated right after independence. But the real work began as late as the early eighties. It was in 1984 that the designs were called from architects and artists. Diagram Architects, run by three young architects-- Saiful Haque, Jalal Ahmed and Khaled Noman, won the first prize for their unusual design structured in grid pattern.
Though the sprawled-out design of the three architects made an impression in the minds of the juries, which resulted in their winning of the first prize, the then autocrat H.M. Ershad arbitrarily ordered government architects to come up with a design that was later built.
The multiple sun-dials that now exist is the one built by the Department of Archtecture, Ministry of Work. The architects were Shah Alam, Md. Tanweer, Tanweer Karim and A.S.M. Ismail.
“Winning a competition then gave us a moral boost, but it was frustrating to see that a prize-winning structure was side-stepped to make way for another design” says Haque, who now runs his own firm at Dhanmondi.
The concept of the original design sprang from a photograph, where Nazrul Islam, the then acting President of the newly declared country, and other prominent leaders and the attending crowd that included the villagers that came from near and far. “We kept the scale human, as our idea was to express the sense of fraternity that was the essence of 17 April, 1997, when the interim government was formed at Mujib Nagar,” Haque informs. The original design was an installation that took into account the existing environ. Its build was an expression that puts the idea of vertical monuments on its head.
The historic Mujibnagar Day will be observed across the country today, commemorating the formation of Bangladesh's first government at Baidyanathtola mango grove in Meherpur on this day in 1971.
The place was later renamed Mujibnagar in tribute to father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was declared president of the government-in-exile, and supreme commander of the armed forces.
Syed Nazrul Islam was made acting president in the absence of Bangabandhu since he was arrested by the Pakistani occupation forces on March 25, 1971. The occupation forces also massacred thousands of unarmed Bangalees in Dhaka and elsewhere in the then East Pakistan on that night.
At the Mujibnagar ceremony, a contingent of police presented a guard of honour to the acting president. He received the salute and hoisted the National Flag of independent Bangladesh.
The Mujibnagar government with Tajuddin Ahmed as prime minister led the country's nine-month Liberation War that ended in surrender of the occupation forces on December 16, 1971.
The ruling Awami League (AL) and its front organisations have taken up elaborate programmes for countrywide observance of Mujibnagar Day.
In the capital, the National Flag and party flag will be hoisted at Bangabandhu Bhaban in Dhanmondi, and AL's Bangabandhu Avenue central office at 6:00 this morning.
Floral wreaths will be placed at the portrait of Bangabandhu at Bangabandhu Bhaban at 7:00am. Wreaths will also be placed at the graves of four national leaders -- Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed and Mansur Ali -- at Banani graveyard in the city, and at the grave of AHM Kamruzzaman in Rajshahi.
A separate programme has been taken up to mark the day at Mujibnagar. The programme includes placing wreaths at Mujibnagar memorial at 10:00am, followed by a guard of honour, a public meeting and a cultural function.
AL has formed a committee with presidium member Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury as its convener. Members of the committee include Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzak, Tofail Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta, Matia Chowdhury, Abdul Mannan, Abu Sayeed, Talukder Abdul Khaleque, Mirza Sultan Raza, Begum Monnojan Sufian, and presidents and general secretaries of the party's district units in Khulna Division and those of its front organisations.
They will visit Mujibnagar today.
Prime Minister and AL chief Sheikh Hasina will chair a party discussion on Mujibnagar Day at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital at 3:00pm.
In a message on the occasion, President Zillur Rahman recalled the contribution of Mujibnagar government in achieving independence, and said it is part of the history of Liberation War.
He urged all to unite and work with the sprit of the Liberation War for implementing the changes Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has pledged.
In a separate message, Hasina said the Mujibnagar government had led the Liberation War by uniting people of all walks of life with prudence, and won in the war with help from allied forces.
Both Zillur and Hasina paid rich tributes to the four national leaders who formed the first government of the country, and to Bangabandhu.
AL spokesman and Joint General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam called for observing the day in a befitting manner.
The place was later renamed Mujibnagar in tribute to father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was declared president of the government-in-exile, and supreme commander of the armed forces.
Syed Nazrul Islam was made acting president in the absence of Bangabandhu since he was arrested by the Pakistani occupation forces on March 25, 1971. The occupation forces also massacred thousands of unarmed Bangalees in Dhaka and elsewhere in the then East Pakistan on that night.
At the Mujibnagar ceremony, a contingent of police presented a guard of honour to the acting president. He received the salute and hoisted the National Flag of independent Bangladesh.
The Mujibnagar government with Tajuddin Ahmed as prime minister led the country's nine-month Liberation War that ended in surrender of the occupation forces on December 16, 1971.
The ruling Awami League (AL) and its front organisations have taken up elaborate programmes for countrywide observance of Mujibnagar Day.
In the capital, the National Flag and party flag will be hoisted at Bangabandhu Bhaban in Dhanmondi, and AL's Bangabandhu Avenue central office at 6:00 this morning.
Floral wreaths will be placed at the portrait of Bangabandhu at Bangabandhu Bhaban at 7:00am. Wreaths will also be placed at the graves of four national leaders -- Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed and Mansur Ali -- at Banani graveyard in the city, and at the grave of AHM Kamruzzaman in Rajshahi.
A separate programme has been taken up to mark the day at Mujibnagar. The programme includes placing wreaths at Mujibnagar memorial at 10:00am, followed by a guard of honour, a public meeting and a cultural function.
AL has formed a committee with presidium member Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury as its convener. Members of the committee include Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzak, Tofail Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta, Matia Chowdhury, Abdul Mannan, Abu Sayeed, Talukder Abdul Khaleque, Mirza Sultan Raza, Begum Monnojan Sufian, and presidents and general secretaries of the party's district units in Khulna Division and those of its front organisations.
They will visit Mujibnagar today.
Prime Minister and AL chief Sheikh Hasina will chair a party discussion on Mujibnagar Day at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital at 3:00pm.
In a message on the occasion, President Zillur Rahman recalled the contribution of Mujibnagar government in achieving independence, and said it is part of the history of Liberation War.
He urged all to unite and work with the sprit of the Liberation War for implementing the changes Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has pledged.
In a separate message, Hasina said the Mujibnagar government had led the Liberation War by uniting people of all walks of life with prudence, and won in the war with help from allied forces.
Both Zillur and Hasina paid rich tributes to the four national leaders who formed the first government of the country, and to Bangabandhu.
AL spokesman and Joint General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam called for observing the day in a befitting manner.
Friday, April 17, 2009
