Let us honour the legacy of Bangabandhu

Today, August 15, marks the 48th anniversary of the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with almost his entire family – one of the darkest chapters in the history of our nation. The untimely death of the father of the nation, only four years after independence, and at a time when the country needed his leadership, lofty ideals and vision the most, was a great tragedy for Bangladesh.

The significance of Bangabandhu's role in uniting the people to both dream and pursue the dream of freedom and independence cannot be overstated. His vision of creating a fair and just society, in which each individual would be equal in the eyes of the law, is one that every Bangladeshi fell in love with. Unfortunately, it is also one that is yet to fully materialise. And until it does, the cause for which he sacrificed everything will remain unfulfilled. Thus, it is the duty of each and every freedom-loving, patriotic Bangladeshi to work towards establishing a country where justice is at its core. We must realise that one of the best ways to honour Bangabandhu and his legacy would be for us, as a nation, to continue working towards bringing back his ideals into our national psyche and to solidify them into the functioning of our society in general.

Bangabandhu worked his entire life not for any personal gain. In fact, oftentimes he took action that ran contrary to his personal well-being, but would serve the interest of the ordinary people whom he loved and cared for with his whole heart. It is extremely disappointing that despite the example that he had set, since his departure, we have not had many politicians or statesmen who learnt from it and dedicated their lives to working for the betterment of their countrymen. Nevertheless, we would call on the current and potential future leaders of this country to study Bangabandhu's life closely, and try to understand why and how he managed to inspire an entire nation to go through such a trial by fire.

Bangabandhu believed that citizens should be at the centre of power, and have fair representation. More than 50 years after Bangladesh's independence, that is still something we are greatly struggling with. He also believed that people must have the freedom to express themselves, including their grievances. As we mourn the assassination of Bangabandhu today, we also mourn the gradual undoing of his legacy and vision through the decades. This we must try to rectify. We must rededicate ourselves with a renewed vigour to realising his fundamental mission: building a Sonar Bangla.