The 44th Homecoming Day of Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be observed tomorrow (May 17).
On May 17 in 1981, Sheikh Hasina returned home from India after nearly six years in exile following the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members by a group of disgruntled army officers on August 15, 1975.
Both the daughters of Bangabandhu - Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana - survived the carnage as they were in Germany at that time.
Dhaka turned into a city of processions on this day as people welcomed Sheikh Hasina, braving storms and heavy rain.
Then Kurmitola International Airport and Shere-E-Banglanagar turned into a human sea with tens of thousands of people from all walks of life waiting to welcome her.
Shouting the immortal slogan --Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu, people thronged the capital to have a glimpse of Sheikh Hasina who was elected Awami League president in her absence at the party’s national council session held on February 14-16 in 1981.
After a long hovering over the airport, an aircraft of Indian Airlines carrying Sheikh Hasina from New Delhi via Kolkata, touched the runway at 4:30 pm.
"I have returned to the country not to become a leader of the Awami League, rather to participate in the struggle for freedom by staying beside the people," said the AL president in a heart touching reception awarded by nearly 1.5 million people at the airport at that time.
She added: "I want to stay beside you as your sister, as your daughter, and as a worker of Awami League, who believes in the ideals of Bangabandhu."
To mark the day, the ruling Awami League has taken elaborate programmes.
The party leaders will greet the premier, the eldest daughter of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, at her Ganabhaban residence here at 9 am on Friday.
A discussion will be held at Dhaka District AL Bhaban in the city's Tejgaon area at 3:30 pm as AL Presidium Member Engineer Mosharraf Hossain will chair it. National leaders and intellectuals will address the meeting.
Special doa and prayers will also be offered at mosques, temples, churches and pagodas to mark the day. Doa will be offered at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque after Jummah prayers.
Christian Community will hold special prayer at Mirpur Baptist Church at 9 am on the day while Buddhist Community at International Buddhist Monastery in the city's Merul Badda at 10 am and Hindu Community at Dhakeshwari National Temple at 11.30 am.
AL's relief and social welfare subcommittee has also taken elaborate programmes to observe the day.
On May 17, food will be distributed among the orphans of Azimpur Salimullah Muslim Atimkhana, Salimullah Road's Atimkhana in Mohammadpur, Sobhanbag Masjid Atimkhana and Badda Beraid Rahim Ullah Atimkhana.
Food will also be distributed among the orphans of the atimkhanas (orphanages) adjacent to Hazrat Shahjalal (R) Mazar (shrine) in Sylhet, Hazrat Shah Amanat (R) and Garib Ullah Shah (R) in Chattogram on the same day.
The members of the subcommittee will also distribute food among orphans in different districts across the country.
On May 18, Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud will distribute food among the inmates of Chattogram's Kadam Mobarak Orphanage.
BDST: 1418 HRS, MAY 16, 2024
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