News Desk:
The month of mourning began today for the nation to recall once again the most brutal assassination in its history and renew the pledge to safeguard perpetually the country’s independence and sovereignty.

The killing of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members on the fateful night of August 15, 1975 is the ugliest chapter of the nation’s history.

The self-confessed killers of August 15 did not assassinate Bangabandhu alone, but also killed 16 other members of his family, friends and relatives.

They included Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russell, daughters-in-law Sultana Kamal and Rosy Jamal, Bangabandhu’s brother Sheikh Naser, brother-in-law Abdur Rab Serniabat, nephew and eminent journalist Sheikh Fazlul Huq Moni, his pregnant wife Arzoo Moni and military secretary Colonel Jamil.

Bangabandhu’s two daughters – eldest daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana – escaped the planned assassination as they were visiting Germany at that time.

The killing of Bangabandhu, the greatest son of the soil in thousand years, descended a pall of gloom and spread a sense of deep sadness among the people in the country and across the globe. The world protested and condemned the killing, saying it is an irreparable loss to millions of people of Bangladesh, according to BSS reports.

The month of August is also black marked with another conspiracy of assassination.

Like in the previous years, different political and socio-cultural organisations, including ruling Awami League and its associate bodies have chalked out month-long programmes to observe the month of mourning.

This year, the nation will observe the National Mourning Day and the 45th anniversary of martyrdom of Father of the Nation.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today urged all-level party leaders and activists and associate bodies as well as political, cultural and social organizations to observe the day with solemnity, maintaining the social distancing in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.