Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Assassination Marks 51 Years Today

Bangladesh marks 51 years today since the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members at his Dhanmondi 32 residence in Dhaka on August 15, 1975.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, his wife Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russel, and daughters-in-law Sultana Kamal and Rosy Jamal were among those killed that night. His younger brother Sheikh Abu Naser was also killed. Colonel Jamil, who rushed to Bangabandhu’s residence after receiving his phone call, SB official Siddiqur Rahman and army personnel Syed Mahmudul Huq were also killed.

Another group of army personnel attacked the residence of Bangabandhu’s nephew Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni, then a Jubo League leader, killing him and his pregnant wife Arju Moni. They also attacked the residence of Bangabandhu’s brother-in-law Abdur Rab Serniabat. Serniabat, his daughter Baby, son Arif Serniabat, grandson Sukanta Babu, his elder brother’s son Sajeeb Serniabat and a relative, Abdul Naim Khan, were killed in the attack.

Bangabandhu’s two daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, survived because they were in Brussels, Belgium, at the time. Twenty-one years after the assassination, the Awami League returned to power in 1996 under Sheikh Hasina’s leadership. The trial of Bangabandhu’s killers subsequently began, while August 15 was declared National Mourning Day and a public holiday.

On November 8, 1998, a court sentenced 15 people to death in the Bangabandhu murder case. A higher court later upheld the death sentences of 12 defendants. According to the source, six of those sentences have since been executed. One convict died abroad, while five remain fugitives.

The Awami League again returned to power in 2009 under Sheikh Hasina. During its nearly 15-and-a-half years in office, the party observed month-long programmes around August 15 and the August 21 grenade attack. August 15 observances included paying tribute at Bangabandhu’s portrait at Dhanmondi 32 and at his grave in Tungipara, Gopalganj.

Following the July mass uprising in 2024, Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule ended. In the changed political circumstances, August 15 is no longer a public holiday. The holiday was cancelled in 2024. On August 5, 2024, the day of the mass uprising, Bangabandhu’s residence at Dhanmondi 32 was set on fire and vandalised. Six months later, the house was attacked again and demolished.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman emerged as a leading political figure in the late 1960s, rising above other prominent politicians through his leadership. After years of nationalist political struggle, he became the undisputed leader of Bangladesh’s independence movement.

On March 7, 1971, his speech at the then Ramna Racecourse Maidan, now Suhrawardy Udyan, inspired freedom fighters during the Liberation War. Addressing a gathering of millions that day, Bangabandhu said: “The struggle this time is the struggle for our emancipation, the struggle this time is the struggle for independence.”