"Bangladesh has entered its 51st year after the golden jubilee of independence,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in a message.
“I remember with most profound respect the greatest Bengali of all time, the great architect of Bangladesh, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, under whose firm and far-sighted leadership we got an independent state.
“I remember the four national leaders who steered the liberation war. The debt of the three million martyrs of the liberation war and the self-sacrifice of 200,000 mothers and sisters will never be repaid. I pay my deep respects to all the fearless freedom fighters, including the war-wounded.
“After a long nine month struggle, independent sovereign Bangladesh was liberated on December 16. President Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returned to his beloved motherland on January 10, 1972 and devoted himself to rebuilding the war-torn country.
“With the help of allies he rehabilitated the displaced people, restored and developed the infrastructure and put the production sector and the economy on a solid foundation.
“He approved a constitution within nine months of independence. Bangladesh gained recognition from 116 countries and membership in 27 international organisations through his diplomatic efforts.
“Bangladesh Awami League won the people’s mandate in 1996 and got the responsibility of running the government.
“We took on the mission of changing the lives of the poor and marginalised people by introducing social security programmes and made the country self-sufficient in food production.
“We set up community clinics to provide primary healthcare, built houses for the homeless and strengthened the local government system.
“We made mobile phones and computer technology readily available. In 1996, we signed a 30-year Ganges water-sharing agreement with India. To establish peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, we signed the historic peace agreement in 1997 and repatriated the Chakma refugees who had taken refuge in India to Bangladesh.
“On March 8, 1997, we announced the women’s development policy and established the independence of the judiciary, the rule of law and human rights.
“Bangladesh Awami League has been running the government since 2008 with the people’s unwavering support in all the national elections. We transformed Bangladesh into a developing country by implementing Vision 2021, created digital Bangladesh, and brought 100 per cent of people under electricity coverage.
“We launched the Bangabandhu-1 satellite in space. In response to the pandemic, we formulated a budget focusing on the people’s livelihood, and gave an incentive of $22.08 billion to keep the economy afloat. Despite the pandemic situation, we have achieved economic growth of 6.94 per cent.
“In Mujib Year, we provided 1,17,329 landless and homeless people with semi-permanent houses and another 54,551 homes are under construction for transfer. Our current per capita income is $2,591.
“We formulated the Second Perspective Plan, Vision-2041, for the next 20 years and have started implementing it under the 8th Five Year Plan. We are implementing ‘Bangladesh Delta Plan- 2100’. I firmly believe that Bangladesh will soon emerge as a developed and prosperous state on the world map if we continue the pace of development that we have created in the country.
“On this auspicious occasion, I call upon all Bangladeshis to participate in building the hunger-poverty-free, self-confident and self-respecting ‘Golden Bangladesh’ of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s dreams.
“Joi Bangla, Joi Bangabandhu. May Bangladesh Live Forever.”
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