Prime Minister of Bangladesh I CONVEY my heartiest greetings to my countrymen as well as to all expatriate Banglees on the occasion of the great Independence and National Day of Bangladesh. The March 26 is the day of earning self-identity of our nation. It's the day of breaking the shackles of subjugation. On the eve of the Independence, I recall with deep gratitude the greatest Bangalee of all time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, under whose dynamic leadership we earned our great independence. I pray my deep homage to the 3 million martyrs and 200 thousand women who lost their innocence in the War of Liberation. I also pay my tributes to four national leaders who led the War of Liberation. My homage goes to the valiant freedom fighters, including the wounded ones. I extend my sympathies to those who had lost their near and dear ones, and were subjected to brutal torture during the war. I recall with gratitude our foreign friends who had extended their whole-hearted support and cooperation for the cause of our liberation. The occupation forces launched sudden attack and started killing innocent and unarmed Bangalees on the black night of the March 25, 1971. The Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman proclaimed the independence of Bangladesh at the first hour of the March 26, 1971. Bangabandhu's proclamation was spread all over the country through telegrams, teleprinters and EPR wireless. The international media also had circulated Bangabandhu's proclamation of independence. Earlier, Bangabandhu in his March 7 historic address at the Suhrawardy Udyan, made a fervent call of independence. He said, "The struggle of this time is for freedom, the struggle for this time is for our independence." He instructed the Bangalee nation to resist the enemies. Under the brave and dauntless leadership of Bangabandhu, we earned the ultimate victory on the December 16, 1971 after a 9-month bloody war. The independence earned through supreme sacrifices of millions of people is the greatest achievement of Bangalee nation. To ensure that this achievement remains meaningful, all should know the history of our great liberation war and retain the spirit of independence. The history should be passed on to generation to generations. Whenever Bangladesh Awami League formed government, it remained committed to developing the country and the nation upholding the spirit of our great independence and freedom struggle. During the last 7 years, we have implemented vast development programs in all sectors, including agriculture, education, health, law and order, information technology, energy and power, communications, sports, foreign relations, urban and rural development, human development, social safety-net and women development. As a result, our purchasing capacity, per capita income, foreign currency reserve, export, investment and employment have multiplied many folds. Bangladesh has emerged as a role model of development. Various countries and organizations, including the UN, have lauded Bangladesh and honored. We have executed the verdict of the killing case of Bangabandhu and most of his family members. The verdicts of cases against those who committed crimes against humanity are also being executed. The defeated anti-liberation, communal forces are still engaged in undoing the democratic and development process of the country. On this auspicious day, I urge the countrymen to foil any plot of the evil-forces together. We are committed to reaching the fruits of the independence to every nook and cranny. Our target is to turn Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021, and a developed and prosperous one by 2041. We have been striving hard to accomplish the target. I hope that all citizens of our country would engage themselves with their utmost sincerity, honesty and dedication to build Bangladesh as a peaceful, non-communal, developed and prosperous country and help place it on a prestigious position in the comity of nations. Let us take a fresh vow to build a Golden Bangla as dreamt by the Father of the Nation being imbued with the spirit of the war of liberation. Joi Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu May Bangladesh Live Forever.
