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Fifty

The Nation’s Children

The return of Bangabondu and the promise of a better tomorrow

The war had ended in December of 1971, and it had changed everything.

Nineteen Seventy Two

Nothing would be right until the leader of the Liberation War returned, and now people awaited anxiously. It wouldn’t be until a clear day in January of 1972 when their hopes were vindicated. Bangabondu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had returned, and when he stepped off the plane and was greeted by the crowds below, the rest of the world seemed to disappear around them.

Categories
Fifty

The Sun’s Daughter

Freedom, War, and the Birth of a Daughter from the Sun

Our house was called pothikabash: a haven for travellers. It was in Monipuri Para. The year was 1971; the month was March. I was nine months pregnant. My first daughter was on her way after three years of marriage.

Nineteen Seventy One

My husband, once active in politics, was still connected. Our family waited for him to come home at the end of the day. . “The country is on the brink of a war,” he whispered. The brutal Pakistani regime had tyrannised the Bengalis.

The 25th March was the night of darkness. But I think the sun rose on Bangladesh for first time that following morning.