National Mourning Day (Bangladesh)

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National Mourning Day
Bangabandhu Monument at in front of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, Dhanmondi, Dhaka
Observed byBangladesh
Liturgical colorBlack
SignificanceTo honour the people died during Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Date15 August
First time15 August 1976 (48 years ago) (1976-08-15)
15 August 1996 (Officially)
Last time15 August 2023 (Officially)

National Mourning Day of Bangladesh is a commemorative and former public holiday in Bangladesh.[1] Before 2024, on 15 August of every year, the day is observed with mourning.[2][3] The day is also observed officially and nationally during the government led by Awami League.[4][5]

History

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Main articles: Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 15 August 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état

On 15 August 1975, the first president of independent Bangladesh and the "father of the nation" who is also called "Bangabandhu," Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed by a group of army personnel, along with his family at his house in Dhanmondi in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. Besides him, his wife Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib was killed that day. Besides, 16 more people were killed along with their family members and relatives.[6]

In 1996,[7] Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's daughter, bypassed her parliament and promulgated the national day of remembrance by decree. The ordinance was later ratified by her parliament in a bill.[8] When the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) came to power in 2001, they reversed the bill. Awami League (AL) stalwarts continued to observe the anniversary, but without government recognition. In 2008, the caretaker government reintroduced the holiday.[7] Sociologist Hasanuzzaman Chowdhury wrote that Khaleda Zia, leader of the BNP and former prime minister, shifted the observance of her birthday to 15 August to defy the AL and mock the commemoration.[9]

On 13 August 2024, the interim government of Muhammad Yunus lastly cancelled the holiday[10] and its observation[11] following consultations with various political parties.[12] Prior to that, student organisations that had spearheaded the 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement and the 2024 Non-cooperation movement that toppled Sheikh Hasina from power had criticised the event as having become "a political and cultural symbol of Awami League".[13]

Past Activities

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The government had made it obligatory for schools and other public institutions to observe the holiday, and granted universities funds to organize events on the day.[7]

Government officials and Awami League supporters commemorated the day by laying wreaths, making speeches, and attending special prayers. Anthropologist Mascha Schultz has described a striking absence of the general public, those not involved in politics or compelled to attend, from commemoration events.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "August 15 public holiday canceled". Dhaka Tribune. 13 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Govt cancels eight national days, including Mar 7, Aug 15". bdnews24.com. 16 October 2024.
  3. ^ "৭ মার্চসহ আটটি জাতীয় দিবস বাতিল করে আদেশ জারি". Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 16 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Public holiday on 15 Aug cancelled". daily-sun. August 2024.
  5. ^ "Today is national mourning day". Bangla Tribune (in Bengali). Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Bangladesh Coup: A Day of Killings". The New York Times. 23 August 1975.
  7. ^ a b c Schulz, Mascha (2019). "Performing the Party. National Holiday Events and Politics at a Public University Campus in Bangladesh". South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal. 22 (22): 6–7. doi:10.4000/samaj.6508. hdl:21.11116/0000-0007-ADDE-D. S2CID 226813253.
  8. ^ Moniruzzaman, M. (February 2009). "Parliamentary Democracy in Bangladesh: An Evaluation of the Parliament during 1991–2006". Commonwealth & Comparative Politics. 47 (1): 104–105. doi:10.1080/14662040802659017. S2CID 67779420.
  9. ^ Chowdhury, Hasanuzzaman (September 2011). "Revisiting Globalisation: Perspective Bangladesh". India Quarterly. 67 (3): 253. doi:10.1177/097492841106700304. S2CID 156640928.
  10. ^ "Public holiday on August 15 cancelled". banglanews24.com (in Bengali). 13 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Public holiday on 15 August scrapped". The Business Standard. 13 August 2024. Archived from the original on 13 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Govt cancels general holiday on 15 August". Prothom Alo. 13 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Student leaders decide against observing August 15 as National Mourning Day". Dhaka Tribune. 13 August 2024.
  14. ^ Schulz, Mascha (2019). "Performing the Party. National Holiday Events and Politics at a Public University Campus in Bangladesh". South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal. 22 (22): 11–13. doi:10.4000/samaj.6508. hdl:21.11116/0000-0007-ADDE-D. S2CID 226813253.
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