Friday (10 January) marks the historic Homecoming Day of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
On this day in 1972, Bangabandhu returned to a liberated Bangladesh via London and New Delhi, following 290 days of confinement in a Pakistani prison.
Pakistan army had arrested him from his residence in Dhanmondi on the night of 25 March 1971, and sent him to a jail in West Pakistan the following day.
During his imprisonment, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman counted the days to the execution of a death sentence handed to him in a farcical trial.
At a news conference in London, he emotionally recounted his ordeal: "I was a prisoner in the condemned cell awaiting hanging. From the day I went to jail, I did not know whether I would live or die. I was mentally prepared for death, but I knew Bangladesh would be liberated."
Upon his arrival at Dhaka's Tejgaon airport in the afternoon of 10 January, Bangabandhu was greeted by tens of thousands of jubilant people who had eagerly awaited for him following the country's victory on 16 December 1971.
From the airport, he was escorted to the Racecourse Maidan (now Suhrawardy Udyan), where he addressed a spontaneous reception.
Two days later, on 12 January Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took the oath of office as the prime minister of Bangladesh.
Awami League, in a statement posted on its official Facebook page on Wednesday (8 January), announced that it would observe the Homecoming Day by placing wreaths at Bangabandhu's portrait in front of Bangabandhu Bhaban in Dhanmondi.
Additionally, the party will place wreaths at his grave in Tungipara, arrange discussions, and distribute food and warm clothing among the destitute.
However, the statement did not specify the venue for the discussions.
The party has also urged its front and associate bodies to organise similar programmes to commemorate the day in a fitting manner.
