Mass Uprising Day today

The historic Mass Uprising Day, commemorating the 1969's movement for autonomy from the then East Pakistan that eventually led to the Liberation War and the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971, will be observed today in a befitting manner.

On January 24, 1969 Matiur Rahman Mallik, a class IX student of the Nabakumar Institution, and Rustam Ali, a rickshaw-puller, were killed in a police firing on demonstrators in Dhaka as Pakistani rulers desperately tried to suppress the popular uprising.

The killings spread intense protests across the country that eventually saw the fall of the autocrat Ayub regime.

It is said that the day teaches Bangladeshis the values of democracy and protest against oppression.

Different political and socio-cultural organisations have taken separate programmes in observance of the day. Awami League will place wreaths at Shaheed Matiur Rahman Smiriti Saudha at Nabakumar Institute at 10:00am today.

President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have issued separate messages, expressing profound respect for those who had embraced martyrdom in the historic movement in 1969.

"The January 24 of 1969 is a historic day in the progress of independence and democracy of Bangladesh," the President said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called upon all, irrespective of party affiliations, to work together for building a modern, developed and prosperous nation dreamt by Father of the Nation.