The nation celebrates the 45th Victory Day today, commemorating its glorious victory in a nine month war against Pakistan occupation forces in 1971.
T
his year, Victory Day is going to be celebrated within one month into the executions of condemned war criminals Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed who were hanged for their war crimes in the early hours of November 22.
On this day in 1971, the chief of the Pakistani occupation forces, Gen AAK Niazi, along with his 93,000 Pakistani troops, surrendered at Ramna Racecourse, now Suhrawardy Udyan, in Dhaka following their miserable defeat to the joint forces of Mukti Bahini and Mitra Bahini.
In one of the heinous acts of genocide in human history, the Pakistan army and their local collaborators had launched a barbarous crackdown on March 25, 1971 in the erstwhile East Pakistan at midnight past, killing innocent and unarmed people.
The nation, under the leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, finally clinched independence on December 16 after the nine-month Liberation War. The day is a public holi-day.
Various political parties, socio-cultural organisations and educational institutions have chalked out elaborate programmes on the occasion.
The national flag will be hoisted atop all government and private buildings, while the government and semi-government buildings and other public places will be illuminated and roads and islands be deco-rated with flags and festoons in all cities of the country to mark the day.
Special prayers will be offered in mosques, temples, churches, pagodas and other places of worship seeking divine blessings for the peace and progress of the country.
President Abdul Hamid will place wreaths at the National Mausoleum at Savar at 6:34 am to pay trib-utes to the martyred freedom fighters.
A colourful parade will be held at the National Parade Square at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar at 10:30am. Pres-ident Abdul Hamid will take salute and inspect the parade as the chief guest.
The President will accord a reception to freedom fighters at Bangabhaban at 3:45 pm.
The ruling Awami League has also taken various programmes to mark the day. National and party flags will be hoisted at the party’s central office at Bangabandhu Avenue and other offices across the country at dawn.
Awami League leaders and workers will place wreaths at the National Mausoleum at Savar in the morn-ing. The ruling party leaders will also pay tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing wreaths at his portrait at Bangabnadhu Bhaban at Dhanmondi in the city in the morning.
Besides, the party leaders and workers will place wreaths at the grave of Bangabandhu at Tungipara in Gopalganj district. Awami League will also bring out a victory rally from Suhrawardy Udyan in the af-ternoon and hold a discussion at Krishibid Institution at 3pm.