In 1757, the last sun of Bengal's independence had set in mango gorove of Palassy. After 214, on April 17, 1971, the sun of Bengal rose at Baidyanathtala or Mujibnagar Amrakanan, 70 km away from Palassy.
Today 17th April is historical Mujibnagar Day. An unforgettable day in the history of freedom struggle and liberation war of Bangladesh. On this day in 1971, the first government of independent Bangladesh was sworn in at Amrakanan in Baidyanathala, then Meherpur sub-division. It may be mentioned that the Declaration of Independence of Bangladesh was approved on April 10.
On the occasion of the day, Bangladesh Awami League, Ministry of Liberation War Affairs and Meherpur District Administration have taken various programs.
Public Administration Minister and Meherpeur District Awami League President Farhad Hossain said that April 17 is a memorable day in the long journey of Bengali freedom struggle. By celebrating the historic Mujibnagar Day, the current generation will know the true history of the Liberation War and will be motivated by patriotism and contribute to the formation of Bangabandhu's dream of 'Golden Bengal'.
It is known that after the barbaric massacre of unarmed Bengalis on the night of March 25, 1971, the senior leaders of Awami League gathered for the purpose of forming the provisional government of Bangladesh. The need to speed up the war and form a government to garner international support was unanimously approved. In the general election of 1970, the Awami League won a landslide victory in East Pakistan. Bangabandhu's close associates decided to form a government on April 10 with the elected representatives of this election.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was imprisoned in Pakistan, as the President of Bangladesh. It was further decided that Syed Nazrul Islam would be the Vice-President, who would act as the interim President in Bangabandhu's absence. Tajuddin Ahmad will serve as the prime minister of the wartime government. Late that night (April 11) a recorded speech of Tajuddin Ahmad as Prime Minister was broadcast over a secret radio station from an undisclosed location in West Bengal. Through this radio address, the government of Bangladesh officially made its debut in front of the world. The formal announcement and swearing-in ceremony of the Provisional Government was scheduled to take place on 14 April 1971, in Chuadanga. But that secret decision was leaked to the press. As a result, Pakistani troops bombarded the place heavily. And that plan was destroyed.
Acting President Syed Nazrul Islam was given a guard of honor at the swearing-in ceremony in Mujibnagar. Of the 12 who gave the guard of honour, only 2 Ansar members are alive.
Due to the delay in the arrival of Major Abu Usman Chowdhury, Captain Mahbub Uddin Ahmed along with a small group of EPR, Ansar provided a guard of honor to the leaders.
At the end of the guard of honor, Syed Nazrul Islam hoisted the national flag of Bangladesh with the performance of the national anthem by local artists. The official program started with Quran recitation by Baker Ali and Bible reading by Pintu Biswas of Bhabarpara village.
After that, Awami League Chief Whip Professor Md. Yusuf Ali read the Declaration of Independence of the People's Republic of Bangladesh standing in front of thousands of freedom-seeking people and hundreds of local and foreign journalists on the free land of Bengal.
On the authority given in the historic Declaration of Independence, Chief Whip Professor Yusuf Ali administered the oath to Syed Nazrul Islam as Acting President in the absence of the Head of State, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
He then announced the name of Tajuddin Ahmed as the Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh and in consultation with the Prime Minister introduced and administered the oath to the members of the Council of Ministers Khandaker Mushtaq Ahmad as Minister of Law, Parliament and Foreign Affairs, AHM Kamruzzaman as Minister of Home Affairs and Captain M Mansoor Ali as Minister of Finance.
According to the decision of the Cabinet, Col. MAG Osmani was announced as the Commander-in-Chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces and Col. Abdur Rab as the Chief of Staff of the Army. Then Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed delivered a 30-minute rousing speech in front of all present.
He said that Baidyanathtala will be the capital of independent Bangladesh from today and its new name will be Mujibnagar. He appealed to the world for recognition of the new state and military aid. Baidyanathtala is known as Mujibnagar from that day.
Major Abu Usman Chowdhury presented the guard of honor to the interim president when the leaders came down from the stage after the speech and oath-taking. Mujibnagar's Amrakanan was resounded with the cheers of the present crowd. All in all, the program was over in a couple of hours.
Under the leadership of the Mujibnagar government, the independence of Bengal was achieved after the war of 9 months in exchange for the blood of lakhs of martyrs. Independent sovereign Bangladesh has placed itself on the world map.