Nation mourns its darkest chapter in history

Few can create history, and even fewer can create a nation. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman did both. Leaders, politicians, statesmen often err, but fate appeared to have been more than cruel in Bangabandhu's case, he never deserved to have been killed in such despicable manner. For Bangladesh, it has been its darkest chapter since independence.

Though Bangabandhu is no more, his deeds have made him immortal in the hearts of the common people. We pay our solemn homage to the Father of The Nation. His towering image has served as an eternal beacon. We have had bouts of military, semi-military and autocratic governments up until restoration of democracy in 1991.The return of AL in power after 21 years led to the annulment of the scandalous "Indemnity Ordinance"- holding back the trial of Bangabandhu's self-confessed assassins. With the trial and exemplary punishment of most of them, a demand for justice has been met. Even then, history has never recorded such brutal murder of a statesman along with his family members.

On this sad day, we are further saddened by the fact that the values that this great man stood for have been massively eroded both nationally as well as within the party in power. Bangladesh Awami League has been in power for the third consecutive term, and the manner in which it conducted itself, did little to positively reshape the politics and governance of our country. What we have seen over the long haul is a deterioration of ethics in politics, rampant abuse of power, vulgar competition of moneymaking and intolerance of political dissent. Corruption has also crept into the system. In all, the party that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman led to glories and a pride of place in the annals of the country, in many ways is left to look somewhat of a shadow of its former self.
As the nation mourns the unimaginable murder of its architect, it has been eleven years to the verdict and five of the Bangabandhu killers are still in hiding abroad. However, the government, in all its capabilities, is still trying to bring the perpetrators to justice. Nevertheless, Bangabandhu's legacy is a national asset and as such he must be kept above any sort of controversy. Surely he was human and not beyond errors, but his unique leadership and political struggle undeniably supersedes the flaws.

Last of all, it has been our relentless plea that we must collectively condemn a crime. Irrespective of our political affiliations, we must all treat evil as evil, and honour good as good. The late leader's dream was to create a country out of unity, not division. Yet, many may oppose Bangabandhu's numerable political decisions, methods of running state but on one count we must all unite, he was the architect of independent and sovereign Bangladesh.

Killing of him along with his family members but two was an unpardonable sin. Sadly, till this day, the joint unity in condemning such unforgivable act of crime is missing. Crime doesn't have a separate definition for separate political parties -- it stands same for all.