Awaiting Her Triumphant Return

She is the one who once gave Bangladesh its dream and Bangladesh, in turn, dreamt through her.

When the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was murdered along with his family, the reactionary forces sought to bury the dream of 1971. But it was under her leadership - Sheikh Hasina - that Bangladesh rose from that darkness.

For more than four decades, she has stood at the center of Bangladesh’s politics. The nation’s every meaningful achievement - its progress, its pride, its place in the world - has been carried forward by her hands.

In 1981, when the country lay crushed beneath the boots of dictatorship, she returned, fearless, to liberate democracy. Since then, her journey has been one of sacrifice and unyielding struggle. She cleared the stones from the people’s path, built the foundation of democracy with her blood and courage.

And yet, that sacred foundation is once again under siege. Today, she is forced into exile.

History tells us: though the enemies of liberation were defeated in 1971, they never ceased seeking revenge. They struck in 1975. They conspired again and again. And now, Yunus presses his own “reset button,” erasing the past to write a false new history.

But it was Sheikh Hasina - the worthy daughter of Bangabandhu - who guided the nation through its darkest hours, rebuilt the Awami League, restored Bangladesh’s honor on the global stage. This latest conspiracy, too, will not last. The blood of three million martyrs will not be betrayed.

The enemies of independence cannot bear Sheikh Hasina, nor the party she leads, nor the Bangladesh born of sacrifice. That is why they tried to kill her - at Chittagong, at Kotalipara, and in the grenade carnage of August 21, 2004. Every time, they were defeated by the people’s love for her. And still, they plot. The latest assault came in August 2024.

But she has always stood tall. Neither false cases, nor prison walls, nor military boots could break her resolve. Her courage under the “1/11” regime proved that conspiracies, however “meticulously designed,” will dissolve like smoke.

She is, in truth, the daughter of immortality - guided by the creed of service, rooted in Rabindranath’s vision of humanity. She has dedicated her present to the nation’s future. She has given up the comfort of family, of home, to walk with her people. The people, in turn, have given her their eternal trust.

Today, once again, she is the target of a grand conspiracy. Because she refused to sell St. Martin’s Island, refused to hand over Chittagong Port, refused to gift away the Bay of Bengal’s riches - global powers have aligned against her. Yunus now delivers what she denied, signing away the nation in secret deals.

But let there be no mistake: as long as Sheikh Hasina lives, as long as the soldiers of Bangabandhu breathe - Bangladesh will never be sold. Not one inch of its soil will be surrendered to foreign powers.

She will return. Drawn by the soil, by the love of her people - she will return. And those who conspired will be the ones to flee.

She is the architect of Bangladesh’s progress, the embodiment of its people’s hope, the eternal symbol of their trust. On her birthday, we bow in reverence. May she live long.

M. Nazrul Islam: President of the All-European Awami League