Born in an illustrious family enriched with educational and socio-cultural background, Sheikh Hasina illuminated the house of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Fazilatunnessa Mujib on the 28th September, 1947. She is the eldest of the five children of the Sheikh Family in Bangladesh. Emerged as the saviour of the Bengali nation which had been thrown into a quagmire immediately after the 15-August tragedy in 1975 when the Bangabandhu was brutally killed by the forces defeated in the war of liberation in 1971, she had to take the helm of the state as her father took it earlier.
Uncompromising patriotism and total dedication to the cause of humanity makes her champion of achieving the lost glory of the country. Her early life was not a bed of roses. More than a decade of jail and political persecution by the autocratic government of Pakistan put her father’s life term oiling and difficult. And for obvious reasons, the family was rotating with the political condition of her father. Being amazingly resilient to the odds and obstacles, Sheikh Hasina grew up and learnt the lessons in politics as she was involved with the country’s political situation since her younger days. She had the opportunity to see for herself the rise and triumph of her father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib and experienced how politics can be tough for the people and the country. She also saw herself the election victory in 1970 and the Liberation War in 1971 led in the name of the Bangabandhu and the sacrifice of millions of martyrs. Finally, she experienced and felt the sorrows and pangs and at the same time enjoyed the victory of the16th December.
Since its inception in 1971, Bangladesh has long been lagging behind the expected goals of development as the anti-democracy and anti-liberation forces killed the Bangabandhu in 1975 and as a result, the country was pushed to total disarray and destruction. The country had lost its direction to progress and prosperity, and the path of development, which was urgently needed for a war-ravaged country to rebuild its roads, highways and infrastructures. But it didn’t happen as it ought to have been, because the killers had been constantly busy giving legalities to their illegal power instead of following the path of development.
A turning point starts in her life when Sheikh Hasina was made president of the Bangladesh Awami League. The chief of the Awami League was none other than her father, the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib, in whose name the War of Liberation was conducted and the Bengalis achieved victory.
She became the chief of Awami League at a time when a wide-ranging intra-party feud had thrown the party in shambles in absence of the Bangabandhu. Sheikh Hasina had emerged as a symbol of unity at a critical juncture of the party. She had started a nationwide tour and within a year or two she had managed to get all the bickering and embattled groups and their leaders and activists united. She had launched a nationwide movement against the then autocratic and military governments to achieve democratic rights. After a long struggle, she was successful. In the 1996 election held under a caretaker government, the Awami League under Sheikh Hasina won a landslide victory and formed government. That government had taken a lot of pro-people programmes, but due to the discontinuation of that government, those projects and programmes were abandoned by a government ran by generals and the widow of a general. When Sheikh Hasina came to power again in 2009, she got the opportunity to get those development projects and programmes implemented. A tremendous economic success was visible during the last decade and it was possible due to the continuation of the government of Sheikh Hasina.
Sheikh Hasina brought about light in our life, gradually leading us to a life of glory. Driving out myriads of monumental obstacles, she heralded the brightest dawn for our beloved Bangladesh in the global community, particularly by dint of her intellect, in just a decade. It is no denying the fact that Sheikh Hasina is born to do something great for her birthplace and for the planet as well. And that’s why the birth of Sheikh Hasina was a gift for the nation.
In retrospection, widespread corruption and terrorism were let loose by the then military rulers to perpetuate their illegal power. The whole nation plunged into turmoil and unprecedented chaos and conflict. At that crucial hour, Bangabandhu’s daughter Sheikh Hasina, who is the present Prime Minister, returned home from exile and started a popular movement against the illegal rule of General Ziaur Rahman and General HM Ershad. After a long struggle, Sheikh Hasina was voted to power with an overwhelming majority. From day one of her assuming office in January 2009, she has been fighting a new battle in a new reality. But she could muster popular support and attain success in achieving the country's expected goals set by the Father of the Nation.
A long time elapsed, but not a visible development occurred. When Sheikh Hasina came to power she took quite a number of development projects and put the country on a development highway. Bangladesh is now moving forward under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and it is really safe in the hands of Sheikh Hasina.
The Awami League government made substantial progress in the country’s economic development over the decade and it happened because of her timely taken decision and it is also widely recognised that her dynamic leadership helped people from all walks of life to be united and engaged in a nation-building work. Bangladesh is now on a development superhighway. The people of Bangladesh can be rest assured that so long Sheikh Hasina will be in power, the country will continue to develop and its targeted goals will certainly be achieved before the stipulated time. It is a great success of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that Europe, America, the UK, Russia, Japan, China and India are now equally interested in working with Bangladesh as its development partners. They have extended their helping hands to contribute to the Bangladesh economy. Though Bangladesh, under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, maintains a best-ever relationship (written with the martyrs' blood) with India.
It is to be noted that we the common people don’t understand the real complexity of running the government. There are so many conditions in obtaining financial help from the donor agencies including the World Bank and the IMF. For a third world nation, it is quite difficult to satisfy them and gain their support in getting the expected loans. Bangladesh is also no exception. But we have our visionary leader Sheikh Hasina, who knows how to handle the situation and how to have a maximum benefit of domestic and international funds. Bangladesh is blessed with a great leader like Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib. We all pray to the Almighty on her 75th birth day so that she get a long and healthy life.
