Upon setting foot on the soil of the independent country, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman addressed millions at Suhrawardy Udyan. Today, January 10, marks the Homecoming Day of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. During the entire Liberation War, Bangabandhu was imprisoned in Pakistan. While in custody, he was tried, and a death sentence was pronounced. However, repeated changes in decisions, coupled with concerns over the fate of West Pakistani citizens stranded in East Pakistan, forced Bhutto to step back at the last moment. On January 10, 1972, after traveling from Pakistan to London and then to Delhi, Bangabandhu finally returned to his homeland.
The Journey Home
On March 25, 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested by the Pakistani government. Before his arrest, he had declared the independence of Bangladesh. His process of return began on December 24, 1971. On the early morning of January 7, 1972, a plane carrying him departed from Pakistan for London. He arrived in London on January 8 and met British Prime Minister Edward Heath before departing for his homeland the next day. On his way, he made a brief stop in India and finally returned to Bangladesh on January 10, 1972.
Arrival in Dhaka
At 1:41 PM on January 10, Bangabandhu landed at Tejgaon Airport. Through a sea of victorious people, he made his way to Suhrawardy Udyan. However, questions remained about what transpired during his nine months of imprisonment. On January 16, 1972, Bangabandhu gave an interview to The New York Times journalist Sydney Schanberg, where he detailed his imprisonment. According to Schanberg, the Pakistani military encircled Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s residence at Dhanmondi 32 with continuous gunfire. Later, a major informed him of his arrest. Upon his request, he was given a few moments to bid farewell to his family. Initially, he was kept in a dirty, dark room in a school near the National Assembly building in Dhaka.
The Ordeal in Prison
The Pakistani military regime launched a farcical trial against him with 12 charges, six of which carried the death penalty. One of the charges was “waging war against Pakistan.” In his interview, Bangabandhu stated that the trial concluded on December 4, the same day the allied forces intensified their attack. As a result, the verdict could not be carried out, and the details remain uncertain.
After December 15, he was moved to an undisclosed location a few miles away and held there for nine days before being transferred to Rawalpindi. Schanberg quoted Bangabandhu as saying that Bhutto feared that killing Mujib would lead to the massacre of nearly 100,000 Pakistani soldiers stranded in Bangladesh. During the final negotiations, Bhutto proposed some form of relationship between the two provinces of Pakistan. Even a week after Bangladesh’s victory, Bhutto insisted that the two regions were still part of the same state under international law. On January 7, Bhutto met Bangabandhu for the third and final time. Unable to persuade him, Bhutto agreed to send him to London. On January 8, BBC World Service announced, “Bangladesh’s leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is arriving in London shortly. His flight is expected to land at Heathrow Airport soon.”
London-Delhi-Dhaka
Upon his arrival in London, Bangabandhu was greeted by British Foreign Office officials. He was still unaware of much of what had happened in his homeland and had not yet contacted his family. At a crowded press conference in the afternoon, he expressed his feelings, saying, “Not for a moment did I forget Bangladesh.” On the morning of January 9, he had a 30-minute telephone conversation with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who congratulated him and invited him to stop in Delhi on his way to Dhaka. He accepted the invitation.
Indian diplomat Shashank Shekhar Banerjee, who accompanied Bangabandhu on the flight from London, later recounted details of the journey. Upon boarding the plane, Bangabandhu greeted Banerjee, saying, “Banerjee, you’re here too!” Throughout the journey, he remained excited but worried about the dire situation back home, his family, and his comrades. Onboard, he also expressed a wish: “I want the Indian allied forces to return to India not in six months but within three months.”
In Delhi, President V.V. Giri welcomed Bangabandhu. From there, he finally returned to Dhaka on January 10 at 1:41 PM. Banerjee recalled another of Bangabandhu’s requests: “Before landing, the Comet aircraft should circle over the airport for some time.” For 45 minutes, the plane circled, giving Bangabandhu his first glimpse of an independent Bangladesh.