Bangladesh has celebrated the 25th September – the day of historical significance in a befitting manner. On this day in 1974, nearly 46 years ago, the Father of our Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered the maiden speech in the United Nations General Assembly.
That speech is hailed as one of the greatest speeches by a great Statesman in which he highlighted nearly 27 issues.
“His speech was futuristic and forward-leaning; many of the issues that Bangabandhu raised are still relevant and being debated at the UN,” foreign minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said.
“For example, hunger, poverty and unemployment, food security and healthcare, ensuring justice, peace, security, discrimination owing to race, color, ethnicity and religion, fear of nuclear wars, restructuring of international financial and economic order, equitable sharing of resources and technology, inclusivity, right of self-determination, injustice and oppression, natural disasters, income inequality and deprivation, human solidarity, human rights, international amity and understanding, literacy, disease, non-alignment, reconciliation, good neighborly relations, spirit of fair play, welfare of people, belief in the UN and its UN Charter, UN as a catalytic agent of human growth and up liftman, balance of payments gap, indomitable spirit of men and women, international cooperation and partnership, etc.
“His speech highlighted the aspirations of the oppressed people of the world including Bangladesh,” he said while addressing an event in commemoration of the historic maiden speech delivered by Bangabandhu at the UN General Assembly on Friday.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina joined the event virtually as the chief guest.
“He (Bangabandhu) eloquently stated and I quote, “Peace is an imperative for the survival of mankind. It represents the deepest aspirations of men and women throughout the world. Peace to endure, however, must be based upon justice” unquote.
“Thus in his maiden speech at the UN, he boldly introduced Bangladesh as an independent and peace-loving country,” the foreign minister said.
“No wonder, today, Bangladesh is a brand name of UN Peacekeeping serving over 54 Missions out of its total of 59 Operations, and nearly a total of 163,181 Bangladesh men and women served the UN Peacekeeping with honor and dignity. Not only that.
“To end violence and wars, terror and tension, and to stop uprooting of persecuted people from their homes across nations, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, dynamic daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman spearheaded a UN Resolution known as “Culture of Peace” adopted by all 193 UN member states and it aims at achieving sustainable peace and stability across nations,” he said.
“Bangladesh ever since its membership to the UN has been actively serving the causes of humanity and justice with flying colors.”
“No wonder, the UN is proud of Bangladesh and its former Secretary General Ban Ki-moon termed it as a ‘model of economic development’, and a ‘star of women empowerment’. From the bottomless basket in the 1970s, it has become a land of opportunities, a vibrant economy.”
Bangladesh’s admission to the UN was not smooth at all.
“Although Bangladesh applied for the membership to the United Nations soon after its independence, we had to struggle for more than two years for final admission on 17th September 1974 as its 136th member,” Dr Momen said.
“And on 25th September 1974, Bangabandhu delivered his maiden speech at the UN and for the first time, he delivered his speech at the General Assembly in Bangla, the 7th largest native language of the world, our mother tongue, thus raising the international profile of Bangla as a global language.”
“No one ever did it before. He was truly a visionary and a charismatic leader.”