Morning News
16th March 1969
Spontaneous welcome to Mujib: Plane ‘gheraoed’
(Our Staff Reporter)
Dhaka witnessed one of the biggest and spontaneous welcome over accorded to a leader when thousands of people converged on the Dacca airport to greet Sheikh Mujibur Rahman last evening on his return from Rawalpindi after attending the Round Table Conference.
Around a lakh of enthusiastic slogan-chanting and banner- waving people thronged almost all parts of the airport including the apron, tarmac and runway to demonstrate their love for “Bangabondhu”.
As the PIA Boeing hovered overhead minutes before landing a boisterous scene was witnessed as the airport resounded with the deafening slogans of “Bangabondhu Zindabad”, “Awami League Zindabad”, “11-point Zindabad”, and “Six-Point Zindabad”. The restless crowd eager to a have glimpse of their leader kept up the tempo of the reception with various kinds of slogans.
Yesterday’s reception at the airport only matched the jubilation and determination of the people demonstrated on the occasion of his release from military detention after withdrawal of the case state vs Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and others.
JAMPACKED
As the entire apron, tarmac and part of the runway was jampacked by the enthusiastic crowd which had ignored all the normal restrictions at the airport the plane crawled to a halt almost a mile away from the tarmac to enable Sheikh Saheb to alight from the plane and board an open truck.
The plane carrying the leader landed at the airport at 5-50 p.m. as scheduled. Sheikh Saheb wearing his usual prince coat before alighting from the plane enthusiastically waved to the people standing at the runway. He along with some of his partymen and student leaders mounted an open truck fitted with microphone and amidst the slogan chanting crowd proceeded towards the terminal building. The truck carrying the leader moved at a snail’s space with the giant plane closely following with the remaining passengers still on board.
The Awami League leader went on waving his hands in acknowledgement of the people’s jubilation. Against the background of the thunderous cheers the setting sun and showering of bouquets and flower petals the truck stopped a few yards from the main tarmac. The plane also halted. Sheikh Saheb directed the people with his hand to clear the runway and make space for the movement of the plane. The people immediately responded to him and the plane reaching its destination only a few yards from Sheikh Sabeb’s truck came to a quiet halt.
A part of the crowd raising slogans in favour of the unity of Awami League and National Awami Party (Requisitionist) broke away to receive the EPNAP chief Mr. Mozaffar Ahmed who had also come by the same plane. They garlanded Mr. Muzaffar and in a procession brought him near the truck carrying Awami League leader. He mounted on another truck and came out of the airport area in the main procession.
From the airport Sheikh Saheb was taken in the city in a giant procession. People all along the long route lined up at many places in 10-man deep to join in the historic reception to their leader. As the procession with Sheikh Saheb standing in an open truck followed by Mr. Muzaffar Ahmed in another truck passed by the route people lustily cheered them. Many others standing in the balconies of the roadside buildings showered flower petals on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The Awami League leader at the head of a huge procession came to the mazars of three great leaders inside the High Court premises. He offered fateha and later visited the Shaheed Minar.
Earlier long before the arrival of the plane thousands of people came to the airport in small and big processions. Truck loads of people from various industrial areas had also come to the airport to give a big hand to the leader. Big contingent of the students with some leaders of the All-Party Action Committee was also there at the airport to greet the leader.
PLANE GHERAOED
After Sheikh Mujibur Rahman moved out of the airport a station of the crowd gheraoed the giant PIA plane in search of four East Pakistan leaders-Moulvi Farid Ahmed, Mr. Hamidul Huq Choudhury, Mr. Abdus Salam Khan and Prof Gholam Azam. The angry mob who wanted to question these leaders on their role at the Round Table Conference virtually ransacked the plane. They raised slogans against Moulvi Farid Ahmed, Mr. Salam Khan, Mr. Hamidul Huq Choudhury and Prof Gholam Azam.
The crowd searched the plane and got down only after being completely sure that the four leaders were not on board the PIA jet. After the crowd lifted the gherao the passengers alighted from the plane.
The Awami League delegation to the DAC and RTC also arrived by the same plane. The members were Syed Nazrul Islam, A. H. M. Kammaruzzaman, Khondokar Mushtaq Ahmed, Mollah Jalaluddin Ahmed, Prof. Yousuf Ali, and Mr. A.B.M. Nurul Islam.
সুত্র: সংবাদপত্রে বঙ্গবন্ধু: পঞ্চম খণ্ড ॥ ষাটের দশক ॥ চতুর্থ পর্ব ॥ ১৯৬৯