AGARTALA, March 17 (TIWN): Along with Bangladesh, he 97th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was also observed at Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner office in Agartala on Thursday with due respect.

As a part of the program, the Bangladesh national flag was hoisted at the Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner and floral tribute was paid to the portrait of Bangabbandhu.

On March 17 in 1920, the architect of the nation was born at Tungipara in Gopalganj district.

Through his dynamic leadership, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had organised the Bengali nation to fight against the exploitation and repression by Pakistani rulers that culminated in independent Bangladesh through nine months of war in 1971.

On August 15, 1975, the great leader of the land was assassinated along with most members of his family by a cabal of army men.

The day is observed as National Children’s Day in Bangladesh and is also a public holiday.

Thursday is the 97th birthday of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Since the resumption of state power in 1996, Awami League has been observing the day as the National Children's Day.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the founding leader of Bangladesh. He was the head of state (President) of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh and became the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in 1972. He is popularly referred to as Sheikh Mujib or simply Mujib, with the honorary title of Bangabandhu He is also known as the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh.

He studied in Islamia College (Calcutta) and University of Dhaka; and was a confidant of A. K. Fazlul Huq and H. S. Suhrawardy. As a student leader, he rose within the ranks of the Awami League as a charismatic and forceful orator. An advocate of socialism, he became popular for his opposition to the ethnic and institutional discrimination of Bengalis in the new state of Pakistan. At the heightening of sectional tensions in 1966, he outlined a six-point autonomy plan. He strongly opposed the military dictatorship of the West Pakistani Field Marshal Ayub Khan and was often jailed for his political beliefs.