1920
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was born in the village of Tungipara under the then Gopalganj Subdivision (now District) of the then Faridpur District on March 17, 1920. His father Sheikh Lutfar Rahman and his mother Sheikh Sayera Khatun had four daughters and two sons. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was their third child. His parents used to adoringly call him “Khoka”.
1927
At the age of seven in 1927, Sheikh Mujib began his schooling at Gimadanga Primary School. At nine, he was admitted to class three at Gopalgonj Public School. Subsequently, he was admitted to Gopalgonj Missionary School. Before becoming active in student movements and politics, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had an affinity toward sports.
1932/1933
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman married Sheikh Fazilatunnesa (Renu). Together they had two daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, and three sons, Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russel.
1942
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman passed Matriculation examination from Gopalganj Missionary School. The same year he got himself admitted into the Islamia College (currently Maulana Azad College), Kolkata. From there he completed his graduation in the year 1947.
1943
In 1943, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was elected councillor of All India Muslim League from Bengal. He continued to serve admirably in this position till the partition of India in 1947.
1946
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was elected uncontested as the General Secretary of Islamia College Students Union. During the communal riots of Kolkata known as ‘The Great Calcutta Killing’ on August 16, 1946, he engaged himself in maintaining peace and communal harmony, saving lives of many a member of both Hindu and Muslim communities even at the risk of his own life.
1947
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman joined Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy’s move for a United Independent Bengal as a third free state along with India and Pakistan. However, the move was aborted and subsequently became the foundations of the Father of the Nation’s vision for an independent Bangladesh. Unlike many others, he did not rush into East Bengal (Pakistan) immediately after Partition, rather stayed over in Calcutta for a few weeks, joining Mahatma Gandhi’s Peace Mission along with his political mentor Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy.
1948
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took admission in the Department of Law at the University of Dhaka. He founded the East Pakistan Muslim Students’ League, the first opposition student organization in Pakistan on January 4. He rose in spontaneous
1949
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman extended his support to a movement of the Class 4 employees of the University of Dhaka aimed at realizing their rights and job security. He was arrested on April 19
1952
On January 26, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Khawaja Nazimuddin declared at a public meeting in the Paltan Maidan that Urdu would be the only state language of Pakistan.
1953
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was elected General Secretary of the Awami Muslim League at its council meeting and continued to gain prominence as a Bengali leader.
1954
The first elections in East Bengal were held on March 10. The United Front won 223 seats out of 237 Muslim reserved seats. The Awami League alone obtained 143 seats. Sheikh Mujib won the election.
1955
Under the leadership of the Party General Secretary Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Awami Muslim League was renamed as the Awami League by dropping the word ‘Muslim’ to open the doors of the party to all, regardless of religion. This decision was made at the council session of the party during October 21-23, 1955. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was once again elected as the General Secretary of the party in the Council.
1956
In September Sheikh Mujibur Rahman joined the provincial Awami League government headed by Khan Ataur Rahman as a minister. He remained in this position for 9 months only. Sheikh Mujib voluntarily resigned on May 30, 1957 from the Cabinet in order to continue as the General Secretary of the party to build the organization on a firm footing as a platform of the Bengalis.
1957
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was re-elected as the General Secretary of the Party at its council meeting held during June 13-14, 1957. From June 24 to July 13, he visited China on an official tour.
1958
On October 7, Major General Iskander Mirza took over power as President of the country imposing Martial Law and banning all political activities. Three weeks later he was toppled by the army chief General Ayub Khan and ousted him from the country. Meanwhile on October 11 Mujib was arrested. Thereafter, he was continuously harassed in false cases. He was released from prison after fourteen months but was arrested immediately at the jail gate.
1961
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was released from jail after the high court declared his detention unlawful. He set up an underground network called `Swadhin Bangla Biplobi Parishad’ (Revolutionary Council for Independent Bangladesh) comprising leading student leaders in order to work for the independence of Bangladesh.
1962
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was again arrested by the Ayub government on February 6, 1962. He was freed on June 18 following the withdrawal of the four-year-long martial law on June 2. He travelled to Lahore on September 24 and with Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and other opposition parties formed the National Democratic Front (NDF).
1964
On January 25, a special meeting of the party leaders including Presidents and Secretaries of the district committees was held at Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Dhanmondi 32 residence. In this meeting, the decision was taken to leave the National Democratic Front (NDF)
1965
The Pakistani government charged Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with sedition and for making a ‘so called’ objectionable statements. He was sentenced to one-year imprisonment and was released by an order of the high court.
1966
On February 5, 1966, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman presented his historic six-point programme known as the `charter of freedom of the Bengali nation’. It drew the roadmap for the independence of Bangladesh under the garb of greater autonomy.
1968
On January 3, the Ayub government filed a case, known as the ‘Agartala Conspiracy Case’ against a number of Bengalis (Politicians, members of the Army, Navy and Air Forces, Civil Servants etc) on the charge of treason. …
1969
The Agartala Conspiracy Case resulted in a nationwide student movement and mass upsurge demanding the withdrawal of the case and the release of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. With continued pressure from the public, the Ayub Khan government on February 22 was forced to withdraw.
1970
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Awami League President, urged his countrymen to elect Awami League candidates on the basis of the 6-point demand in the country’s first general elections held on December 7 (National Assembly), and December 17 Provincial Assembly.
1971
Following general Yahya khan’s postponement of the National Assembly session on March 1, 1971, only two days before the session was due to take place, every section of the Bengalis instantaneously came out onto the streets in massive demonstrations. The Bengalis’ aspirations for freedom reached an indomitable height. From March 1 onward Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was virtually running East Pakistan as its de-facto head of goverment.
1972
The Government of Pakistan was forced to release Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on January 8, under immense international pressure. On that very day, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman traveled to London on his way to Dhaka. There at a crowded press conference in his hotel in London, he spoke to the world press and on January 9, met the British Prime Minister, Edward Health.
1973
Led by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Awami League secured 293 seats out of 300 in the Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) in the first general elections held on March 7 in an independent Bangladesh and subsequently formed a new Government on the basis of the newly framed constitution. The World Peace Council awarded “Julio Curie” Peace Prize to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for his contribution to world peace on May 23. On September 6 Sheikh Mujib set off to Algeria to participate in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit Conference. On the sideline of the summit he had bilateral talks with the world leaders.
1974
Bangladesh received world recognition by becoming the 136th member of the United Nations on September 17. On September 25, at the 29th General Assembly of the United Nations, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman addressed the world in Bangla, the first ever Bangla speech delivered at the UN.
1975
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the architect of Bangladesh, was assassinated by a handful of army renegades as part of a larger national and international political conspiracy hatched by anti-liberation forces in the pre-dawn hours of August 15.