COLOMBO: Sheikh Russel Day was observed at the Bangladesh High Commission here on Wednesday, on October 17 in a befitting manner coinciding with the 60th birthday of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s youngest son Shaheed Sheikh Russel.
Tareq Mohammed Ariful Islam distributed gifts among children and gave away awards to winners of the various Quiz Contests. In memory of Sheikh Russel , the envoy cut a cake with the children as a mark of respect for the Late Russel.
Russel, also the youngest brother of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was born on October 18, 1964, at the historic Bangabandhu Bhaban at Dhanmondi road number 32 in the capital.
But he was brutally assassinated along with most of his family members, including his father Bangabandhu, on August 15, 1975, when he was a student of class four at University Laboratory School.
The day was observed at Bangladesh missions abroad while different TV channels aired special programs highlighting the significance of the day on Wednesday.
Sheikh Russel was named after Bangabandhu’s favorite writer, renowned philosopher and Noble laureate Bertrand Russel, by Bangabandhu himself and Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib.
Very active and playful from a very early age, Russel was the light of the family. However, he had to face the harsh cruelty of life from the age of one and a half, when he had to visit Dhaka Central Jail and Dhaka Cantonment just to meet his beloved father.
From cruelty, life soon became merciless. In 1971, he himself became an inmate of Dhaka Central Jail, just at the age of seven.
Youngest of the family, his world revolved around his father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, mother Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, sisters Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana and brothers Sheikh Kamal and Sheikh Jamal.
Russel was assassinated along with his family members in a domestic and foreign conspiracy on the night of 15 August, 1975. He was then only a student in grade 4 at University Laboratory School.
Sheikh Hasina in her book titled “Amader Choto Russel Shona” wrote: “Tensions loomed before Russel’s birth. Kamal, Jamal, Rehana, Khoka uncle and I, were at home. Ma was with Boro Fupu and Mejo Fupu (paternal aunts). A doctor and a nurse came along with. Time seemed to have stopped. Jamal and Rehana kept on falling asleep only to wake up again. We stayed awake the entire night to welcome the youngest member of the family. Mejo Fupu came out with the news. We had a baby brother. Our joys knew no bounds. We couldn’t wait to see our baby brother. Mejo Fupu said she would call. Soon our wait came to an end. Boro Fupu placed him in my lap. A head full of thick black hair, fluffy fluffy cheeks, Russel was quite the healthy child.”