Happy birthday Bangabandhu and St. Patrick!

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujubur Rahman.

By Richard Jones  

Today, March 17, is an auspicious occasion worldwide, but Bangladesh is luckier than most. Not only is it the 104th anniversary of Bangabandhu’s birth, but it’s also St. Patrick’s Day ¬– a double celebration!  

Bangladesh and Ireland have been spiritually entwined even before the nation’s birth in 1971. Under British rule Ireland, too, was once a suppressed nation and historians tell us Ireland provided guns, ammunition, and other assistance to help Bangladesh gain its independence in 1971.

St. Patrick banishing snakes from  Ireland

Both Bangabandhu and St. Patrick’s Day are without peers. Bangabandhu, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – Father of the Nation, and paternal father of the present Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina – gave his life for a nation yet to be born. 

On March 7 in 1971, his popularity skyrocketed to a new level, unprecedented in history, when he gave a mind-blowing speech at Dhaka Racecourse that inspired a revolution and triggered the birth of Bangladesh.  

Sir Frank Peters, a long-time ‘foreign friend’ of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu admirer, and self-claimed  “half-Bangladeshi” became the first person to encapsulate the powerful historic speech on a special tribute poster in 2001. He also sought recognition by UNESCO for its priceless contribution to world history, which eventually came on October 20, 2017. Another great Irish contribution to Bangladesh history, you might say.  

The unique poster is seen by many to be the unofficial Proclamation of Bangladesh and hangs in the home of the Prime Minister, the Bangabandhu Museum, the Awami League HQ and many foreign offices and homes throughout the world.  The following year he became the first (and up to now, the only) ‘foreigner’ invited to speak at a function hosted by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in tribute to her beloved iconic father and first hero of Bangladesh.  

Of Bangabandhu, Sir Frank (a former editor and publisher of national publications) once said in a BBC-TV interview:   

“Of all the great men who’ve ever existed, only four I can recollect, have delivered speeches that have touched the hearts and souls of generations since. They’re immortal,” he said.

He went on to name Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (November 19, 1863). Martin Luther King’s “I Had a Dream” speech (28 August 1963), John F Kennedy’s “Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You” inaugural speech of (20 January1961) and the historic “Birth of a Nation” speech by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of March 7, 1971 – a name he gave it. 

Originally St. Patrick’s Day was a religious festival, but over time, it lost its Christian exclusivity and now embraces all religions, and all people from all nations.   

Around 330 AD, when Patrick was a boy of 14, he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland as a slave. Six years later he escaped, returned to his family in Wales, and joined the church. After his ordination as a bishop, he had a vision that compelled him to return to Ireland and to teach Christianity to the pagans.

Irish folklore claims he banished snakes from Ireland, but there is no record of there ever been snakes on the Emerald Isle. Instead, figurative language was often used in folklore tales and the ‘snakes’ most probably represented Druids and pagans.   

The famed three-leafed shamrock came into prominence when Saint Patrick used it to symbolize the Holy Trinity; the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost – all connected to the one stem (Allah). The shamrock (a weed) is said to only grow in Ireland and is much similar to (lucky) clover, but without the white spots. It has three delightful heart-shaped leaves and a stem.   

By the seventh century, Patrick had come to be revered as the Patron Saint of Ireland. Two of his hand-written letters still survive in Dublin. 

A countless number of Americans have Irish ancestry. Perhaps the most famous were the Kennedys, President John F. Kennedy, his brother Bobby (Attorney General), and Senator Edward Kennedy.   

America goes wild on March 17. Street processions with marching bands, colourful floats, and the A-Z of Irish-American organisations and celebrities, proudly march to the beat of the drum, and the happy infectious sounds of Irish music that’s good for heart, soul, and spirit.  

Unfortunately, apart from Sir Frank there’s only a sprinkling of Irish people in Bangladesh, so there are no awe-inspiring parades to see or enjoy. William Cummings (World Bank executive), Anna O’Riordan (British High Commission) and Patrick Shaw (Grameen).  

Apart from creating the historic Bangabandhu poster he also cheekily re-invented the famous Bangladeshi lungee by giving it a pocket to hold his mobile phone, pens, and keys! 

It is most probably his ongoing crusade to abolish corporal punishment in Bangladeshi schools and madrasas, however, that has indelibly inscribed his name in Bangladesh history and endeared him most to the nation. Last year he successfully campaigned to introduce a five-day school week, much to the applause of teachers and pupils alike. Three Bangladeshi families have named their sons ‘Frank Peters’ in his honour. 

I’m not Irish, but I will become Irish for the day. Every year the Irish government confers honorary Irish citizenship on all citizens of the world for that day.  When it comes to tourism, the Bangladesh tourism authorities could really learn a trick or two from Ireland, whose national economy was actually founded upon and thrives on tourism.   

It’s an honour to be Irish, even if only for a day, and I plan to make the best of it.

Happy birthday, Bangabandhu and St. Patrick! 

(The writer was born in Cardiff, Wales, and is an international financial adviser in the banking industry)