Six years after the horrific assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his immediate family members, his elder daughter Sheikh Hasina finally returned home to Bangladesh on this day in 1981.

The sisters managed to escape the misguided section of the armed forces that wiped away the then top political leadership of a new nation as they were abroad in Germany at the time. Sheikh Hasina’s return could not have come too soon but had to be delayed due to the hostile political atmosphere created by the military regime that had the country in its grip.

The Awami League, the party that had led Bangladesh to liberty, had been left fractured and in need of a steady hand to guide the ship following the death of Bangabandhu. Sheikh Hasina would provide that steady hand, uniting the party in the push to transition the country from an autocracy to democracy.

Sheikh Hasina had been elected party president in absentia during a national council of Awami League from February 14-16 in 1981. At 4:30 pm on May 17, she reached the then Kurmitola Airport in Dhaka from New Delhi via Kolkata.

Over a million people gathered in the Bangladesh capital to greet Sheikh Hasina on her return, according to newspaper reports from the time.

Dr M A Wazed Miah, a nuclear scientist and husband to Sheikh Hasina, in his book “Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib ke Ghire Kichhu Ghatana O Bangladesh” wrote: “I told Hasina then that it was normal for a million or a million and a half people to gather, but from now on you have to keep your head cool and work for the party. You have to be constantly vigilant so that your head does not get fat from the flattery of others.”

After landing at the Dhaka airport, Sheikh Hasina gave a short but touching speech to the masses who had gathered to greet her.

“I have returned to the country not to become a leader of the Awami League, but to stand beside the people in the struggle for freedom. I want to stand beside you as your sister, as your daughter, and as a worker of Awami League who believes in the ideals of Bangabandhu,” she said.

Afterwards, Sheikh Hasina promptly began work rooting out the divisions that had formed within the Awami League from 1975-81. He calmness under pressure and insistence on working for the people ensured that everyone would fall in line, party insiders said.

From 1981 to 1996, Sheikh Hasina as the leader of Awami League fought for democratic rights and food security for the people of Bangladesh. From 1996 to 2001 and later from 2009 onwards, she has served as prime minister and relentlessly worked to graduate Bangladesh into a developing country.

On the occasion of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's homecoming day, various organizations, including the Awami League, are set to arrange programs both at home and abroad.

Special prayers will be offered at mosques, temples, churches, and pagodas to mark the day, and a discussion will be arranged by the Awami League at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka at 11am.

In a statement on Monday, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader urged party leaders and activists to celebrate the day with detailed programs.