4,682 Days in Jail

The Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman served a total of 4,682 days in jail throughout his life. He remained seven days in prison in his school life during British rule. The rest of the days were in the Pakistani regime. Bangabandhu had to spend one-fourth of his 54 years of life. In the Pakistan period, he was sent to jail 18 times and faced deaths two times. In his ‘Unfinished Memories’ book, Bangabandhu narrated the incidents till 1955. He composed the autobiography while he was staying in jail from 1966 to 1969.

He first went to jail in 1938 when he was a student. He remained in prison for seven days during the British period.

Later after the creation of Pakistan, he was sent to jail on March 11 in 1948 and remained there for five days till March 15. In the same year, he was arrested and sent to prison on September 11. Then he was kept in jail for 132 days until his release on January 21 in 1949.

Bangabandhu again served in prison for 80 days from April 19 to June 28 in 1949. In the same year, he was kept in prison for 27 days more in September.

The Pakistan government sent Bangabandhu to different prisons for 63 days between October 25 to December 27 in 1949. However, he remained in jail for 787 days at a stretch from January 1, 1950, to February 26 in 1952. Even after winning the provincial election in 1954, he had to stay in jail for 206 days.

Bangabandhu was arrested again on October 11 in 1958, after Ayub Khan declared Martial Law. He was behind the bar for 1,153 days - meaning more than three years at a stretch this time.

He was again arrested on January 6 in 1962, and walked out of jail on June 18, serving 158 days behind the bar. He was also in prison for 665 days for different terms in 1964 and 1965.

While drumming up support for the Six Point Charter, known as the charter of Bengali’s freedom, Bangabandhu was detained several times from 32 public rallies and served 90 days in jail for different periods.

He again served in jail for his second-highest term for 1,021 days after the Pakistan government arrested him on May 8 in 1966, and had to release on February 22 in 1969, facing the mass upsurge.

The Pakistan military arrested Bangabandhu in the early hours of March 26 in 1971, shortly after he declared the independence of Bangladesh. He was shifted to a cell in Mianwali prison in West Pakistan. He was kept there for 288 days.

Finally, Bangabandhu returned to independent Bangladesh on January 10 in 1972, via London and New Delhi following his release from Pakistani prison. Later the Architect of the Nation took the responsibility of building the Bengali nation.