The historic Mass Upsurge Day will be observed on Saturday to commemorate the 1969 movement against the Pakistani military ruler Ayub Khan, leading to the Liberation War of Bangladesh.

On this day in 1969, Motiur Rahman Mollick, a ninth-grade student of Nabakumar Institution, Makbul, Anwar, Rustam, Milon, Alamgir and many others were killed in police firing on demonstrators in Dhaka as the Pakistani rulers tried to suppress the uprising. The killings sparked protests that eventually ousted General Ayub Khan.

Chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Friday issued message marking the day.

In his message, Yunus urged all to come forward towards building a truly democratic social system, being imbed with the values of the 1969 mass uprising.

‘Let us all dedicate ourselves to building a truly democratic social system respecting the values of the 1969 mass uprising,’ he said in a message issued on the occasion of the 1969 Mass Uprising Day to be observed on Saturday.

The chief adviser said the 1969 mass uprising is a significant chapter in the history of Bangladesh’s struggle for freedom and independence.

He said the nation achieved great independence through the Language Movement of 1952, the historic 6-Point Movement, the 11-point and 1969 Mass Uprising and the 1971 Liberation War.

Yunus said the entire January of 1969 was a turbulent month for the movement demanding freedom from the then dictatorial misrule and oppression.

With the spontaneous participation of people from all classes and professions, including students, the movement took shape on January 24 in a massive mass explosion, he said.

Protesting the repression, the struggling masses brought out a procession by breaking the curfew, he added.

Yunus said their sacrifice in all democratic movements and struggles, including the 2024 July uprising, has given the young people of this country endless courage and inspiration.

Praying for the forgiveness of the souls of all the martyrs of the country’s liberation struggle, he paid deepest respect to all the martyrs of the mass uprising.