Joy recalls his childhood memories with Bangabandhu

Bangabandhu's grandson Sajeeb Wazed Joy today reminisced his childhood memories with his grandfather saying the only occasion when his grandmother objected was when, as a joke, his grandfather allowed him a puff on his lighted pipe.

"The only occasion when my grandmother objected was when my grandfather allowed me a puff on his lighted pipe. While my grandma turned furious, my grandfather let out his trademark uproarious laughter as I coughed my little lungs out," Joy said this in a facebook post on his verified account Thursday.

He added: "That is one of my few childhood memories with my grandfather that never faded all these decades. But, the curtain on that togetherness came down on August 15. Joy, also Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ICT Affairs Adviser, said since then, life has been one of ceaseless struggle to survival for each surviving member of my family.

"The steely resolve of my grandfather to build Sonar Bangla (Golden Bengal) was passed down to my mother," he said.

He said the 102nd birthday of his grandfather evokes the dream that he promised to his countrymen. "Let it resonate in every heart and get us closer to the realization of Vision 2041," he said. Joy wished happy birthday to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Earlier, in an article published on March 16, 2020 in "RealClearPolitics", Chicago-based political news, investigative journalism, and polling data aggregator, Joy recalled his very fond and warm relationship with his grandfather, saying that he loved having breakfast with Bangabandhu and insisted on eating whatever he ate exactly the way he ate it.

 "As a child, I loved having breakfast with my grandfather. I insisted on eating whatever he ate exactly the way he ate it," he wrote.

The premier's ICT adviser said Bangabandhu led what was then East Pakistan to independence from Pakistan in 1971, the year he was born. "Public service is my family's business," he said, adding that his grandfather was Bangladesh's first president and his mother, Sheikh Hasina, is Bangladesh's current prime minister.

Joy said both were elected to those positions. Bangladesh is proudly a secular democracy - just as his grandfather had envisioned it - and one of Asia's great success stories as a result, he said.

"When I was four years old, my grandfather's hopes were nearly destroyed. While my mother, father, sister, aunt and I were visiting West Germany, army officers attacked my grandfather's home, murdering him and the rest of our immediate family. A cruel military junta took over the state power," he said.

Joy said his mother and he were not allowed to return to their homeland until 1981.  "Sacrifice has been a way of life for us. My grandfather spent 14 years as a political prisoner. When he finally came home, his eldest son didn't recognize him," he said.

 "My mother was also imprisoned several times before being exonerated of any wrongdoing. As the head of the opposition in 2004, she narrowly escaped a grenade attack on a political rally in the capital city of Dhaka," he said.