His daughter, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and President Zillur Rahman marked the day by placing wreaths at a portrait of Sheikh Mujib in front of the residence where he was killed in the military coup. Some 10,000 police were deployed in the capital Dhaka, police said, as supporters of the ruling Awami League party observed the day by playing his landmark speeches through loudspeakers, holding prayers and feeding the poor.
"We've made adequate security precautions," police chief A.K.M. Shahidul Haq said. Bangladesh has witnessed bitter feuding that has sometimes spilled into violence between Hasina's ruling Awami League and other major parties. Hasina, who scored a landslide win in December elections, had been scheduled to head to southern Tungipara town where Mujib was hastily buried by army officers 34 years ago.