Shaheed Dr Milon Day will be observed across the country on Thursday, commemorating the 35th martyrdom anniversary of Dr Shamsul Alam Khan Milon who was killed during the 90s’ anti-autocratic movement.

Different socio-cultural and political organisations as well as professional bodies have chalked out various programmes to observe the day with due respect.

The day's programmes include placing wreaths at the grave of Shaheed Dr Milon on the Dhaka Medical College campus, offering 'fateha' there and holding discussions to mark the day.

On this day in 1990, Dr Milon, the then joint secretary general of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) and a teacher of Dhaka Medical College, was shot dead by gunmen near TSC on the Dhaka University campus on his way to a meeting against then autocratic ruler HM Ershad.

The movement got momentum following the martyrdom of Dr Milon and autocratic ruler Ershad had to quit power finally in the face of a vigorous mass movement.

BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, in separate messages, paid homage to Shaheed Dr Milon, recalling his supreme sacrifice for the restoration of democracy in the country.

In his message, Tarique said, Dr Milon’s sacrifice helped restore the lost democracy and pushed the movement against the Ershad regime towards victory.

“He (Milon) sacrificed his life to bring back people’s rights, and his blood paved the way for the fall of dictatorship and the return of democratic rule under the leadership of Begum Khaleda Zia,” he said.

During the last 16 years of the fallen Awami government, Tarique said people lost all their rights and democracy was buried and people’s ownership of the country was snatched.

Although the united movement by students and masses on August 5 brought a new freedom, conspiracies both at home and abroad against the country still continue. “But if we stay united, no conspiracy can succeed. The sacrifice of Shaheed Dr Milon will always inspire us.”

In a separate message, Mirza Fakhrul said Milon is an important and unforgettable name in the democratic movement of the 1980s. “His sacrifice will always be written in golden letters in the history of our struggle for democracy.”

Even after the fall of the fascist Awami government, he said conspirators are still trying to destabilise the country. “But our people are united, and they will never succeed. Dr Milon’s sacrifice will continue to inspire us to build a strong democracy.”