1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1973rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 973rd year of the 2nd millennium, the 73rd year of the 20th century, and the 4th year of the 1970s decade.
Calendar year
The year 1973 was the second year after the independence of Bangladesh. It was also the second year of the first post-independence government in Bangladesh.
Incumbents
[edit]
Mujibur Rahman
President: Abu Sayeed Chowdhury (until 24 December), Mohammad Mohammadullah (starting 24 December)
Note: For the year 1973 average official exchange rate for BDT was 7.85 per US$.
Events
[edit]
7 March: First general election of Bangladesh is held, Bangladesh Awami League secures majority.
17 April: a tornado in the Manikganj region had killed at least 681 people.[3]
17 July: The first amendment was made to the constitution. The amendment inserted an additional clause, Article 47(3), that states that any law regarding prosecution or punishment of war crimes cannot be declared void or unlawful on grounds of unconstitutionality. A new Article 47A was also added, which specifies that certain fundamental rights will be inapplicable in those cases.[4]
28 August: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh signed a trilateral agreement, termed the Delhi Agreement, allowing the repatriation of prisoners of war and interned officials held in the three countries after the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.[5][6]
22 September: The second amendment of the constitution was passed, allowing the suspension of some fundamental rights of citizens during a state of emergency.[7]
15 December: Gallantry awards of the war declared in Bangladesh Gazette.
Establishment of the National Library of Bangladesh.[9]
The Shanti Bahini (Peace Force) guerrillas, mostly members of the Chakma tribe, took up arms after Bangladesh rejected their demands for autonomy over 5,500 sq.-mile region bordering India and Burma. They also demanded the removal of more than 300,000 settlers from their tribal homeland.[10]
Awards and recognitions
[edit]
Seven freedom fighters killed in action during the Liberation War of 1971 were awarded Bir Sreshtho title on 15 December 1973:
Engineroom Artificer Ruhul Amin
Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir
Sepoy Mostafa Kamal
Sepoy Hamidur Rahman
Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman
Lance Naik Munshi Abdur Rouf
Lance Naik Nur Mohammad Sheikh
Sports
[edit]
International football:
On 27 July, Bangladesh national football team made their international debut, in a 2–2 draw against Thailand at the 1973 Merdeka Tournament held in Malaysia. Enayetur Rahman Khan scored the country's first ever international goal.[11]
On 13 August, Bangladesh national football team got their first ever victory by defeating Singapore 1–0, thanks to a goal from AKM Nowsheruzzaman.[12]
Domestic football:
BIDC won the Dhaka First Division Football League title, while Abahani Krira Chakra, Mohammedan SC and Dhaka Wanderers came out joint runners-up.[13]
BRTC Sports Club won the Dhaka Second Division Football League title, earning promotion to the First Division.[14]
Brothers Union won the Dhaka Third Division Football League, earning promotion to the Second Division.[15]
In November, Dinamo Minsk from Soviet Union toured Dhaka, Jessore and Comilla, and played four exhibition matches between 5 and 14 November.[16][17]
Rahmatganj MFS participated in the Bordoloi Trophy held in Guwahati, India, becoming the first club after independence to participate in an international tournament.[18]
Births
[edit]
Saidus Salehin Khaled (Sumon), musician
Arifa Parvin Moushumi, actor
Tipu Sultan, journalist
Alfaz Ahmed, soccer player
Shakil Khan, actor
Deaths
[edit]
17 July - Fazlul Qadir Chaudhry, politician (b. 1919)
29 August - Syed Hedayetullah, academic and researcher (b. 1904)
22 December - Abdul Karim, soil scientist (b. 1922)
^Razzaq, Abdur (2015). "The tribunals in Bangladesh: Falling short of international standards". In Sellars, Kirsten (ed.). Trials for International Crimes in Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 344. ISBN 978-1-107-10465-5.
^Levie, Howard S. (January 1974). "The Indo-Pakistani Agreement of August 28, 1973". American Journal of International Law. 68 (1). American Society of International Law: 95–97. doi:10.2307/2198806. JSTOR 2198806.
^Islam, S. Nazrul (2016). Governance for Development: Political and Administrative Reforms in Bangladesh. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-137-54253-3.
^"FAO in Bangladesh". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
^Ahmed, Sharif Uddin (2012). "National Library". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
^"List of Champions". Atsushi Fujioka for Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
^"ফুটবলে সগৌরবে আসছে বিআরটিসি". Protidiner Bangladesh (in Bengali). 20 December 2024. Archived from the original on 2 March 2025. Retrieved 2 March 2025.