SAJJAD HOSSAIN and ZYMA ISLAM

The entire city stood in solemn tribute to Bangladesh’s first female prime minister yesterday.

From Agargaon in the north to Shahbagh in the south, mourners filled thoroughfares and alleyways to say goodbye to BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia.

State honour brought gun salutes, floral wreaths, and a guard of honour, but the truest farewell came from people standing kilometres away, their palms outstretched to the heavens.

People across the country joined their counterparts in Dhaka, united in collective grief.

For someone who had devoted a lifetime as one of Bangladesh’s strongest advocates of democracy -- a lawmaker who had never lost a single election -- her final moments above ground were the finest show of the people’s mandate.

The gathering for her namaz-e-janaza at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban began around 7:00am, with BNP leaders and activists arriving from across Dhaka and other districts.

From early morning, people from all walks of life continued to pour in -- some travelling by bus, truck, train, private car, motorcycle or whatever mode of transport they could find, while others walked on foot -- turning the entire area into an ocean of mourners.

They spilled over onto the alleyways connected to Manik Mia Avenue and then spread to Sobhanbagh, Farmgate, and by the time the janaza began, the tailback of the bereaved stretched to Shahbagh. Elderly citizens,

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