Bangladesh-India relations will get stronger and stronger: Prime Minister

News Desk: Inspired by the non-communal spirit of the Father of the Nation, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed hope that the bond of friendship between the two friendly countries of Bangladesh and India will be strengthened.

The Prime Minister said India's contribution to Bangladesh's war of independence is everlasting. Just as India provided all kinds of assistance including shelter, food and logistics to about one crore people of our country during the war of liberation, thousands of Indian soldiers have sacrificed their lives for the independence of this country. That is why the friendship between our two countries is written in blood. India's gift of two million vaccines to combat the global coronavirus epidemic is a reminder of that friendship.

The Prime Minister expressed these expectations in a message delivered on Friday (February 5) on the occasion of the historic speech of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Calcutta on 7 February 1972. On this occasion, the Ministry of Information of the Government of Bangladesh has organized a memorial meeting at the Parade Ground in Kolkata on Saturday (February 8). Sheikh Hasina said the historic speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the famous Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata on February 8, 1972 is very significant in the history of Bengalis.

On the eve of the golden jubilee of our great independence and on the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation, the Ministry of Information of Bangladesh, with the sincere support of the Indian authorities, organized a commemorative event with the Bangladesh Embassy in Kolkata at the traditional parade ground. Noting that the father of the nation's position in Calcutta was very important in his student life, the Prime Minister said Bangabandhu obtained his higher secondary and bachelor's degree from Islamia College (now Maulana Azad College) in the city.

It was during this time that he actively participated in various political programs with national level leaders and acquired a deep knowledge of the practice and dynamics of pure politics. As a student in Calcutta, he learned how secularism can change social life in a unique combination of socialism and democracy. Sheikh Hasina said about 72 lakh Bangladeshis took refuge in West Bengal when the war of liberation started. Then the whole of Calcutta became the meeting place of Bengali nationalism. In collaboration with the Government of India, the leaders loyal to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman conducted the War of Liberation in different parts of India including Calcutta.

At that time everyone including the poets and literary intellectuals of Calcutta played an outstanding role in the liberation war of Bangladesh. He said their interest in the father of the Bengali nation was unlimited when Bangladesh became independent. The people of Calcutta thought that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman would stop his journey in Calcutta on the day of his return home. But as the Father of the Nation wanted to go first to the land of his dream independent country, on January 10, 1972, on his way directly from Delhi to Dhaka, he sent a message to Calcutta's Dumdum Airport that he would arrive in Calcutta very soon. The Prime Minister said the Father of the Nation later paid a three-day visit to Calcutta on February 8, 1972 and addressed a public meeting at the historic Brigade Parade Ground in the presence of Indira Gandhi in front of millions of spontaneous people of West Bengal. "I firmly believe that the India-Bangladesh friendship will last forever," he told the crowd that day.

Mentioning that the people present in her fiery speech were emotional, Sheikh Hasina said Bangabandhu expressed deep respect and gratitude to the people of India, government, armed forces, especially the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi for their full cooperation in the liberation war of Bangladesh. He also expressed special gratitude to the people of West Bengal, Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the occasion of the historic speech of the Father of the Nation at the Parade Ground paid homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and wished him peace of mind. He also recalled with deep gratitude the solidarity and self-sacrifice of the people of India in the great liberation war of Bangladesh.