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Bangladesh felicitates Indian soldiers who died in 1971 Liberation War

Bangladesh felicitates Indian soldiers who died in 1971 Liberation War

Vijay diwas

The Bangladesh government on Sunday felicitated Indian soldiers who were killed in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

The government felicitated the families of 12 Indian soldiers --seven martyrs from the Indian Army, one from the Navy, two from the Air Force and two from the BSF. This is the second time that the Bangladesh government is honouring Indian soldiers.

The Bangladesh government sent a delegation to the Vijay Diwas programme in Kolkata on Sunday. The delegation was led by Member of Parliament, Madam Quazi Rosy and Bangladesh Liberation War Affairs Minister, Mozzamal Haque.

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“This is for the first time when a Prime Minister has taken such a step to honour soldiers in their very country. Only Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina can do this. We are indebted towards India for liberating us. We can never forget what they did for us. No other nation can lay down their lives on the line of duty for some other nation,” said Haque.

“This was the second time that the honours were being presented to the families of martyrs of Indian forces who fought the Liberation War. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took the first initiative during her visit to Delhi in April 2017 when she met the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” added Haque.

Theevent took place in a joint ceremony at Fort William, Kolkata and was hosted by the Indian Army and the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission.

A 72-member delegation from Bangladesh, including 30 Mukti Joddhas and six serving officers of their armed forces, participated in the ceremony. Former Army commanders and the commanding officers of units that participated in the war also attended the programme in Kolkata.

A silver crest, a certificate, a personalized message by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two books by Bangabandhu Mujibar Rahman were presented to the families of each martyr.

“The Bangladeshi delegation felicitated our soldiers today. It is a great move as this will strengthen ties between India and Bangladesh. This is the second such initiative taken by the Bangladesh government. Our soldiers fought alongside to liberate Bangladesh and this day is observed as Victory Day in Bangladesh and we celebrate it as Vijay Diwas,” said Eastern Army Commander, Lt. Gen MM Naravane.