Prime Minister Modi participates in birth centenary celebrations of Bangabandhu, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Prime Minister Modi described Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as one of the greatest figures of the last century, and said, “His entire life is a tremendous inspiration to all of us.”
By IAR Desk
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the centenary celebrations of the birth of ‘Jatir Pita’ Bangabandhu, Sheik Mujibur Rahman through a video message today, Tuesday, March 17.
Mr. Modi described Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as one of the greatest figures of the last century, and said, “His entire life is a tremendous inspiration to all of us.”
Describing Bangabandhu as a Man of Courage, Conviction and Sage of Peace, Prime Minister Shri Modi said that Bangladesh’s “Jatir Pita’s” inspired the youth of those times to face the challenges of liberate the country.
The Prime Minister was slated to travel to Bangladesh for the centenary celebrations, but had to cancel the trip in the wake of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920-1975) was the founding leader of Bangladesh, which seceded from Pakistan after a bloody civil war and was the country’s first Prime Minister.
Alluding to the violence and reign of terror unleashed by Pakistan in what was then East Pakistan in the 1970s, the Prime Minister mentioned how a repressive and cruel regime, disregarding all democratic values, unleashed a reign of injustice on `Bangla Bhumi’ and devastated its people and recalled how Bangabandhu devoted every moment of his life towards bringing Bangladesh out of the phase of devastation and genocide and making it into a positive and progressive society.
Between 300,000 and 3,000,000 people were killed and around 200,000 to 400,000 women were raped by the Pakistani army in the civil war and Bangladesh’s liberation movement.
The Prime Minister said, “Bangabandhu was absolutely clear that hatred and negativity could never be the foundation of any country’s development. But Bangabandhu’s ideas and efforts were not liked by some people who snatched him away from us.”
In a reference to Pakistan’s sponsorship of cross-border terror in Indian Jammu and Kashmir, as also it’s support of groups like the Taliban Mr. Modi said , “We are all witnessing that how, making terror and violence weapons of politics and diplomacy destroys a society and a nation. The world is also watching where the supporters of terror and violence are currently placed and in what state they are, while Bangladesh is scaling new heights”.
The Prime Minister expressed his pleasure at seeing the people of Bangladesh dedicating themselves day and night to making their own nation, ‘Shonar Bangla,’ as Sheik Mujibur Rahman had dreamt.
The Prime Minister commended Bangladesh’s progress, inspired by Bangabandhu, under the leadership of H.E. Sheik Hasina with Inclusive and Development-Oriented Policies. He added that Bangladesh is setting new benchmarks for either the economy, other social indices or sports. The Prime Minister praised Bangladesh’s unprecedented progress in many fields such as skills, education, health, empowerment of women and microfinance.
“In the last few years, India and Bangladesh have written a golden chapter in bilateral ties and given a new dimension and direction to our partnership,” said the Prime Minister, because of increasing trust between the two countries to address complex border issues in a friendly way.
He also said that Bangladesh is not only India’s largest trading partner in South Asia, but also a development partner. He listed the cooperation between the two countries in a number of connectivity-enhancing sectors, such as electricity distribution, Friendship Pipeline, Road, Rail, Internet, Airways and Waterways, which connect even more people from both countries.
The Prime Minister mentioned that the heritage of the two countries comes from intellectuals such as Tagore, Qazi Nazrul Islam, Ustad Alauddin Khan, Lalon Shah, Jibananda Das and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.
He said that the legacy and inspiration of Bangabandhu has made the heritage of both countries more comprehensive, deep-rooted and the path shown by Bangabandhu a strong foundation for the partnership, progress and prosperity of both countries over the last decade.
Mentioning the coming milestones of the two countries, the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s liberation next year and the 75th anniversary of India’s independence in 2022, Prime Minister Modi expressed confidence that both of these milestones will not only bring the development of India and Bangladesh to new heights, but will also strengthen the bond of friendship between the two countries.
Bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh gained momentum when in 2014, during Modi’s first tenure as Prime Minister both countries concluded the landmark Land Boundary Agreement whereby both countries exchanged enclaves.
More recently India helped evacuate 24 Bangladeshi students from China in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.
