Must stay united against terror: PM Narendra Modi in Dhaka

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 26

Both India and Bangladesh must remain vigilant and united to counter threats like terrorism, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while participating in the 50th national day celebrations in Dhaka as the guest of honour alongside Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and PM Sheikh Hasina.

On his first overseas visit since the pandemic broke out last year, PM Modi said India and Bangladesh should navigate the next 25 years with shared goals that arise from a shared development and shared challenges. “That India and Bangladesh move forward together, is equally important for the development of this entire region,” he observed while invoking Bengali poets and writers Kazi Nazrul Islam and Rabindranath Tagore to highlight the common heritage.

However, the visit was also marked by protests and violence with four killed in police firing in Chittagong and about 50 injured in firing of rubber bullets in Dhaka.

In Chittagong, 250 km from Dhaka, the violence occurred after members of an Islamist group streamed out of mosques protesting the treatment of Muslims in India. In Dhaka, a clash took place near a large mosque while PM Modi was meeting opposition leaders.

Addressing the main golden jubilee celebrations of Bangladesh’s Independence and the birth centenary of its founder, Modi said while the efforts of then PM Indira Gandhi in Bangladesh’s freedom war were well known, a distinguished role was played by several Indian Army officials and personnel such as Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw, Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora, Gen. J F R Jacob, Lance Naik Albert Ekka, Group Captain Chandan Singh, Captain Mohan Narayan Rao Samant and several others.

At a time when both countries are set to negotiate an FTA, PM Modi invited 50 Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to India to get associated with its innovation ecosystem and meet venture capitalists.

Received at the airport by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, PM Modi’s engagements today were imbued with deep symbolic significance for it was the Indian Army along with the Mukti Bahini that had played a pivotal role in helping Bangladesh attain Independence.

The valour of the 1971 war’s Muktijodhas (liberation fighters) will “continue to inspire future generations to fight injustice and defend the cause of righteousness”, wrote the PM in the visitor’s book at the martyrs’ memorial.

March 26 commemorates the country’s declaration of independence from Pakistan. This is the Golden Jubilee of the liberation war as also the birth centenary of its founder Sheikh Mujibur Rehman. At the main function of the day, PM Modi donned the “Mujib coat” which was the signature garment worn by Mujibur Rahman, much like India’s first PM’s “Nehru jacket”. PM Modi revealed at the gathering that he had also protested, as a show of solidarity, for the liberation of Bangladesh. “I must have been 20-22 years old when I and many of my colleagues had done satyagraha for the freedom of the people of Bangladesh,” he said.

The PM handed over the Gandhi Peace Prize Award, conferred posthumously on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to his daughters — Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana.

Ties in large measure due to Indira: Sonia

Congress president Sonia Gandhi sent a congratulatory video message to Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, recalling the role that Indira Gandhi played in the liberation of Bangladesh. She said the special bond between the people of the two nations was largely due to Indira’s role in 1971. “Most of all, both Bangladesh and India, are being called upon today to protect and strengthen their composite heritage,” she added. TNS