Bangladesh to honour 1,984 Indian soldiers for 1971 contribution

The government plans to honour Indian soldiers who embraced martyrdom for the cause of the creation of the country in 1971, in September this year.Meanwhile, Bangladesh recognised Indian politician and former prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, for his contribution to Bangladesh’s War of Independence, by conferring upon him Bangladesh Muktijhuddha Sammanana.The liberation war affairs minister AKM Mozammel Huq revealed to New Age Bangladesh will honour the 1,984 Indian soldiers, under the joint command of the Mukti Bahini and the Indian Army, who embraced martyrdom in 1971.Another ministry official said the government is planning to build a memorial in memory of the supreme sacrifice of the Indian soldiers.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has formally approved a proposal to honour Indian soldiers, said Mozammel.We will try to honour the Indian soldiers in September at a programme in the Bangladesh High Commission at New Delhi. We are planning to hand over a crest, certificate and some gifts to families of the Indian soldiers, the minister said.The government at first thought of holding the programmes in Bangladesh but realised it was not feasible to bring all the family members to Dhaka and so decided to hold the programme at the Bangladesh High Commission, said a ministry official.The minister said that they have a list of 1,984 soldiers who were martyred in the liberation of Bangladesh and will try to reach each of the families’ members.Meanwhile on Sunday, the visiting Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, received the Bangladesh Muktijhuddha Sammanana [Bangladesh Liberation War Honour] on behalf of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.Bangladesh president Abdul Hamid, accompanied by prime minister, Sehikh Hasina, handed over the crest to the visiting Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.‘It is an inspiration for so many people like me that Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee is being honoured by Bangladesh,’ Modi said during his speech at the award ceremony in Bangabhaban.Bangladesh Liberation War Honour is the second highest state honour conferred to foreign friends who played a crucial role in Bangladesh’s independence.Bharatiya Janata Party leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Indian prime minister from 1998 to 2004.Vajpayee, who was then a member of parliament from Jana Sangha, had been vocal in lending support to the liberation war in the 1971 and had also campaigned for the recognition of Bangladesh as an independent country.He is the only BJP leader in the list of Indians named for the honour so far. Vajpayee cannot come to receive the award in Dhaka as he was ill, said a joint secretary of the liberation war ministry.In seven phases between 2011 and 2013, Bangladesh honoured 338 personalities and institutions for the contribution they had made to the liberation war.

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