Sheikh Hasina's significant visit to India
Updated:
Apr 27, 2017 17:18 IST
By Colonel Anil Bhat
New Delhi [India], Apr
27 (ANI): Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's recent four-day state
visit to India, her first after seven years, was an eventful milestone in the
India-Bangladesh relationship.
This high-profile visit
is expected to further boost to bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh as
the two nations signed 22 pacts, including one on civilian nuclear cooperation
and a defence agreement which includes a USD 4.5 billion (around Rs. 3,200
crore) line of credit to buy Indian military hardware. train and bus services,
between West Bengal and Bangladesh were also launched during the visit.
Apart from the various
events, including Sheikh Hasina's visit to Ajmer Sharif and her meeting with
industrialists, what went quite under-reported was the very moving Sommanona
ceremony to honour Indian soldiers martyred in 1971, held befittingly at
Manekshaw Center, Delhi Cantonment.
With the two Prime
Ministers seated on the dais flanked by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj
and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and two of Bangladesh's Ministers, Manekshaw
Centre's auditorium was full with a group of Bangladesh's Bir Mukti Joddhas
(brave liberation soldiers) of the Mukti Bahini, Indian Army, Navy Air Force
veterans of the 1971, two former Indian Army Chiefs, Generals V.N. Sharma and
Deepak Kapur, the three service chiefs, diplomats, senior officials and serving
Indian armed forces officers.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi began his address at Manekshaw Centre by praising Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman's efforts. When he referred the Bangabandhu's family being
rescued from imprisonment in 1971, he pointed to Major Ashok Tara, who had
conducted the rescue and was sitting in the audience with his wife. Referring
to Bangabandhu's murder on 25 August 1975, PM Modi said "16 of her family
were murdered, but Sheikh Hasina stood still like a rock.' Those were moments
when Sheikh Hasina was visibly moved. She and her sister escaped the bloodbath
as they were in West Germany. That was an indeed trying time for her.
Completely broken owing to the senseless killing of her parents and siblings,
and with a hostile government in Bangladesh, she was provided asylum in New
Delhi from 1975 to 1981.
Holding forth on the
progress made by Bangladesh in its post-liberation decades, PM Modi had the
entire audience stunned when he rattled off many facts and figures extempore.
"There is one thought in South Asia which breeds, inspires and encourages
terrorism. The thought whose priority is not humanity, but extremism and
terrorism...Without being selfish, the two countries worked for the betterment
of entire region, it's sad that there is a third mentality which exists.. It's
my clear mandate that my neighbouring country Bangladesh should also develop
along with India.. As a friend, India will offer whatever required to
Bangladesh. I have same dream for Bangladesh as I have for India, Jai Hind! Jai
Bangla," said PM Modi.
In a moving ceremony, PM
Hasina honoured the following next of kin of six posthumous gallantry awardees
of Indian Armed Forces martyred during the 1971 War of Bangladesh's Liberation:
Mrs Vilambini, the widow of Lance Param Vir Chakra recipient Naik Albert Ekka,
who was in a wheelchair, Mrs. Santosh, sister of Maha Vir Chakra (MVC)
recipient Major Anup Singh Gehlot, Mrs. Gurdev Kaur, widow of Subedar Malkiat
Singh, Mrs. Sugam Singh, widow of MVC recipient Havildar Sugam Singh, Mrs
Kavita Das, sister-in-law of MVC recipient Lt Samir Das, an Indian Navy
clearance diver, who fought alongside the Mukti Bahini, Mrs. Arundhati Samanta,
widow of Vir Chakra (VrC) recipient Squadron Leader A.B. Samanta and Mr. Vishwa
Nath Chakravarty, brother of VrC recipient Lance Naik Mohini Ranjan Chakravarty
of the Border Security Force.
"I pay tribute to
some special Indian friends, the martyrs and their families...This time the
struggle was for our freedom..The history of Bangladesh has been written by the
blood of Indian martyrs," said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Interacting with this
writer, Colonel Sajjad Ali Zahir, Bir Protik, who accompanied PM Hasina and
conducted the honouring ceremony recalled, "I was posted in Pakistan
Army's 14th Para Brigade in Sialkot, when news came of unspeakable atrocities
by Pakistan Army back home. After trying hard, I finally managed to escape into
India and was brought by the Indian military to a secret camp in Sylhet
district, where I became the trainer for the Mukti Bahini."
Meanwhile Pakistan Army
passed a death sentence against him for 'deserting his post'. "We began
our guerrilla operation from September 1971 and quickly raised an artillery
battery to cause maximum damage to the Pakistani forces as they had to be
stopped from committing human rights violations..
At one point, we found a
government office which had been turned into a sex-labour camp with kidnapped
women locked up on the first floor. I am still haunted by the memory of a girl
who wrote her name, Ratna, in blood on the wall of a labour camp before
dying".
The third India-Pakistan
war during December 1971 was historically significant as it liberated erstwhile
Bengali East Pakistan from decades of oppression by the ruling military
government of West Pakistan culminating in horrific genocide by Pakistan army
and created the new nation, Bangladesh. On 25 March 1971, the liberation war
was launched by the Mukti Bahini, as Pakistani soldiers aided by local
collaborators, had reportedly killed an estimated 3 million people, raped
200,000 women and forced millions of people to flee to India.
Eventually, when
Pakistan sparked off the war on December 3, 1971, it took only 13 days for
India Army to encircle East Pakistan. On December 16, 1971, Pakistan's eastern
army commander signed the instrument of surrender at Dhaka, as 93,000 Pakistan
armed forces personnel surrendered to Indian Army all over what got declared as
the newly born nation of Bangladesh.
The year 2011 was marked
by extended celebrations in Bangladesh, for one of which it invited 17 Indian
veterans of that war, in December 2011.
Simultaneously
Headquaters, Eastern Command, Kolkata hosted three serving Bangladesh Army
officers, 22 Mukti Joddhas (Mukti Bahini veterans) and Indian armed forces
veterans, including. Bangladesh Parliament's Deputy Speaker Shaukat Ali, former
Eastern Command chief of staff Lt. Gen. (retired) J.F.R. Jacob, former Indian
Army chief and Member of Parliament, Gen. (retired) Shankar Roychowdhury.
Prime Minister Hasina's
first ever visit to, Tripura, on 11-12 January 2012, which she referred to as a
pilgrimage, marked a high point in the extended celebrations of the 40th
anniversary of Bangladesh's Liberation war.
Accompanied by her
sister, Sheikh Rehana and an over 100-strong delegation, including some more
ministers, businessmen and intellectuals, she came on an invitation by Tripura
Central University for being conferred with the degree of Doctor of Literature,
by for her "great contribution to the protection of multicultural
democracy and peace".
"As we touched down
at Agartala airport last evening, a flush of emotions overwhelmed me as I
recalled the tremendous sacrifices during our glorious struggle for
independence," said Prime Minister Hasina, in a voice choked with emotion,
after receiving the degree of from Vice President of India Hamid Ansari at
Agartala on 12 January 2012.
Fondly recalling the
help Tripura had extended during 1971 Liberation War spearheaded by her father
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she further said, switching to Bengali, "I express
my deep gratitude to the people of Tripura who gave us food, shelter and
clothing and care when the people of our country were subject of inhuman and
barbaric torture in the hands of Pakistani Army and migrated to this land.I was
further amazed when I came to know that before this university was set up, this
place was a training camp of the Bangladesh liberation soldiers".
Awami League's current
tenure is the best time for India to resolve all pending issues with Bangladesh and develop its connectivity to India's North Eastern states, which will go a long
way to boost trade and development of that region.
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