If the first 50 years of our partnership began by surmounting extraordinary challenges that forged a deep friendship between our people, perhaps the time has come to raise the bar even higher, said Indian President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday in the Bangladesh parliament as both nations celebrated the golden jubilee of Victory Day, marking the surrender of the Pakistani forces in Bangladesh in 1971. 

Kovind, who is on a three-day state visit to Bangladesh on the special occasion, on Thursday participated as Guest of Honour in the Victory Day parade, which also saw the participation of military contingents from Russia, India, and Bhutan. 

Speaking in the Jatiya Sansad, the Bangladesh parliament, Kovind said, “We celebrate with you this historic day: Fifty years ago, the ideological map of South Asia changed irreversibly and the proud nation of Bangladesh was born.”

Heaping praise on the country’s remarkable economic transformation, he said, “The ideals of Bangabandhu are being realized by the hardworking and enterprising people of Bangladesh, guided by the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.”

In 1971 India played a decisive and historic role in the independence of Bangladesh, then known as East Pakistan. Over a thousand Indian troops sacrificed their lives along with thousands of Bangladeshi freedom fighters. 

Touching upon their joint campaign, President Kovind said, “History also has few examples to equal the scale of empathy and grassroot-level support that your struggle evoked in India,” mentioning that Indians extended all possible help to realize the shared goals for the freedom Bangladeshis. 

On future cooperation, he said our businesses should be encouraged to have “deeply integrated supply chains of production and transport connectivity, enabling our sub-region to become one of the world’s largest production centers, and the world’s largest market for goods and services.” 

“India has always attached the highest priority to its friendship with Bangladesh,” Kovind said, adding, “We remain committed to doing all we can, to help realize the full potential of our friendship.” 

On the special occasion, Bangladesh Prime Minister administered oath to the nation, to build the country as a “developed, prosperous, and non-communal ‘Sonar Bangla’ -- imbued with the ideology of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.”

The 13-day war between India and Pakistan in 1971 ended with the surrender of over 93,000 Pakistan troops—the largest surrender since World War-II —in East Pakistan to joint Indian and Bangladeshi forces. 

"This celebration is not merely a festival, rather it's our conviction in our future journey that we must build Bangladesh as hunger-poverty-free, developed and prosperous Sonar Bangla as dreamt by the Father of the Nation,” Hasina said while addressing the nation, promising that she wouldn’t let the sacrifice of millions of Bangladeshi won go in vain. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also recalled the great sacrifice and valor of Bangladeshi freedom fighters, Mukti Bahini forces, resulting in "the defeat of the oppressive forces." Modi, along with senior ministers and military officials, also paid tribute to Indian and Bangladeshi soldiers who sacrificed their lives. 

(SAM)