Dhaka: Eight Indian military veterans of Bangladesh\u2019s 1971 Liberation War reached Dhaka while eight officers of Bangladesh Army arrived in Kolkata to join the Vijay Diwas celebrations in the two countries, officials said.<\/p>\n
Bangladesh officials and the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said two serving officers from both sides comprised the delegations that will attend the celebrations in Dhaka and Kolkata. They reached their destination cities on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The Bangladesh delegation comprised Mukti Jodhas, who were part of the guerrilla resistance force in East Pakistan opposing the Pakistan rule there.<\/p>\n
The Vijay Diwas celebration and the visit of the two countries\u2019 delegations come amid strains over the alleged violence against the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh since the ouster of ex-premier Sheikh Hasina\u2019s Awami League regime in a student-led uprising on August 5. Hasina fled the country and has since taken refuge in India.<\/p>\n
The interim government of Muhammad Yunus has firmly rejected any major communal violence. Hindus constitute around eight per cent of Bangladesh\u2019s population.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe exchange of veterans\u2019 visits is a reminder of friendship forged in 1971,\u201d a political analyst in Dhaka said.<\/p>\n
He said Indian External Affairs Secretary Vikram Misri\u2019s one-day Dhaka visit on December 9 for foreign office consultations with his counterpart Jashim Uddin partly eased the tensions in bilateral ties as he also met Yunus and his de-facto Foreign Minister Touhid Hossain.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow the exchange of the veterans\u2019 visits is expected to manifest the goodwill of both the countries for each other,\u201d the analyst said.<\/p>\n
Both India and Bangladesh celebrate the victory over Pakistan on December 16, 1971, and every year invite each other\u2019s war veterans and serving officers to participate in the celebrations in the two countries.<\/p>\n
Bangladesh celebrates its Independence Day on March 26 but Dhaka emerged as the free capital of a free country on December 16 after nine months of Liberation War with crucial Indian assistance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese annual bilateral visits provide a platform for Mukti Jodhas and Liberation War veterans to celebrate the unique friendship of the two countries,\u201d the Indian High Commission said in a statement.<\/p>\n
It added that the occasion renews memories of the Liberation War \u201cwhich epitomises the shared sacrifices of the armed forces of India and Bangladesh for the cause of Bangladesh\u2019s freedom from occupation, oppression, and mass atrocities\u201d.<\/p>\n
Vijay Diwas is not just a celebration of military success but also a reminder of India\u2019s commitment to justice and humanitarian values. The war showcased India\u2019s capability to respond decisively to aggression while standing up for oppressed populations. It also strengthened India\u2019s position as a regional power and highlighted the importance of military preparedness and strategic diplomacy.<\/p>\n
In Bangladesh, the day is observed as Victory Day, a national holiday commemorating their liberation. The shared history of December 16 emphasises the enduring bond between India and Bangladesh.<\/p>\n
\u2013IANS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dhaka: Eight Indian military veterans of Bangladesh\u2019s 1971 Liberation War reached Dhaka while eight officers of Bangladesh Army arrived in Kolkata to join the Vijay Diwas celebrations in the two countries, officials said. Bangladesh officials and the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said two serving officers from both sides comprised the delegations that will attend […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-52812","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nation"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/202412163281573-N8hz3L.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52812"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52814,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52812\/revisions\/52814"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}