Prime
Minister participates in the birth centenary celebrations of 'Jatir Pita'
Bangabandhu, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
March
17, 2020
Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi participated in the centenary celebrations of the birth of 'Jatir
Pita' Bangabandhu, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman through a video message today.
Shri Modi described Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as one of the greatest figures of the
last century, and said, "His entire life is a tremendous inspiration to
all of us."
Describing Bangabandhu as a Man of Courage, Conviction and Sage of Peace, Prime
Minister Shri Modi said that Bangladesh’s "Jatir Pita’s” inspired the
youth of those times to face the challenges of liberate the country.
The Prime Minister mentioned how a repressive and cruel regime, disregarding
all democratic values, unleashed a reign of injustice on `Bangla Bhumi’ and
devastated its people and recalled how Bangabandhu devoted every moment of his
life towards bringing Bangladesh out of the phase of devastation and genocide
and making it into a positive and progressive society.
The Prime Minister said, "Bangabandhu was absolutely clear that hatred and
negativity could never be the foundation of any country's development. But
Bangabandhu's ideas and efforts were not liked by some people who snatched him
away from us."
Shri Narendra Modi said, "We are all witnessing that how, making terror
and violence weapons of politics and diplomacy destroys a society and a nation.
The world is also watching where the supporters of terror and violence are
currently placed and in what state they are, while Bangladesh is scaling new
heights”.
The Prime Minister expressed his pleasure at seeing the people of Bangladesh
dedicating themselves day and night to making their own nation, 'Shonar
Bangla,' as Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had dreamt.
The Prime Minister commended Bangladesh's progress, inspired by Bangabandhu,
under the leadership of H.E. Sheikh Hasina with Inclusive and
Development-Oriented Policies. He added that Bangladesh is setting new
benchmarks for either the economy, other social indices or sports. The Prime
Minister praised Bangladesh's unprecedented progress in many fields such as skills,
education, health, empowerment of women and microfinance.
"In the last few years, India and Bangladesh have written a golden chapter
in bilateral ties and given a new dimension and direction to our
partnership," said the Prime Minister, because of increasing trust between
the two countries to address complex border issues in a friendly way.
He also said that Bangladesh is not only India's largest trading partner in
South Asia, but also a development partner. He listed the cooperation between
the two countries in a number of connectivity-enhancing sectors, such as
electricity distribution, Friendship Pipeline, Road, Rail, Internet, Airways
and Waterways, which connect even more people from both countries.
The Prime Minister mentioned that the heritage of the two countries comes from
intellectuals such as Tagore, Qazi Nazrul Islam, Ustad Alauddin Khan, Lalon
Shah, Jibananda Das and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.
He said that the legacy and inspiration of Bangabandhu has made the heritage of
both countries more comprehensive, deep-rooted and the path shown by
Bangabandhu a strong foundation for the partnership, progress and prosperity of
both countries over the last decade.
Mentioning the coming milestones of the two countries, the 50th anniversary of
Bangladesh's liberation next year and the 75th anniversary of India's
independence in 2022, Prime Minister was confident that both of these
milestones will not only bring the development of India and Bangladesh to new
heights, but will also strengthen the bond of friendship between the two
countries.
New Delhi
March 17, 2020
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