Marking 50 years of the 1971 India-Pakistan warfare that led to the liberation of Bangladesh, a 122-member contingent of the Bangladesh Armed Forces participated within the Republic Day parade on Tuesday.
Led by Lt Col Abu Mohammed Shahnoor Shawon and his deputies Lieutenant Farhan Ishraq and Flight Lieutenant Sibat Rahman, the contingent had personnel of the Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force. The Bangladesh navy band, which marched with the contingent, performed a well-liked patriotic tune from 1971, “Shono ekti Mujiborer theke/Lokkho Mujiborer (A Million Mujiburs Marking 50 years of 1971 war, Bangla team part of R-Day event singing)”, hailing Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s first president and Father of the Nation.
Officials mentioned a lot of the troopers within the contingent that marched on Rajpath are from probably the most distinguished models of the Bangladesh Army’s East Bengal and Field Artillery regiments. These models have the excellence of preventing and successful the 1971 Liberation War, an official mentioned.
“This Bangladesh contingent carries with them the legacy of the legendary Muktijoddhas of Bangladesh, their fore-fathers who fought against oppression, mass atrocities by tyrannical forces and for the freedom of Bangladesh. The contingent also has members of the Bangladesh Navy and Air Force who contributed to the liberation of Bangladesh,” the official mentioned.
The Bangladesh navy contingent was flown in an Indian Air Force plane for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi. The visiting contingent needed to spend the primary week in quarantine as a result of pandemic earlier than it started rehearsals for the parade.
This is the third time the Republic Day parade in India has witnessed the participation of a navy contingent from overseas — French troops marched in 2016 and UAE troops in 2017.
This 12 months, as India and Bangladesh have fun 50 years of the institution of their ties, each side have agreed to carry commemorative occasions in a number of different international locations and in addition collectively organise occasions all year long.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday prolonged greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the event of India’s 72nd Republic Day. “The special ties of friendship, cooperation and trust between our two countries are flourishing from strength to strength. New frontiers of bilateral cooperation alongside traditional areas of engagement are being opened, even during the difficult times created by the pandemic,” she wrote in a letter.
Modi has been invited to Bangladesh for celebrations in March this 12 months, and is prone to journey to Dhaka for the occasions. He was invited final 12 months in March as effectively, however needed to cancel as a result of Covid-19 pandemic.
