Dhaka: Visiting Indian President Ram Nath Kovind said here that as a youth, he was inspired by the “moral courage” of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s Father of the Nation, to liberate the country from an oppressive regime 50 years ago.
Bangladesh on Thursday celebrated its Golden Jubilee of Independence with a Victory Day parade in which President M. Abdul Hamid and his Indian counterpart Kovind were present along with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Addressing the celebrations, the Indian President said: “Like millions of others, I was electrified by his (Bangabondhu) powerful voice, and the understanding that it carried the aspirations of 70 million people of Bangladesh at that time. Like millions of Indians of my generation, we were elated by the victory of Bangladesh over an oppressive regime and were deeply inspired by the faith and courage of the people of Bangladesh. “Fifty years ago, the vision of an independent Bangladesh inspired millions. But it seemed a remote and impossible dream then to naysayers, sceptics and detractors. The international context and realpolitik seemed to rule out the prospects of Liberation. Set against a brutal, determined, and well-armed foe who would stop at nothing, the odds were very much against Bangladesh. “But the inspiring statesmanship of Bangabandhu; his clear-sighted moral conviction and his unflinching determination to seek justice for the people of East Pakistan were truly the game-changers. As a result, the world learnt a valuable lesson: that the will of the majority of people cannot be subjugated by any force, however brutal.”He added that although Bangabandhu and his family members were brutally killed, the anti-liberation forces failed to realise that bullets and violence cannot extinguish an idea that had captured the imagination of the millions of people Kovind further mentioned that the anti-liberation forces did not count on the determination and resilience of Sheikh Hasina, the incumbent Prime Minister who has faced assassination attempts and dictatorships with remarkable courage.”She has been driven by the strong conviction to realise the dream of Bangabandhu, and his spirit of the ‘Bidrohi’ (or rebel).”During the occasion, President Kovind paid tributes to the memory of the untold suffering of tens of millions of people of Bangladesh.”AGENCIES