Tagore a beacon for B'desh, India'

Tagore a beacon for B'desh, India'

Planning Minister A K Khandker has said Bangladesh will never forget the overwhelming support of the government and people of India during the Liberation War in 1971.

He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the Bangladesh-India joint celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore in New Delhi on Saturday.

Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh presided over the ceremony.

Khandker recalled the unstinted support provided by the then prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi, to the liberation war of Bangladesh.

"The courage, the spirit of sacrifice, the spirit of the people of India, particularly the visionary leadership of Indira Gandhi, who announced her recognition of Bangladesh as an independent and sovereign nation even before the war ended, can perhaps never be fully reciprocated by the people of Bangladesh," said Khandker, who himself had a leading role in the Liberation War.

The planning minister, who represented the Bangladesh government, was the chief guest in the inaugural ceremony in Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.

He said Tagore would always remain a beacon for both Bangladesh and India.

Indira Gandhi's daughter-in-law, Sonia Gandhi, who now heads both the Indian National Congress as well as the ruling United Progressive Alliance, was the guest of honour.

The inaugural ceremony started with performances by Rabindra Sangeet maestros Rezwana Choudhury Bonna (Barisha Dhara Majhe….) and Dwijen Choudhury (Tumi Je Surer Agun….).

They were joined by eminent Hindustani classical music vocalist Madhup Mudgal, who presented a Jadi Tor Dak Sune …. in Hindi.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the joint celebrations of the Nobel laureate poet's 150th birth anniversary in Dhaka on Thursday.

Indian vice-president M Hamid Ansari was the chief guest on the occasion at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.

During Hasina's visit to New Delhi in Jan 2010, India and Bangladesh agreed to jointly celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Tagore, who penned the national anthem of both the countries.

The opening ceremony of the year-long commemoration will be held in Dhaka until Sunday and in Delhi until Monday.

Khandker said Bangladesh-India joint celebration of Tagore's 150th birth anniversary was a significant event, which underscored the cultural and social bond shared by the two neighbours.

He said the two countries shared a history of struggle against colonialism and exploitation. The two nations also share faith in democracy and secular values, he added.

The planning minister said Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had drawn inspiration from Tagore to lead the downtrodden of the then East Pakistan in the Liberation War.

He said it was from Tagore that Bangabandhu had got the concept of 'Sonar Bangla', which the latter had dreamt to create for his people.

Recalling Tagore's message for peace, harmony and universal brotherhood, Khandker stressed building institutions for research on the life and works of Tagore.

Referring to Tagore's message of peace and harmony, he said: "We, in Bangladesh, firmly believe that for our region to develop and achieve peace, prosperity and stability, it must be free from the scourge of terrorism and extremism."

"To this end, the government of Sheikh Hasina has launched an uncompromising fight against terrorism, extremism and militancy.

She has also assured India that Bangladesh will not allow its soil
to be used by elements working against the interests of any country," added Khandker, who led a delegation of MPs, artistes and senior officials from Bangladesh to India to attend the inaugural ceremony of joint celebrations in Delhi.