Bangladesh to Send 20-Member Team for Vijay Diwas Celebrations in Kolkata
This is also the second time a delegation from the neighbouring country will undertake the visit on the historic occasion since the fall of Hasina's regime and her escape to India in August last year
Kolkata: Bangladesh is going to send a 20-member delegation this year to attend the Vijay Diwas celebration, which marks its independence from Pakistan on December 16 in the 1971 Liberation War, at the Indian Army's Eastern Command headquarters: Fort William, recently renamed as Vijay Durg, in the city.
The development coincides a push to India by Bangladesh, under an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, for the extradition of its former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who has been sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal at Dhaka last month for her conviction of crime against humanity following her trial in absentia into the mass killings during a heavy protest in July of 2024 when she was in power.
This is also the second time a delegation from the neighbouring country will undertake the visit on the historic occasion since the fall of Hasina's regime and her escape to India in August last year.
The Bangladeshi delegation is set to reach Kolkata on December 14 and will participate in the celebration on December 15-16. It will include eight Mukti Joddhas who had bravely fought in the war alongwith the Indian armed forces against Pakistan, and two serving military officers of Bangladesh, a senior officer of the Indian Army said on the sidelines of Vijay Diwas curtain raiser at Fort William on Sunday.
He added that the rest will be the delegates’ family members, mainly spouses. Earlier while briefing the media about the two-day event, Major General General Staff, Headquarters Eastern Command, Maj Gen Vanguru Raghu said, “Our two nations share a profound historical and cultural bond. Our defence forces have sustained cordial relations through numerous joint exercises and training programmes over the years. We take immense pride in the Eastern Command’s pivotal role at the forefront of this historic campaign against West Pakistan's oppressive regime.”
He added, “Eastern Command has organised an extensive series of events including interactions with Mukti Joddhas, our war veterans and a military tattoo being graced by governor of Mizoram and the Chief of Defence Staff and a solemn wreath laying ceremony at Vijay Smarak by the governor of West Bengal.”
