Memories of birth of Bangladesh linger at award function

The euphoria and excitement over the birth of a new nation Bangladesh were palpable today at Rashtrapati Bhavan even three decades after one of world's historic events.

The euphoria and excitement over the birth of a new nation Bangladesh were palpable today at Rashtrapati Bhavan even three decades after one of world's historic events.

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And the first political families of India and Bangladesh who carried forward the legacy of the architects behind the dawn of a new era in the South Asian region did not miss an opportunity to recall the poignant moment after India's greatest military victories against Pakistan.

The occasion was presentation of the prize for the 2009 Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Disarmament named after Indira Gandhi to visiting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who said the late Indian premier was like her "mother".

Indira Gandhi's efforts were instrumental in the liberation of Bangladesh in December 1971 after the Indo-Pak war while Hasina's father late Sheikh Mujibur Rehman led the liberation campaign.

Hasina, who received the prize from President Pratibha Patil, heard Congress president and Indira Gandhi's daughter-in-law Sonia Gandhi make a "personal recollection" of an emotional event almost to the date, 38 years ago.

Sonia recalled how she was fortunate at being present on the occasion on January 10, 1972 when Indira Gandhi greeted Mujibur Rehman as he halted in Delhi en route from London to his newly independent homeland. Mujibur Rehman had just been released from prolonged imprisonment by the military regime in Pakistan.

"Even today I can sense the euphoria and excitement of that historic moment," Sonia said, stressing, "her(Indira) name is, of course, inextricably linked with the birth of Bangladesh."