In India, Sheikh Hasina remembers ‘supreme sacrifice of 1971 war heroes’
Hasina said that the youth of both the countries (India and Bangladesh) should connect through their shared history.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday remembered "the supreme sacrifice of the Indian heroes" who fought during the Bangladesh liberation war of 1971. Hasina and external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday felicitated the descendants of Indian soldiers, who lost their lives during the war, with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Student Scholarship.
“We pay our respects to Indian soldiers who lost their lives during the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971. It's an honour for us to remember Indian brothers and war veterans who sacrificed their lives for our independence and sovereignty,” the Bangladesh PM said.
The scholarships were given to 100 students of Class 10 and 100 students of Class 12 as a homage to martyred Indian soldiers.
Hasina said that the youth of both the countries (India and Bangladesh) should connect through their shared history and called them the future leaders who "must work in close collaboration like the leaders of our nations did in the past".
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The Bangladesh PM, who is on a four-day visit to India, announced the scholarship on Tuesday for the "direct descendants of the soldiers or officers of the defence forces of India who were martyred or gravely wounded during the Bangladesh Liberation War".
The Bangladesh government maintains that about 1,984 Indian Army personnel were killed in the war.
The two countries signed seven agreements after Hasina's meeting with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Tuesday. One of the agreements included sharing the water of the Kushiyara river, which is expected to benefit the regions of southern Assam and Sylhet in Bangladesh.
(With inputs from agencies)
