Bangladesh army contingent pays tribute at National War Memorial

The 122-member contingent of Bangladesh Army that also took part in 72nd Republic Day parade, laid a wreath and paid tribute to fallen soldiers at the National War Memorial on January 27. Anurag Srivastava, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson shared images of 122-member Bangladeshi regiment marching during the 72nd Republic Day parade. He deemed it a “historic moment” in 50 years of bilateral ties between both the nations. This was for the first time, that contingent of the Bangladesh Armed Forces participated at the historic Republic Day celebrations on Tuesday. 

The Bangladesh contingent included soldiers of the Bangladesh Army, sailors of the Bangladesh Navy, and air warriors of the Bangladesh Air Force. As per reports, the majority of the soldiers in the contingent come from the most distinguished units of the Bangladeshi Army comprising of 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10 & 11 East Bengal Regiment and 1, 2 and 3 Field Artillery Regiment. These units reportedly also have the distinct honour of fighting and winning the Liberation War of 1971. The contingent was led by its Commander Lieutenant Colonel Abu Mohammed Shahnoor Shawon along with his deputies, Lieutenant Farhan Ishraq and Flight Lieutenant Sibat Rahman.

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‘Very good experience’ and ‘great responsibility’

Earlier, Colonel Mohatsim Hyder Chaudhary, chief of the Bangladesh contingent had said on January 25 that the marching style of both Indian and Bangladeshi contingent is similar and thus, they did not have to change the pattern a lot. Just hours before the largest and most important of the parades marking the Republic Day celebrations in India begin in New Delhi, Chaudhary had told news agency ANI that it is a “great responsibility” assigned to Bangladeshi contingent of putting a great show. He also said that the forces are excited about Tuesday’s parade. 

"It is a great responsibility that has been assigned to us. The men with me are very excited to participate in this parade... If you ask about the feelings, participating in a foreign land, with a foreign army and with the same tempo is very much exciting," he said.

Chaudhary added, "It is a very good experience. Fortunately, the way we march and the marching of the Indian contingent are quite similar. From that point of view, we didn't have to change our pattern much."

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