PM Modi to commemorate 1971 war victory liberating Bangladesh at India Gate from Dec 12

The Government of India is organising grand celebrations at the India Gate to mark the golden jubilee of India's victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war that led to Bangladesh's independence. The celebrations would include a recreation of the war and the participation of soldiers from both India and Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to begin the celebrations, which will take place from December 14 to December 16. Mukti Yodhas (Bangladeshi freedom fighters) will be arriving in the national capital this year to take part in the grand celebrations, along with Indian veterans who fought in the war for Bangladesh's liberation, ANI reported quoting army sources.

According to the media agency, the Army is also planning to recreate the two war fronts which would showcase how the Indian troops crushed Pakistani forces in the war, especially on the eastern front. 

PM Modi to be briefed about 1971 battles

PM Modi would receive a briefing on the war's various battles. He'll also meet the Bangladeshi Mukti Yodhas, who were trained by Indian soldiers and agencies to combat genocide, mass rapes, and killings perpetrated by Pakistan Army officials and jawans, primarily in the Punjab region.

During their nearly 24-year coexistence, several leaders of the Pakistani Army looked down on Bangladeshis and viewed them as second-class citizens. On December 16, Pakistani troops surrendered to Indian troops, bringing the conflict to a close. The Indian Army set a record by taking 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war, making it the largest military defeat in recent history. On the western front, the Indian Air Force and Army collaborated to halt a Pakistani armoured brigade advance in the Longewala sector, where a small contingent of Indian soldiers and aircraft thwarted a large assault.

'India, Bangladesh relationship beyond strategic alliance': Union Defence Minister

It is worth noting that earlier this week, during his visit to the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi to commemorate Bangladesh Armed Forces Day, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated that India's relationship with Bangladesh is special and goes beyond a strategic alliance and both the nations have maintained it since Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971.

He added that Bangladesh has continuously proven its opponents and doomsayers wrong and that the country's success over the years is worthy of emulation by other growing economies. According to him, the Bangladesh liberation war was a unique twentieth-century event because it was a moral struggle against injustice, brutality, and oppression.

(With inputs from agencies, Image: PTI)