As a group of 'Muktijoddhas' (liberation warriors) of Bangladesh is visiting Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recalled the contribution of the state to that war including the supreme sacrifice by soldiers.
He added that he is likely to visit the neighbouring country soon to further strengthen the age-old relations between India and Bangladesh.
A 25-member delegation of 'Muktijoddhas' is on a three-day visit to Guwahati and Shillong.
“The visit is part of #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav and Swarnim Vijay Varsh celebrations organised by High Commission of India in Bangladesh & Act East Policy Affairs, GoA," Sarma tweeted after meeting the delegation on Monday evening.
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India is celebrating its 75 years of Independence as ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ while ‘Swarnim Vijay Varsh’ marks the 50th year of India's win against Pakistan in the 1971 war that led to the birth of Bangladesh.
"The Bangladesh Liberation War was a landmark event where 9 valiant soldiers from Assam made the supreme sacrifice. Some Assam Police officers trained & equipped Mukti Bahini members," the chief minister said in a Twitter post.
“The civil society of Assam also came forward to help the refugees who had come from East Bengal,” he added.
The chief minister said that he has received an invitation from the Foreign minister of Bangladesh to visit the country.
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“I will make sincere efforts to honour the invitation to give a further push to civilisational ties between India and Bangladesh,” Sarma tweeted.
Meanwhile, a delegation of 19 editors and senior journalists from various organisations in Bangladesh also arrived in Guwahati on Monday.
The team led by Chief News Editor, Independent TV of Bangladesh, Ashish Ghosh Saikat, will be meeting various organisations during their stay, an official release said.
“This exercise is undertaken as part of the Familiarisation Programme organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, for Foreign Media,” it said.
The team is accompanied by the Press Officer, High Commission of India in Dhaka, Vaibhav Sunil Gondane, and Publicity Officer, Ministry of External Affairs, Pawan Kumar.
During the two-day stay, the team will visit IIT Guwahati, Numaligarh Refinery Limited and the Centre for Development and Peace Studies, among others, the release added.
(Inputs from PTI)
