Glorious Victory Day today. On this day in 1971, after a nine-month war of liberation, the Pak aggressors surrendered at the Racecourse Maidan (now Suhrawardy Udyan) in Dhaka.
With the final victory, the independent state of Bengal, Bangladesh, emerged. The feeling of victory is always joy. But at the same time, the day is painful, especially for those who have lost loved ones. The fruit of the sacrifices of countless people is our freedom. We remember with deep respect the martyrs of the liberation war; The women who were the victims of horrific torture.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman successfully led the struggle for the socio-economic and political rights of the people of this country and for the establishment of an independent state. He inspired millions of people with the mantra of freedom. He was accompanied by a group of political leaders with the same goal. We remember all of them with deep respect.
The journey of independent Bangladesh started with a dream. Today, everyone will want to calculate how much his dream has been fulfilled in this path of 49 years. We have had to deal with many setbacks.
Politics has advanced in an uneven way. The democratic system has been repeatedly damaged by unforeseen circumstances. It was not an easy task to make this country self-sufficient with limited population. In the difficult days of rebuilding a war-torn country, the state administration had to be introduced. A constitution suitable for an independent country was also formulated.
Bangladesh has fulfilled the condition of being included in the list of developing countries. Economic growth has increased. However, poverty is still evident. Economically we have to go further.
Although democracy and freedom of speech have been established, democratic institutions have not been able to become strong even today. The lack of commitment to take democracy to all levels is painful. Deep divisions in the political arena; At the same time, disunity in the national question has become a major obstacle in our way forward. Anti-independence forces are still active in the country.
Hopefully, war crimes trials are underway and several verdicts have been carried out. If the entire trial is completed properly, it will be helpful to prevent the activities of such evil forces – hopefully. This will also pave the way for strengthening the rule of law. Care must be taken to protect the values acquired through the war of liberation. Only then will victory become meaningful.
The main source of strength of any nation is unity. In almost all cases it is necessary for progress. Our victory in the war of liberation was due to the participation of all irrespective of opinion, path, race and religion in this war. That is why it was possible to defeat the powerful Pakistani army equipped with modern weapons in just nine months.
Unfortunately after independence we could not maintain that unity. Even on trivial issues, political divisions are a major obstacle in the way of strengthening the foundations of democracy in the country. Our leadership must come out of this.
At the same time, it is essential to follow the same policy in matters of national interest. Infinite possibilities before us. Our progress will be faster if we try to tackle all the problems unitedly with education from the liberation war of 1971. Forgetting the divisions, we will move forward on that path – let this be the promise of Victory Day.
