Bangladesh National Day Message of Honorable State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam, MP
Honorable State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam, MP
Today is 26th March, our great Independence and National Day. This is the day of breaking the shackles of subjugation; a day of reaching the enlightened world from the abyss of darkness. On this very day in 1971, the Bangalee nation started the War of Liberation against the misrule, exploitation and repression of the brutal Pakistani ruler with the clarion call of our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Pakistani Occupation Forces committed one of the worst genocides in history indiscriminately on 25th March 1971 to silence the Bangalee Nation forever. Diabolical mass killings during the liberation war are a black chapter not only in the history of Bangladesh, but also in the history of world humanity. In 2017, the August National Parliament of Bangladesh declared March 25th as National Genocide Day to commemorate the genocide carried out by the atrocious Pakistani Forces on the black night of March 1971. Bangabandhu, the Architect of Bangladesh, declared the independence of Bangladesh in the wee hours of 26th March in 1971. Bangladesh made its place on the world map as an independent and sovereign state with self-esteem through the nine-month long Liberation War.
On this very day, I pay profound reverence to the great hero of the war of independence, the architect of great independence, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who led his people from the front in various movements and struggles from the 1952 Language Movement to the 1971 Liberation War to the greatest achievement of Bengali Nationalism — an independent Bangladesh. With profound love and respect, I recall the supreme sacrifices made by our war heroes, the three million martyrs and the wounded freedom fighters.
On this historic moment, I recall the contributions of the officials of the then Foreign Ministry who worked to build public opinion all over the world in response to the clarion call of Bangabandhu during the Liberation War.
Bangabandhu had a dream of bringing smiles to the face of the Bangalee people. He wanted to make them free from exploitation, hunger, poverty and subjugation. The daughter of our founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has been leading the development pursuit of Bangladesh.
Recently, the people of Bangladesh fortified their support for her with huge public support in the Eleventh General Election. As a result of pragmatic initiatives commenced by the Awami League government, now Bangladesh has been transformed into a trade-dependent country from an aid-dependent one. Currently, Bangladesh is marching forward with $1,752 per capita income and more than 7.86 percent growth rate. As a result, Bangladesh has been recognized as a “Role Model of Development.”
On this auspicious day, I thank all the members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our Missions abroad who have been working with sustained dedication and commitment in achieving our foreign policy objectives and promote the national interest of Bangladesh on the world stage. Also my heartfelt felicitations go to the Bangladeshi Diaspora who have been contributing unceasingly to the development of our motherland by sending invaluable remittances and brightening the image of Bangladesh globally by practicing Bangla and Bengali culture abroad.
On this glorious day, being imbued with the spirit of our great Liberation War and with a view to building Bangabandhu’s dream of “Sonar Bangla” (Golden Bengal), let us take a fresh vow to devote ourselves to work from our respective positions in advancing the ongoing development efforts of the present government to strengthen the hands of Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and build a better world for our future generations.
Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu.
May Bangladesh Live Forever.