Building happy, prosperous Bangladesh

Abdul Hamid President in charge

March 26 is our great Independence and National Day. On the eve of the day, I convey my heartfelt greetings and felicitations to the fellow countrymen living at home and abroad.

The historic Independence Day is a glorious day in our national life. We achieved our long-cherished independence through nine-month-long armed struggle and supreme sacrifices of millions of people.

On this solemn day, I pay my deep homage to the martyrs who laid down their lives in the War of Liberation in 1971. I pray to the Almighty for the salvation of those departed souls.

On this very memorable day, I recall with profound respect the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who proclaimed country’s independence at the early hours on March 26, 1971.

Responding to his clarion call, the people from all walks of life participated in the War of Liberation and achieved victory through armed struggle. I also recall with deep respect our four national leaders; valiant freedom-fighters and organizers who rendered their dedicated efforts and enthusiastic support that accelerated the achievement of our victory.

I also remember with deep respect the contributions of late Sher-e-Bangla A.K. Fazlul Haque, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Moulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani who inspired our people at various stages for attaining country’s self-sovereignty. The contributions of those valiant sons of the soil would be ever written in the history of our independence.

One of the prime objectives of our hard-earned independence was to build a happy and prosperous Bangladesh. Keeping that in mind, the government is rendering untiring efforts in materializing the objectives of independence.

With the span of time, we have achieved some significant progress in the field of agriculture, education, health, rural infrastructure, communication, ICT, SME, youth & sports, women and children, women empowerment, etc. at national level. At the same time we have also attained notable advancement in corporate sector including the area of readymade garments, pharmaceuticals, ceramic and shipbuilding industry.

The government is also very sincere to establish rule of law, human rights in the country. Our achievement at international arena is also praiseworthy. Yet, we have to go a long way for achieving the desired goals of independence and building a happy and prosperous Bangladesh. I believe concerted efforts from all strata irrespective of party affiliation are imperative in this regard.

The people of our country are democracy-loving. Without making institutionalization of democracy, the overall development is hard to attain. Tolerance, fortitude and respect to others opinion are the pre-conditions for flourishing democracy.

Therefore, it is of paramount importance to maintain patience, forbearance at all level and to be respectful to others opinion in a democratic pluralism. Let us make our Jatiya Sangsad as a center of excellence in solving our national issues through discussion. I am confident, everybody irrespective of party affiliation would play responsible role in fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of our common people by playing their due role.

The present government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has declared “Vision 2021” with a view to attaining “Golden Bangla” dreamt by Bangabandhu. I believe people from all strata of life would contribute to build an IT-based happy and prosperous Bangladesh by materializing the “vision” in the golden jubilee of independence in 2021.

On this Independence Day, I urge all, living at home and abroad, to work untidily imbued with the spirit of War of Liberation to expedite economic self-reliance and democratic advancement of the country

May the almighty be with us.

Khoda Hafez, may Bangladesh live forever.

Sheikh Hasina Prime Minister

I convey my heartiest greetings to my countrymen as well as to all expatriate Bangalees on the occasion of the great Independence and National Day of Bangladesh.

The 26th March is a glorious day in our national life. On this great day, I pay my deep homage to the three million martyrs and 200 thousand women who lost their innocence in the War of Liberation in 1971.

I recall with deep gratitude the greatest Bangalee of all time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, under whose dynamic leadership we earned our great independence.

I also pay my humble tributes to four national leaders and the valiant freedom fighters, who had fought against the Pakistani occupation forces to free our beloved motherland. I extend my sympathies to those who had lost their near and dear ones, and were subjected to brutal torture and subjugation during the war.

I recall with gratitude our foreign friends who had extended their whole-hearted support and cooperation for the cause of our liberation.

The Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman proclaimed the independence of Bangladesh at the first hour of March 26, 1971, after the occupation forces launched sudden attack on innocent and unarmed Bangalees on the black night of March 25, 1971.

Bangabandhu’s proclamation was spread all over the country through telegrams, tele-printers and EPR wireless. At each and every district and subdivision, Awami League leaders and workers publicized the declaration widely through mikes.

The international media also had circulated Bangabandhu’s proclamation of independence. Under the brave and dauntless leadership of Bangabandhu, we earned the ultimate victory on Dec. 16, 1971, after a nine-month bloody war.

The independence earned through huge bloodbath and sacrifice is our people’s greatest achievement. To ensure that this achievement remains meaningful, the spirit of our great liberation war should be reached to every nook and corner of the country. Cherishing the true history of the liberation war close to our hearts, we would have to go ahead in achieving the objectives of the Charter of Change by building a Bangladesh free from corruption, mal-governance, terrorism, hunger and poverty.

The present Awami League government has been implementing huge development programs in all sectors, including agriculture, education, health, law and order, information technology, energy and power and communications.

The defeated anti-liberation, communal and identified reactionary forces are trying to undo the democratic and development process of our beloved country at a time when our government had executed the verdict of Bangabandhu’s assassination case, and is holding the trial of the war criminals.

On this auspicious day of our independence, I urge the countrymen to remain united to foil the ill designed plots of the anti-democratic and anti-liberation forces against the government and the people.

We have been striving hard to establish Bangladesh as a poverty-, hunger- and illiteracy-free modern digital Bangladesh by the golden jubilee year of our independence through implementing “Vision-2021.” I hope that all citizens of our country would engage themselves with their utmost sincerity, honesty and dedication to build Bangladesh as a prosperous and prestigious country in the comity of nations.

I am confident that Insha-Allah, with our united efforts, we would surely achieve our golden Bangladesh as envisioned by the Father of the Nation.

Joi Bangla, Joi Bangabandhu

May Bangladesh Live Forever.

Dr. Dipu Moi, MP Foreign Minister

Today, Bangladesh celebrates its 42nd anniversary of her glorious Independence Day. As we celebrate the Day, I convey my heartfelt greetings and felicitations to my compatriots living at home and abroad. On this memorable day, I recall with profound respect the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who proclaimed country’s independence at the early hours on March 26, 1971.

I also pay my deep homage to the martyrs who laid down their lives in the war of liberation in 1971 and the hundreds of thousands of women who were raped by the occupation Pakistani armed forces, the auxiliary forces and their local collaborators.

It all began with the assertion of a national identity in the face of systematic denial, discrimination and deprivation of that identity rooted in a millennia-old heritage of language, culture and customs.

It evolved through the shaping of political demands for inclusion and equal access to opportunities, against marginalization of the Bangalee people and their cultural essence. It crystallized into the 6-point demand, a detailed manifesto for autonomy and devolution.

The landslide victory for the Awami League in the first ever general elections in 1970 and the refusal to hand over power by the Pakistani authorities led to the non-cooperation movement culminating in the declaration of independence by Bangabandhu when the genocide began. We achieved our long-cherished independence through nine-month-long armed struggle and supreme sacrifices of millions of people.

Cherishing the true history of the liberation war, the present government has made giant strides to achieve the objectives of Charter of Change which will lead to Bangabandhu’s “Sonar Bangla” — the Golden Bengal. We can visualize a middle-income, digital knowledge based Bangladesh in 2021.

We have demonstrated our intent and ability to forge partnerships with our immediate neighbors and far beyond. We are deeply involved in the process of multilateralism, through global and regional commitments in line with the policy of “friendship to all and malice towards none” enunciated by Bangabandhu.

The present government remains pledge-bound to bring the perpetrators of atrocities committed during the War of Liberation in 1971 to justice. The defeated anti-liberation, communal and identified reactionary forces are trying to destabilize the country and derail the democratic and development process. They are out to portray a negative image of the country outside Bangladesh.

I urge the international community to add their voice to the overwhelming popular demand emanating from the people of Bangladesh and join in their condemnation of those found guilty of crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes.

On this very special day, I take the opportunity to thank all our officials and staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our missions abroad who have devoted themselves to achieve our foreign policy objectives. I also congratulate the Bangladesh Diaspora who has been contributing to the buoyancy of the economy of their country of origin as well as of their host countries.

Finally, I urge all to work unitedly imbued with the spirit of War of Liberation to expedite economic self-reliance and democratic advancement of the country.

Joy Bangla,

Joy Bangabandhu.