Bangladeshi Fighters Of 1971 War Rest In Peace: India And Bangladesh To Jointly Develop And Protect Graveyards  

The graveyards of the Bangladeshi freedom fighters who died in the 1971 Liberation War would be protected and developed by Indian and Bangladesh authorities.

“We are collecting every detail about the graveyards of Bangladeshi freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives during the 1971 Liberation War. Initiatives would be taken to develop and protect these graveyards located on both sides of India-Bangladesh borders,” the country’s Assistant High Commissioner in Tripura, Shakhawat Hossain said. The details would be sent to the Foreign and Bangladesh Muktijoddha Affairs ministries for further steps.

An envoy with officials of the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission visited Ramnagar, Jaipur, and Akhaura on the outskirts of Agartala. 150-200 Muktijoddhas (freedom fighters) of the Liberation War were buried in these areas after they died fighting the Pakistani Army.

The Tripura government had developed a large memorial for the Indian and Bangladesh’s soldiers. The park at the border village Chottakhola, 132 km south of its capital Agartala, that was inaugurated by former Tripura CM Manik Sarkar.

Statues of Indira Gandhi and the founder of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, have also been installed in the memorial and park. Bangabandhu Mujibur Rehman, who was the tallest leaders of the movement launched a massive guerrilla fight against the Pakistani rulers. India was the first country to recognise Bangladesh as a sovereign nation.

Gautam Das, a CPI(M) member says that Tripura and other border areas helped Muktijoddhas a lot by acting as launching pads and refugee camps, with almost 16 lakh of the 1 crore refugees taking shelter in Tripura alone.