14 Bangladeshi Mukti Jodhas to join Vijay Diwas celebrations

Kolkata, Dec 10 (IANS) Fourteen Mukti Jodhas (liberation fighters) from Bangladesh, who were among those who played a pivotal role in the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, leading to the birth of the nation, would take part in the Vijay Diwas celebrations here Dec 16.

'This time, a team of 14 Mukti Jodhas from Bangladesh, led by senior-most retired Major General Jamil D. Ashan, will join the celebration of Vijay Diwas here in the Eastern Command (EC),' Major General Munish Sibal of Eastern Command told a press conference Wednesday.

He said: 'The Vijay Diwas celebration has always been a special event for all of us in the EC. Even today, there are a few serving officers who had participated in the historic battle. We've also invited some of our ex-army commanders and commanding officers of the unit who had performed credibly during the operation in Bangladesh.'

'Some of the retired Indian armed forces officers have already made themselves available for the event.'

The Mukti Jodhas and the people of the erstwhile East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, played an important role in helping the Indian Army achieve its goal. They provided valuable information on the location and whereabouts of different Pakistani strongholds and deployment of troops.

The EC will commemorate Vijay Diwas between Dec 13 and 16 this year in the memory of all warriors who sacrificed their lives for the sake of defending their nation.

Sibal said that Dec 16 is a glorious day in the annals of the history of the Indian armed forces. The India-Pakistan war of 1971 commenced when Pakisthan on Dec 3 launched a series of pre-emptive air strikes on India.

On Dec 16, the capital Dhaka fell. Lt. Gen. Niazi with 96,000 troops under his command surrendered to the Indian armed forces headed by then GOC-in-C EC Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora by signing the Instrument of Surrender. It was the birth of Bangladesh.

Talking about the security scenario across the country, Sibal said: 'We are constantly updating our network, specially after the Mumbai terror attack, as far as the army intelligence is concerned.'

'We're trying our best to prevent any incident, such as the 26/11 Mumbai attack, in future,' Sibal said. The brazen terror attack that hit the nation's commercial capital last month left at least 173 dead.

'Given the present scenario, we've also made additional security arrangement this year to ensure no untoward incident during the course of our Vijay Diwas programme.'