Shawdesh Desk:

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said the state of the art Bangabandhu Military Museum (BMM) would inspire the young generation to join the armed forces to protect the country’s independence and sovereignty.

“Young generation will be encouraged being imbued with patriotism by the Bangabandhu Military Museum and to join the armed forces—army, navy and air forces—to defend the country’s independence and sovereignty,” she said.

She came up with the statements while inaugurating the museum virtually from her official Ganabhaban residence in the capital.

The premier said the museum would be a milestone initiative for the country’s armed forces through which the youths would know about the armed forces’ contribution to the independence alongside the real history of the great Liberation War.

It would also be a “place of inspiration” for the armed forces personnel who have been working in various peacekeeping missions abroad to maintain the global peace, she mentioned.

She said, “They (Bangladeshi peacekeepers) will get self-satisfaction through establishment of the museum.”

The prime minister said that her government would make the museum more modern and time-befitting as it would be the world’s best military museum for its beauty and technology.

She added separate galleries for the army, navy and air forces to showcase their glory and contribution to the Liberation War, peace keeping missions and other works will attract the youths to join the armed forces with a patriotic zeal to protect the country’s independence and sovereignty.

But, the reality is that Bangladesh believes and maintains the foreign policy “Friendship to all, malice to none” adopted by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she said.

The prime minister said they have taken time-befitting measures for the overall development of the armed forces following the footprints of the Father of the Nation referring to various steps taken by her government since 1996.

Sheikh Hasina said she had to face two cases each for building a planetarium, purchasing MIG-29 planes for the air force and frigates for the navy, adding that she did not know why the cases were filed against her.

“But, they were not able to prove anything against me,” she said.

Chief of Army Staff General S M Shafiuddin Ahmed, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral M Shaheen Iqbal, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Shaikh Abdul Hannan, and Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Defence Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal, spoke on the occasion from the museum site at Bijoy Sarani Road in Dhaka.

Cabinet members, lawmakers, high civil and military officials were present at the museum end.

The Bangabandhu Military Museum was built on 10 acres of land on the west side of the Bangabandhu Novo Theater where equipment of the military, before and after the independence, would be presented.

The museum has six separate parts including designated galleries for Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Air Force.

To educate people about the glorious history of the Bangladesh military forces, Bangladesh Military Museum was established in 1987 in Mirpur Cantonment which was later shifted in 1992 to the present location on the west side of Bangabandhu Planetarium along Bijoy Sarani Road in Dhaka.

The military museum was upgraded under a grand initiative to modernize it which has led to the development of a state of the art establishment that will be known as ‘Bangabandhu Military Museum’.

The museum promises to provide authentic information to the country’s people, specifically the new generation, about the glorious past, challenges, achievements, and key developments of the Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force. The information displayed can also be used for research purposes.