Shawdesh desk:

Bangladesh government has honoured 36 Indian and eight Russian members of the Allied Forces for their roles in 1971 Liberation War.

The Ministry of Liberation War Affairs hosted a reception on Sunday at a hotel in Dhaka on the occasion. The event was addressed by liberation war affairs minister AKM Mozammel Haque as the chief guest.

Indian high commissioner Pranay Kumar Verma attended the programme as guest of honor while liberation war affairs secretary Ishrat Chowdhury, Major General Madhov Areen VSM from Indian delegation and Gubenko Vitalii Viktorovich from Russian delegation addressed on the occasion, among others.

Members of the Indian Allied Forces led by Major General Manoj Singh of the Indian Army who took part in the Liberation War along with their families have come to Bangladesh on the invitation of the Bangladesh government to celebrate the Victory Day.

Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque expressed gratitude towards India and Russia saying, ‘Such kind of assistance provided by Indira Gandhi, the people of India and the allied forces during Bangladesh’s War of Independence is rare in the history of the world’.

He recalled how the then Soviet Union vetoed a US proposal for armistice when Bangladesh’s victory was imminent. He remembered the Soviet soldiers who were killed in an explosion when removing mines planted by Pakistan occupation forces at Chittagong Port.

‘The ties among India, Russia and Bangladesh forged in blood will never be undone,’ he said.

Captain (retd.) Gubenko Vitalii Viktorovich, a Russian army officer who took part in the liberation war, said, ‘This victory is our joint victory. I can see that Bangladesh has come a long way. Let the journey continue to further advancement’.

The Indian veteran allied forces members are Lt. Col. A A Gune, Col. Mahendra Singh Bisla, Lt. Col. Jasinder Singh, Maj. Anil Kumar Bawa, Maj. Devendra Nath Das, Capt. Amar Jeet Kumar, Maj. Gen. A Parmer, VSM, Brig. Anil Malhotra, Col. Ravinder Singh, Col. Vanai Kumar Datt, Col. NM Sharma, Maj HS Panwar, Maj. Biren Borgohain, Brig. Amitabha, Brig. Harwant Singh, Col. PK Sood,

Lt Col BS Almiya, Maj. Gen. Madhov Areen, Col Arunkumar Krishna Moghe, Col. LC Idhani, VSM, Col. Harjit Singh Sibia, Col. AL Sharma, Brig. Darshan Singh Dhadwal, Surg Cmde VK Puri, Lt. Cdr Ashok Batra, Cmde VK Vadhera, Air Cmde Prashant Dikshit VM, Sgn. Ldr Pushp Kumar Dutta, Sgt. Akash Kumar Dutta, Maj. Gen. MRS Manm, Brig P Shunil Kumar, Col. Suraj Singh Shilwal, Capt. Prithiba Verma, Wg cdr Suresh Bhanotra, and Capt. Kunal bhradwaj.

The Russians include Karamyshev Vladimir Aleksandrovich, Kruus Ludmila Petrovna, Gubenko Vitalii Viktorovich, Pobeda Lrina Anatolyevna, Bazzubtseva Marina Alekseevna, and Kovalenko Valentina Lvanovna.