Bangladesh delegation led by Home Minister to attend Vijay Diwas celebrations

A delegation from Bangladesh led by Asaduzzaman Khan, the country’s Home Minister, will be joining the Vijay Diwas celebration at the Eastern Command headquarters at Kolkata of the Indian Army.

The celebrations will commence on Tuesday and will continue for the next few days. The delegation 

includes Bangladesh ‘mukti jodhas’, their family members and senior officers of the Bangladesh armed forces.

They will interact with other senior retired officers, who will be sharing their experiences of the 

Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971.

The mukti jodhas, who were a part of the 1971 war, attend the Vijay Diwas programme every year and have been visiting Kolkata for the past 10 years.

Major General R Nagraj, MGGS, Eastern Command, said: “Vijay Diwas commemorates the victory of the Indian Armed Forces allied with the Mukti Bahini, leading to the historic surrender of over 93,000 Pakistani soldiers and liberation of Bangladesh on December 16, 1971.”

He said: “Around 3,800 officers, soldiers and junior commissioned officers of the Indian Army had laid their lives and 12,000 were injured. 

We commemorate their sacrifice in 1971 war on Vijay Diwas.”

The Vijay Diwas celebration will start on Tuesday with a Military Band Concert at Prinsep Ghat, which will commence at 6 pm.

Common people will be allowed to attend the concert. There will be a multi-event display on 

December 14 at Royal Calcutta Turf Club, where people will get to watch horse show, dog show, para-jumping and gliding.

The national sky diving team will also perform at the event which will start around 2.30 pm and will continue for around two hours.

The wreath laying ceremony at the Vijay Smarak in Fort William will be held on December 16. 

The Vijay Smarak was erected at Fort William in 1996 on the 25th anniversary of the victory in 1971 war.