DHAKA NEWS
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said Bangladesh would work for the economic welfare of the people of the South Asian countries to turn the region into a prosperous and developed one.
“We want South Asia to prosper and develop and this is our aspiration,” she said.
Hasina was addressing the closing ceremony of the yearlong Bangladesh-India Joint Celebration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Nobel Laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital.
She joined the programme as chief guest while Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee attended as the guest of honour.
Bangladesh wants friendly relations with its neighbours, including India. There might be problems between the neighbouring countries but those could be resolved through dialogues, said Hasina.
She termed Rabindranath “the poet of Bangla, Bangalee, liberal humanism and world peace.”
Rabindranath established a bridge between the people of Bangladesh and India through his creations. National anthems of both Bangladesh and India are the creations of the great poet, she added.
Hasina said Rabindranath was the “source of inspiration in all our movements”.
She recalled the contributions of the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the people of India in extending their generous cooperation during the 1971 Liberation War.
Hasina mentioned that the political outlook of Rabindranath was very clear and bold.
In 1892, he proposed to make Bangla as the medium of education and emphasised on increasing the country's capabilities by reducing the dependence on foreign rulers, she said.
She said Tagore proved his sense of patriotism in 1919 by rejecting the knighthood, awarded by the colonial British government, in protest of the massacre of innocent people in Jallianwala Bagh.
Despite being a Zamindar, Rabindranath was very kind to his subjects and stood beside them in times of their need as he proved in at Patisar, Shahjadpur and Shelaidaha, she said.
She mentioned that Rabindranath introduced micro-credit programmes for the welfare of the poor and marginal people by utilising the fund that he received after winning the Noble Prize.
“Kabiguru showed the path to transform sorrow into strength,” Hasina said, adding that she tries to ease her pains by reading various literary works of Rabindranath.
In his speech, Pranab Mukherjee termed the joint celebration a historic event in the relation between the people of the two countries.
He said Rabindranath is not only the asset of Bangladesh and India alone, but also a priceless asset for the entire world.
Pranab Mukherjee said Rabindranath is the bridge between the people of the two countries.
The joint celebration is a milestone of cultural communication between the two countries, he said, hoping that it will help to further strengthen the existing friendly relations.
He said the relations between the two countries are rooted in love, faith and trust of the two people and it will certainly reach a new height in the future.
Some of Rabindranath's paintings have been exhibited in London, Chicago, New York, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Seoul and Kuala Lumpur, 80 years past their creation, said Pranab Mukherjee.
Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad chaired the function where State Minister for Cultural Affairs Promode Mankin and its Secretary Suraya Begum also spoke.
Later, the prime minister witnessed a cultural programme jointly presented by the artistes of Bangladesh and India. Indian film actress and descendent of the Tagore family, Sharmila Tagore, recited one of Rabindranath's poems.
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