Indian war veterans, Bangladesh Muktijoddhas celebrate Vijay Diwas

Kolkata, Dec 16 (IANS) Indian war veterans and Bangladesh Muktijoddhas, who fought shoulder to shoulder to liberate Bangladesh four decades back, reunited here on Saturday to celebrate the 46th anniversary of the victory over Pakistan.

As part of the Vijay Diwas (Victory Day) celebrations, a memorial service was held at the Vijay Smarak housed in the Eastern Army headquarters at Fort William.

It was on this day in 1971 that 92,208 Pakistani soldiers surrendered to the Joint Command of Indian and Bangladeshi forces in then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

A 71 member delegation, including 30 MuktiJodhas and 6 serving officers from the Bangladesh Armed Forces, and led by Bangladeshi Minister for Housing and Public Works Engineering Moshrraf Hossain attended the solemn occasion.

The MuktiJodhas have been attending the Vijay Diwas Celebrations at Kolkata for the last twelve years.

The solemn ceremony was marked by patriotic numbers, include such moving songs like "Aye Mere Watanke Logon" and "Vande Mataram, played by the army band that wafted across the "temple of the martyrs".

Wreaths were laid by the veterans, members of the Bangladeshi delegation and representatives of the three services.

As buglers sounded the "Last Post" and "Rouse", from a rampart behind the magnificent edifice of the war memorial, the gathering of uniformed personnel, veterans, civilians, school children and NCC cadets observed wo minutes silence to pay homage to those who made the supreme sacrifice in the 1971 war.

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