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A delegation of liberation war veterans from the Indian armed forces led by Lt Gen (retd) JFR Jacobs calls on Chief of Army Staff Gen Moeen U Ahmed at the Army Headquarters in Dhaka yesterday. Photo: ISPR
“We were comrades in arms, we fought together shoulder to shoulder,” said Lt Gen (retd) JFR Jacob, former chief of general staff of eastern command of India.
The then Indian Army commander of the eastern front said this yesterday as he was reminiscing Bangladesh’s Liberation War of 1971 at a reception in the capital’s Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre.
Sector Commanders Forum (SCF) organised the reception in honour of visiting Liberation War ‘71 veterans of the Indian Army.
In the last phase of the Liberation War for Bangladesh in 1971, liberation forces of Bangladesh and the Indian army joined forces to annihilate the occupying Pakistan forces in battlefields. After long 37 years of their victory, the wartime friends of the Liberation War gathered under the same roof yesterday in the capital of Bangladesh.
The visiting Indian ex-army veterans and their Bangladeshi comrades turned nostalgic in remembrance of their heroic victory over the Pakistan occupation army in 1971. The thrilled and excited war heroes embraced each other while recollecting their days of war together.
The gallant warriors were joined by a large number of politicians, lawyers, cultural activists, businessman, retired armed forces officials and human rights activists — who also took part in the War of Independence directly or indirectly.
An 11-member delegation of Indian war veterans lead by Lt Gen (retd) Jacob is on a visit to Bangladesh at the invitation of Bangladesh Chief of Army Staff Gen Moeen U Ahmed.
Soon after entering at the reception hall, JFR Jacob embraced deputy chief of the Liberation Forces Air Vice Marshal (retd) AK Khandker amid cheering and applauding from an ecstatic crowd.
As all members of the Indian delegation entered the full house packed with freedom fighters of Bangladesh, the crowd grew even more euphoric.
They nostalgic crowd gathered around the Indian war heroes and cheered them.
“Hello my old comrades in arms, very much happy to see you after a long, long time,” many of them said to each other.
During a brief ceremony, leader of the delegation Jacob said, “You cannot understand what I feel. My heart bleeds… I am so much touched…. the nation has emerged like the phoenix from the flame higher and higher and higher.”
“How can I express my gratitude, I can only say God bless you and God bless Bangladesh,” he said.
AK Khandker in his welcome address said their [delegation of the Indian Army] visit has taken all of us to the nostalgic days of 1971.
The visit should have taken place much earlier, he said adding that the people of Bangladesh will always welcome them with open arms.
Leaders of SCF, Dr Kamal Hossain, Abdur Razzaq, Toafil Ahmed, Motia Chowdhury, Haider Akbar Khan Rono, Hasanul Haq Inu, Rashed Khan Menon, were present at the reception among others.
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