President Abdul Hamid has urged people from all walks of life to get united against exploitation, deprivation, conflicts, militancy and communalism being imbued with the spirit and ideal of great poet Rabindranath Tagore for building a happy and prosperous Bangladesh.
“Rabindranath is the name of our pride; he is an eternal symbol of the existence of Bengalis. The meaning of taking lesson from Rabindranath is to make harmony with the nature and achieve self-emancipation rising above all sorts of prejudice and narrowness,” the President said while addressing a programme organized by Cultural Affairs Ministry marking the 155th birth anniversary of Tagore here yesterday. “It is my prayer on this birth anniversary of Rabindranath: let rise good thinking and human value everywhere in the society,” said President Hamid. “His thoughts about poverty alleviations, rural society, health and environment still inspire us. When the world has become a global village, the thoughts and philosophy of Rabindranath bear immense importance,” he added. The President said democratic, economic and social justice and the dream of a human globalization irrespective of nation-religion-caste were at the root of the philosophy of Rabindranath and with the message of world peace he travelled to different parts of the world. His strong position against colonialism and fascism still inspires the people, he added. Abdul Hamid said Rabindranath had a very deep relation with the present Bangladesh. He came very close to the people of Shahjadpur of Sirajganj, Patisar of Naogaon and Shilaidah of Kushtia when he lived a part of his life in these places for the purpose of looking after Zamindari.
The great poet had tried to free the people from poverty through taking various social initiatives, including introducing cooperatives and agriculture banking there which is very relevant even in the present days of development, he added. “Peace, unity and harmony are the inner message of the songs of Rabindranath. The people and the soil of this part of the world have been depicted very simply in his poems-stories-songs,” he said, adding that Rabindranath imagined this country as “Golden Bengal” because of its beautiful nature and resources. “The lifelong desire and struggle of our great leader Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was to establish self-right of Bengali nation and we have been able to establish the “Golden Bengal” as was dreamt by Rabindranath under the leadership of Bangabandhu,” the President added.
He appreciated the government for taking special steps to preserve the places rich with the memories of Rabindranath Tagore. Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor presided over the programme while Professor Sanat Kumar Saha and Cultural Affairs Secretary Akhtari Momtaz addressed it, among others.
