Reminiscing the contribution of the journalists of Kolkata to the War of Liberation of Bangladesh, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Saturday said their role will be written in golden letters in history.
“We are grateful to India . . . the contribution of the journalists of Kolkata will ever be remembered as they gathered news and published those during the war with courage,” the minister said at a discussion at Kolkata Press Club (KPC) auditorium in India.
The KPC organized the discussion on a book named ‘Bangladesher Muktijuddho: Kolkatar Sangbadikra o Press Club Kolkata’ with KPC president Snehashish Sur in the chair.
Dr Hasan said around one crore Bangladeshi had taken shelter in India during the War of Liberation in 1971.
“Bangladeshi people were happy when the Indian Army entered into Bangladesh to fight against Pakistani occupied forces,” he added.
The minister said it is most important to keep the history of elderly journalists in written form. And this book did it, he added.
Congratulating the members of KPC on its 75th founding anniversary, Dr Hasan gave them assurance of extending overall cooperation for publishing the second edition of the book.
Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner to Kolkata Towfiq Hasan, senior journalists Tarun Ganguli, Mansh Ghose, Dilip Chakrabarti, Dr Partho Chattopadhyay, Sukharanjan Das Gupta and Upen Tarafdar and KPC general secretary Kingshuk Pramanik, among others, spoke at the discussion.
Later, the information minister inaugurated the exhibition of artworks on ‘Bangabandhu o Bangladesh’ at Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) auditorium in Kolkata.
The Bangladesh Deputy Commission organized the exhibition, said a press release received here today.
ICCR Director Goutam Dey, Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner Towfiq Hasan, mass media researcher Dr Pabithro Sarker and Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) managing board director Abed Khan, among others, addressed the inaugural function.
Dr Hasan, in his inaugural speech, said Bangabandhu means Bangladesh. The people of Bangladesh will remember forever the contribution of India and Kolkata, as well, to the Liberation War of Bangladesh.
A total of 40 artworks of different artists of Bangladesh and India were on display in the three-day long exhibition.
The minister will inaugurate the first-ever ‘Bangladesh Film Festival’ at Agortola in India today.
