Shipping Advisor says Victory Day credit belongs to Bangladesh alone, Jamaat criticises PM Modi’s Vijay Diwas post
Dhaka, Dec 18 (Representative) Following the spree of censure and controversies in Bangladesh surrounding Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s celebratory Vijay Diwas post on X, additional criticism has come from the Jamaat-e-Islami-Bangladesh, and the country’s Shipping Adviser Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain who said the credit for winning the war against Pakistan solely belongs to Bangladesh. Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar called PM Modi’s tweet as “disrespectful.” Parwar said, “On 16 December, Bangladesh’s Victory Day, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a post on social media, in which he referred to Bangladesh’s Liberation War as India’s war. He described the historic victory of Bangladesh in 1971 as India’s victory. “In his post on Victory Day, he did not even mention the name of Bangladesh. Narendra Modi’s statement is disrespectful and demeaning to Bangladesh’s independence, sovereignty, and Liberation War.” Furthermore, Parwar went on to claim that the Indian PM’s tweet was a confirmation of the Jamaat’s continuing assertions in the past 53 years of Indian designs for hegemonic domination. “Through his post, Modi has become a witness to the truth of Jamaat’s assertion,” he said as per Business Standard BD. Shipping Adviser Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain on Tuesday said: “The post made by the Indian Prime Minister is his personal view.
The nine-month war and the 16th December belong to Bangladesh only,” while responding to queries from reporters.Reflecting on the war, he said, “The nine-month-long Liberation War was marked by immense bloodshed and the loss of dignity of our women. Bangladesh started the war, Bangladesh finished it, and the whole world knows it. Comments diminishing these sacrifices, even after 52 years, deeply hurt those who participated in the war.”On Monday, the country’s Law Adviser Asif Nazrul, Anti-Discrimination-Students-Movement President Hasnat Abdullah, and Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Ishraque Hossain criticised PM Modi’s post, terming it as “undermining of their sovereignty”.Vijay Diwas (also known as Victory Day in Bangladesh) is a celebration honouring the courage and sacrifice of Indian soldiers in the 1971 India-Pakistan war, also called the Bangladesh Liberation War. However, religious radicals in Bangladesh have been creating a new narrative, greatly downplaying India’s role in a massive distortion of historical facts. Furthermore, following the ouster of PM Sheikh Hasina in August, the spree of attacks on the Hindu community, and rise of extremism under the army backed-Mohammed Yunus regime, ties between India and Bangladesh have witnessed a coldness.