Bangladesh on Sunday announced it was scaling down and postponing several events related to the celebration of the birth centenary of freed...
Bangladesh on Sunday announced it was scaling down and postponing several events related to the celebration of the birth centenary of freedom fighter and first Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the nation, the Hindustan Times reported on Monday. The announcement came the same day as Bangladeshi authorities confirmed three cases of the novel coronavirus in the country.
Rahman was born on March 17, 1920, and was one of the central figures in Bangladesh’s struggle for independence from Pakistan, which led to the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to visit Dhaka on March 17 to attend the inaugural ceremony of the celebrations, and to deliver an address. Modi was also expected to meet Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Modi’s visit was seen as an act of conciliation amid tensions between India and Bangladesh over the Citizenship Amendment Act, and protests in the neighbouring country over it.
Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, chief coordinator of the “Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Birth Centenary Celebration National Implementation Committee”, said at a hastily convened press conference late on Sunday that the celebrations will be held later in the year. Chowdhury said the events to be held on March 17 would be inaugurated...
