India gifts 1971 War of Independence memorabilia to Bangladesh
Published : 25 Apr 2018, 16:14
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Wednesday handed over some of the memorabilia, including two PT 76 tanks and one Mi-04 Helicopter, to Bangladesh Armed forces.
The memorabilia were received by Lt Gen Nizamuddin, CGS Bangladesh Army and AVM Abul Bashar, ACAS (Admin) BAF, in a ceremony organised at Air Force Station Bashar, said a press release.
Earlier on October 22, 2017, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj gifted the memorabilia of the Liberation War of 1971 to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to be displayed in the Liberation War Museum.
The memorabilia included: Two PT-76 tanks, One Mi 4 helicopter, 25 weapons including pistol, rifles, machine guns, mortars, rocket launcher and a large number of artifacts, historical photographs, archival audio and video clipping, maps, battle records, newspaper clippings, documentary films related to the Liberation war 1971.
The Indian High Commissioner during the handing over ceremony said, “It gives me immense pleasure to physically hand over some more items of memorabilia of War of Liberation to the Bangladesh Armed Forces.”
“While most items of memorabilia have been handed over to the Bangladesh National Museum, the larger items like PT-76 Tanks and Mi 4 Helicopter are now being handed over to the Bangladesh Army and Air Force,” he said.
He also hoped that these would be displayed in their respective museums.
The PT-76 was the light amphibious tank of the Armoured Regiments of the Indian Army. Amphibious capability of these tanks played a crucial role in the crossing of rivers and water bodies during the war.
These tanks also played a crucial role in routing the Pakistani forces in Northern, North Western and Western sectors during the war.
The Mi-4 was the transport helicopter in service with the Indian Air Force during the Liberation war. It was extensively utilised for heliborne operations by the joint forces in the Eastern sector. It played a crucial role in early capture of Sylhet.
Source: unb