Thaindian News

Agartala, Feb 5 (IANS) Bangladesh will tell the world about the genocide of its three million people and mass atrocities on 200,000 women and children perpetrated by Pakistani forces during the 1971 liberation war, a Bangladeshi diplomat said here Sunday.

“Bangladesh missions across the world have been organising numerous programmes including screening of films and cultural programmes to depict the barbaric massacres, brutal atrocities on women and children during the nine month long liberation war,” Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner Mahbub Hassan Saleh told reporters. He was speaking ahead of a three-day film festival — “Bangladesh’s War of Liberation in Celluloid” — beginning here Feb 10.

“To mark the 40th anniversary of the War of Liberation, the Bangladesh high commission in India in association with the Indian government, has been organising film festivals and cultural programmes in various Indian cities,” he added.

“The new generation in India and other countries knows very little about Bangladesh’s liberation war and the supreme sacrifice of lakhs of people and India’s role in the battle,” the envoy said.

Saleh said: “During the war, to escape from Pakistani forces’ barbaric atrocities, over one crore (10 million) Bangladeshi men, women and children took shelter in (the Indian states of) West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya.”

“Over 1,600,000 Bangladeshis (larger than the state’s then total population of 1,500,000) had taken shelter in Tripura alone,” he said.

“India-Bangladesh relations were founded during the war, which could not have succeeded without India’s support and help,” the diplomat added.

The official was talking to reporters

Six films, which recreate the valiant deeds of the freedom fighters in the 1971 liberation war, will be screened in this first ever festival in the northeastern state. The festival is being organised in association with the directorate of film festivals under the Indian union ministry of information and broadcasting and the Tripura government.

Similar such film festivals were held in New Delhi and Kolkata.

The films expected to be screened in the Agartala film festival include “Matir Moina” (the clay bird), “Khelaghar” (dollhouse), “Joyjatra” (victory mission), “Khondo Golpo-1971″ (1971 - a few shattered tales), “Amar Bandhu Rashed” (my friend Rashed) and “Guerilla”.

“The proposed films to be screened in the film festivals have won various international awards and have been acclaimed by all,” Saleh said adding that during the festival, the film directors and film personalities of Bangladesh would be present to explain about their movies.

India’s directorate of film festival deputy director Tanu Rai said : “The freedom struggle of any country is a very emotional and acclaimed issue and event. India always has had a deep and abiding respect for the Bangladesh liberation war and that is why New Delhi was associated with this festival.”

— Indo-Asian News Service
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