Kolkata, Dec 16 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she will never forget the role played by India and West Bengal in the 1971 Bangladesh freedom movement.

Attending a military tattoo, a demonstration of the armed forces, Banerjee paid tribute to the valiant soldiers of the Indian armed forces who displayed indomitable courage during the 1971 war, which led to the birth of Bangladesh.

Banerjee recalled how the people of India provided assistance to the Bengali population in East Pakistan in 1971, sheltering nearly a million refugees.

“As I do not know the current situation, it would not be appropriate for me to speak about it,” she said.

Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, Bangladesh has been gripped by unrest, with the minority Hindu population, constituting about 8% of the 170 million population, facing more than 200 attacks.

The military tattoo, attended by Lieutenant General RC Tiwari, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command (GOC-in-C), included bhangra dance, performances by the Warriors Drill Team of the air, micro-light flights, flyovers, mule rides, skydiving, a dog show and a music demonstration on the RCTC grounds. PTI AMR MNB

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