Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday (April 21, 2024) inaugurated newly constructed 'Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Battery Complex' at Halishahar cantonment in Chittagong. She inaugurated this complex at the Artillery Center and School in Chittagong's Halishahar Cantonment. After the inauguration, the Prime Minister visited the Artillery Museum established at the newly constructed 'Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Battery Complex'. Read more: PM Hasina rues lackings in extraction of sea resources despite potentials She also witnessed sculpture of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman installed at the museum. She also saw the historic 3.7 inch howitzer that fired the first shot of Mujib Battery in the War of Liberation, the ammunition used in the artillery regiment and replicas of all the cannons and the glorious history of the remarkable operations of the artillery forces in the great Liberation War. Later, the Prime Minister attended Darbar there. Read more: PM Hasina urges farmers to form cooperatives to boost agri production

Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has called for creating greater awareness and documentation on the role of the Mujibnagar Government during our glorious War of Liberation, amongst the new generation of Bangladeshi expatriates. He made the call while speaking as the chief guest at the Bangladesh High Commission, London’s commemorative event on the 51st Anniversary of historic Mujibnagar Day. Also read: Press Council sets roadmap for creating journalists' database: Info Minister To ensure that history is not distorted to the younger generations, especially on the undisputed leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during the protracted freedom struggle and the independence of Bangladesh, as well as the historical role played by the four national leaders, and the Mujibnagar government in liberating Bangladesh, the Information Minister said that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will produce documentaries in English on our liberation war based on national and international empirical evidences. He suggested publishing booklets in English by the London High Commission on the War of Liberation, including the significance of the historic Mujibnagar Day for distribution to the new generation of British-Bangladeshis, said the Bangladesh High Commission in London on Wednesday.  “To honour the sacrifices made by the heroes of our liberation war and realise the Golden Bengal vision of Bangabandhu, his daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is making relentless stride to transform Bangladesh into a prosperous, self-reliant and self-respecting nation,” the minister said. Speaking on the occasion as the guest of honour, valiant freedom fighter and a veteran of the Mujibnagar Government Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Bir Bikrom, reminded the nation that the Mujibnagar Government was neither a temporary nor an interim government, but the first constitutional government of the independent and sovereign People’s Republic of Bangladesh as declared in the ‘Proclamation of Independence’ adopted on 10 April 1971. Dr Chowdhury, also the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister, encouraged the young generation to better study the ‘Proclamation of Independence' of Bangladesh, which was the mini-constitution and the guide for conducting the 1971 liberation war and the wartime government. High Commissioner for Bangladesh to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem paid deep homage to Bangabandhu and the four national leaders who sworn in the first government of independent Bangladesh on behalf of Bangabandhu, making him the president, naming the place after the Father of the Nation as Mujibnagar, campaigning internationally for the release of Bangabandhu from imprisonment and skillfully conducting the War of Liberation to ultimate victory. She also paid propound gratitude to valiant freedom fighters, martyrs and victims of the 1971 War of Liberation and the foreign governments who supported the Mujibnagar Government and visited Bengali refugee camps in India during the War of Liberation, including former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi and leading British politicians such as Michael Barnes, MP, Bruce Douglas-Mann, MP, Toby Jessel, MP, Arthur Bottomley, MP, Reginal Prentice, MP, James Ramsden, MP and Peter Shore, MP. Also read:Info minister inaugurates Bangabandhu Corner, Bangladeshi fashion house in Guwahati The High Commissioner on behalf of London High Commission reaffirmed her oath on the historic Mujibnagar Day as a public servant of the republic created on 10 April 1971 in supporting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s vision and aspiration for a democratic, progressive, secular and prosperous Bangladesh. Valiant freedom fighter Lt. Col. (Retd) Kazi Sajjad Ali Zaheer, Bir Pratik and Padama Sri, eminent cultural and theater personality Ramendu Majumder, veteran freedom fighter and war correspondent of ‘Joy Bangla’ weekly and the ‘Swadhin Bangla Beter Kendra’ Haroon Habib former Professor of Law at the University of Dhaka Dr Salim Mahmud also spoke. Member of the Student Action Committee of the Overseas Freedom Movement of Bangladesh War of Liberation in the UK and overseas Freedom Fighter Sultan Mahmud Sharif and expatriate British-Bangladeshi community personality Syed Sajidur Rahman Faruk also spoke on the occasion. A short documentary on the oath-taking of the Mujibnagar Government was shown at the virtual event, participated by a large number of expatriate Bangladeshis living in the UK and Ireland.

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Monday said BNP has betrayed the spirit of Liberation War by sharing power with the forces who opposed it in 1971. Quader said this during a briefing at his office in the Secretariat this morning. Pointing recent evidence of BNP’s anti-state propaganda by appointing lobbyists in the US, the AL leader said that the opposition party is trying to undermine the nation’s achievements and its image.    Also read: Joy shares video on BNP-Jamaat's "anti-Bangladesh activities" He said Awami League has been doing politics of land and people since its birth. The party has been associated with every achievement of this country. Quader, also the roads and bridges minister, said BNP is jealous of the nation’s strides towards development and that’s why it disputes the achievements of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. They want to make electoral system of the country controversial, he said. Also read: BNP fears about its political future: Hasan

Internationally renowned scholar from Pakistan Husain Haqqani has said the people of Pakistan should urge their government to offer a formal apology to the people of Bangladesh for all the atrocities that were committed in 1971. “To this day, no apology has been forthcoming.... an apology is the most courteous thing ...," he said who served as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States from 2008 to 2011. Referring to the general elections of 1970 in the then Pakistan and the Pakistan military, Haqqani, now living in the United States, said the military’s reaction in the form of imprisoning Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and initiating genocide against the Bengalis. He made the remarks in a virtual talk on ‘‘Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: An Iconic Leader of People’s Struggle for Freedom’’ organised by the Embassy of Bangladesh to Belgium and Luxembourg, and Mission to the European Union in Brussels on Monday. Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen joined the event as chief guest while Bangladesh Ambassador in Brussels, Mahbub Hassan Saleh, moderated the event. Ambassador Husain Haqqani, currently a Senior Fellow and Director for South and Central Asia at Hudson Institute, a top think tank in Washington, D.C., United States, said Bangabandhu is not only the greatest Bengali of all time, he is one of the greatest leaders emerging out of South Asia. He also said Bangabandhu is a great leader in the history of the world, and an iconic figure of struggle for freedom that the world has seen throughout the 20th century. 

The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on Saturday said it is deeply shocked and saddened by the passing of its board member and National Professor Anisuzzaman.

Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque on Friday said the quality education is improving in Bangladesh.