Online Desk

Dhaka, Sept 7: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishanka has said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,for them in India, is iconic - a man of action, courage and conviction.

"He (Bangabandhu) is as revered and remembered in India, as he is in Bangladesh," he said.

Jaishankar mentioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said Bangabandhu is their "national hero" too.

As a mark of respect to him, both countries have also commissioned a Biopic on him, which is nearing completion, said the Indian Minister.

Jaishankar was speaking at the award giving ceremony of the "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Student Scholarship" in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina confered the first-ever Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Student Scholarships on the direct descendants of soldiers, officers of Armed Forces of India who were martyred or critically wounded during the historic Liberation war of 1971.

"Prime Minister, under your and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visionary leadership, India-Bangladesh relations have taken great strides forward in ways that have not only shaped the contemporary but also the future trajectory of the partnership in mind," said the Indian Minister.

Jaishankar said for many years, freedom fighters have acted as a bridge between the two countries.

"That bond is now reaffirmed as the families of our war veterans and of those who made supreme sacrifices in the Liberation War, gather here today," he said, adding that the decision of the government of Bangladesh to award Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Student Scholarships is a testament of how the Liberation War of 1971 continues to inspire the bilateral relationship.

He congratulated the young people who received the scholarship and wished them for their promising future.

"You inherit a brave and historic legacy. Please honour and cherish it. As you will move ahead in life, you will be the custodian of the memory of that epochal war that gave birth to a new nation. So, do well and be true to everything that you do. That would be one of the finest tributes to a heroic leader in whose name, you receive this scholarship today," he said.

Jaishankar thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for this generous gesture of her government. "It is truly a symbol of our unique history."