Since both India and Bangladesh are facing the problem of violence by fundamentalist forces, it is in the interest of the two countries to join hands to defeat the sinister designs of extremists, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has said."Both India and Bangladesh have to deal with the violent activities of fundamentalists. To confront the threats posed by them, the two neighbours must help each other," Sarkar said here on Thursday night while addressing an event on the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.He said: "Tackling increasing activities of the fundamentalists is the common goal of both countries. These fundamentalist forces are trying to rewrite the history of both countries and subvert their success stories."
Sarkar said there were consistent attempts in both countries to create confusion over history and that such attempts must be resisted."Youth of both India and Bangladesh must be shown the path of future in the light of experiences of the past and the people of the two nations must go forward shoulder to shoulder (to achieve that goal)," said Sarkar.
A Bangladeshi private TV channel, a Liberation War-based museum of that country and a Tripura-based NGO "Uran" jointly organised a three-day exhibition-cum-cultural programme starting Thursday to commemorate the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and the sacrifice of "Mukti Joddhas" (freedom fighters), who fought against the Pakistani forces in the 1971 war, leading to the creation of Bangladesh.State Minister of Finance and Planning M.A. Mannan of Bangladesh said that without the help of India, Bangladesh would not have been created and India's help was still crucial for the growth of his country."If Bangladesh and India help each other, both countries would benefit and growth would get further boost. People-to-people relations must be further strengthened and the scope of relations further widened."Economy of both countries would get a boost if the two neighbours work closely," the visiting minister added.