The Victory Day of Bangladesh

National Memorial at Savar.

Victory Day is a national holiday in Bangladesh celebrated on December 16 to commemorate the victory of the Allied forces High Command over the Pakistani forces in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.The Victory Day is celebrated with various activities and programmers of government and non-government organizations. This is a public holiday but the national flag is hoisted on the buildings of official installations, shopping centers and residential areas, Armed forces, BNCC, Rover Scout, Girl Guide and the students of schools and colleges gather for procession and parade. Literary and cultural organizations hold discussion, seminar and cultural show to mark the day. Radio and television telecast different programmers. Newspapers publish special supplement on the importance of the day. People of Bangladesh proved the fact, through their bloody struggle, that freedom is the birth right of man. The aspirations of the martyred heroes will be achieved only when Bangladesh will enjoy economic freedom. It is built with Concrete, but made of blood. It stands 150 feet tall, but every martyr it stands for stands so much taller. It is an achievement the dimensions of which can be measured but it stands for an achievement which is immeasurable. It stands upright for the millions of martyrs who laid their lives so that we may stand upright, in honor and dignity, amongst the nations of the world. Most prominently visible is the 150 feet tower that stands on a base measuring 130 feet wide. There is actually a series of 7 towers that rise by stages to a height of 150 feet. The foundation was laid on the first anniversary of the Victory day. There is actually a plan to build a huge complex in several phases. The entire complex will cover an area of 126 acres. The plan of this complex includes a mosque, a library and a museum. The relics of the liberation war will be kept museum. They will ever remind our countrymen and all who would come to visit the museum of the valiant struggle and supreme sacrifices of a freedom loving people. Here also will be clear warning to all oppressors that the weapons of freedom need not be very big. The will of people prevails, for man is born to be free. The most moving sight of the complex is the graves we bow down our heads in respect, as the towards soar symbolizing the loftiness of their sprit.

National Memorial of Bangladesh

History of Victory Day :

The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War was a war of independence, which resulted in the secession of East Pakistan from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and established the sovereign nation of Bangladesh. The war pitted East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan, and lasted over duration of nine months. One of the most violent wars of the 20th century, it witnessed large-scale atrocities, the exodus of 10 million refugees and the displacement of 30 million people. On 16 December 1971, Lieutenant General Amir Khan Niazi, CO of Pakistan Armed Forces located in East Pakistan signed the Instrument of Surrender. The Instrument of Surrender was a written agreement that enabled the surrender of the Pakistan Eastern Command in the Bangladesh Liberation War, and marked the end of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 in the Eastern Theater. The surrender took place at the Ramna Race Course in Dacca on December 16, 1971. Lieutenant General Amir Khan Niazi and Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, Joint Commander of Indian and Bangladesh Forces, signed the instrument amid thousands of cheering crowds at the race course. Air Commodore A. K. Khandker, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, and Lieutenant General J F R Jacob of the Indian Eastern Command, acted as witnesses to the surrender. Also present were Vice-Admiral Mohammad Shariff, commander of the Pakistani Naval Eastern Command and Air Vice-Marshal Patrick D. Callaghan of the Pakistan Air Force's Eastern Air Force Command, who signed the agreement. On behalf of Bangladesh, Air Commodore A. K. Khandker acted as witness to the surrender. Lieutenant General Jacob Rafael Jacob, Chief of Staff of the Indian Eastern Command, along with the other commanders of Indian naval and air forces, acted as witnesses on behalf of India. Aurora accepted the surrender without a word, while the crowd on the race course started shouting anti-Niazi and anti-Pakistan slogans.

Victory Day of Bangladesh