Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday announced Mujib Scholarship for direct descendants of the Indian soldiers killed or grievously injured in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
The awards will be conferred on Wednesday, she said. The award is named after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina's father. A total of 200 family members of Indian Army personnel will receive the scholarship.
"We are grateful for valuable support from government and people of India in great war of liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, which was a watershed moment in our bilateral relations...."Tomorrow, I will confer Mujib Scholarship to the direct descendants of soldiers or officers of defence forces of India who were martyred or gravely wounded during Bangladesh Liberation War," Hasina said. As many as 1,984 Indian Army personnel were killed in the war, according to the Bangladeshi go
The Hasina government had earlier honoured other Indian supporters of the freedom movement of Bangladesh, including writers and politicians. In the past, Hasina had also proposed to confer similar honours to those soldiers who laid down their lives to liberate the country. Hasina, who is on a four-day visit to India, also oversaw the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Prasar Bharti and Bangladesh Television (BTV) on cooperation in broadcasting. PNS