Cooperation in spirit of mutual respect, says Sonia
Indian ruling Congress party president Sonia Gandhi yesterday said Bangladesh and India can cooperate with each other in the spirit of mutual respect and equality for greater common good of people of the two countries.
“That is what Indira Gandhi would have wanted and this is what I hope we will constantly endeavour to do,” she said while receiving “Bangladesh Freedom Honour” on behalf of her mother-in-law at a function at Bangabhaban.
Sonia Gandhi said Bangladesh is ahead of India in areas critical to the quality of life.
She mentioned Bangladesh's achievement in universal immunisation of infants, significant reduction in infant and child mortality, higher level of female secondary education and a longer life expectancy.
Receiving the award, she said, “If Indira Gandhi could have been with us now, I know she would have been overwhelmed by the high honour you have bestowed on her.”
The quality Indira Gandhi prized above all else was fearlessness. This was a quality which her father Jawaharlal Nehru and the father of India Mahatma Gandhi inculcated in Indira Gandhi's mind and which she cherished throughout her life, said Sonia.
“Courage and Indira Gandhi were synonymous. Never was this courage more manifest, never was it more tested, than in the months from March to December 1971 when Bangladesh was being born,” she said.
“A free Bangladesh was your victory, but also her (Indira's) finest hour,” she said.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments