Hundreds of residents from Bangladesh and Inida met for over two hours at the Amarkhana border on Monday, the first day of the Bangla New Year.
Men, women and children thronged the border, exchanging greetings from either side of an inviolable barbed-wire fence.
Most carried gifts, but they had to toss them across to their relatives waiting on the other side of the fence.The five-kilometre stretch buzzed with conversation loud enough to be heard on the other side, flashing smiles, and – less audibly – the hum of sobs.
People began gathering from early morning, coming from places such as Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Nilphamari and India’s Jalpaiguri, Siliguri and Kolkata.
Amarkhana Union Parishad Chairman Md Nuruzzaman told bdnews24.com the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) was at first reluctant to let people get near the barbed-wire fence but later relented.
Though the time allowed for the meet was two hours beginning from 11am, people stayed on some time longer.
Amena begum, 75, of Maladam village under Panchagarh Sadar, was overwhelmed with emotion seeing her younger brother after 40 years.
Her brother, Ziauddin, lives in the Barhovita village under the Rajganj Thana in India’s Jalpaiguri district.
“I could not recognise him at first. Later, one of my relatives helped me. My yearning to see my brother has been fulfilled,” she said.
Delwar Hossain, 70, of Rajganj Thana, said from the other side that he was meeting his younger brother after two years. “Today I also saw his (younger brother’s) granddaughter. Had the barbed wire not been there, I would have taken her on my lap. I can hardly find words to express my feelings.”
The local people said that many living in the border areas had stayed on in India after the India-Pakistan Partition in 1947.
Bit people in Bangladesh and India had little difficulty in passing through the border in the 1970s. But things changed a decade later.
The crossings almost stopped after passport and visa systems were introduced.
So, now, they wait for the first day of the Bangla New Year to meet each other – though in a somewhat truncated way.
Lt Col Md Ariful Haque Chowdhury, commander of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Panchagarh battalion, said they had made preparations on the meeting of Bengalis on both sides but their Indian counterpart did not formally inform them about their arrangements. – bdnews24.com
PMO official’s must-keep books on Bangabandhu
Three books on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman have been recommended as must-keep volumes for schools, colleges and madrasas to set the record straight.
The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education’s (DSHE) directive comes in the wake of BNP Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman’s recent remarks, questioning position of the nation’s founding father as Bangladesh’s first president, and prime minister.
The directive to educational institutions mentions a letter, dated Jan 13, by the DG of PMO to the DSHE, requesting such an order.
The three books on Bangabandhu’s life have been edited by the director general Md Mahmudur (Anu Mahmud).
The letter, which the DSHE attached with the directive, says the books would give upcoming generations a clear idea of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s life and political career.
DSHE Director General Fahima Khatun was not available to comment.
“Educational institutions have been asked to keep the books to help students get the right facts about Bangabandhu,” DSHE director (Colleges and Administration) Ataur Rahman told bdnews24.com on Sunday. – bdnews24.com
