Mujib was someone we all looked upon as a close friend: Pranab Mukherjee
Mujib was someone we all looked upon as a close friend:
Pranab Mukherjee
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, India's independence day, August 15, is also the day when someone he always been close to, left this world in a tragic manner," a popular English monthly magazine "Diplomatist" said in an article marking the 35th anniversary of the assassination of the founding father of Bangladesh.
Advertisement
"I got to know the news in the morning (the murder of Bangladesh's founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman)... I was in Calcutta at that time and was shell shocked. Sheikh Mujib was someone we all looked upon as a close friend," said Pranab Mukherjee, on board a special flight to Dhaka recently.
"Later we came to know that Hasina and Rehana, his daughters were safe in Germany, otherwise the whole family would have been wiped out." Mukherjee said while recalling the darkest days in the chapter of Bangladesh's history.
The man, who has been the longest serving minister in the Indian cabinet, was moved that day. It was not just a crisis for a neighbouring nation but a personal tragedy for him, which overtook him without warning.
Rarely Pranab Babu, the astute statesman in India's cabinet moved, but mention Bangladesh or Sheikh Mujib to him and there is always rare pleasure on his face, the article read.
For Pranab Babu, the `love affair' with Bangladesh started in 1971, when as a young junior minister in the Congress government, he was requested by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to liaise with the political leadership of the Bangladesh government in exile.
"My emotional attachment with Bangladesh started in those days....I got to know most leaders of today's Bangladesh at that time," Pranab Babu reminisced.
Ever since, he has time and again proved that his love for India's eastern neighbour is not merely politician's statement.
Pranab Babu not only liaise with Bangla leaders but also toured a large number of countries to drum up support for Bangladesh's liberation. It was an onerous task for someone as young as 35 years at that time.
Afterwards, as a key aide to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Pranab Babu was often the man called upon to help manage Indo-Bangla relations.
It was during this phase that he got to know Bangabandhu intimately.
As many of Bangladesh's ministers from that era aver, Pranab Babu is the last of those legendary Indian leaders who helped built a close friendship between India and Bangladesh.
The article said that Pranab Babu's family too has over time grown close to Bangabandhu's family. "I look upon Joy and Putul as a brother and sister....we have always felt close to them," said Pranab Babu's son Abhijit, a technocrat.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, India's independence day, August 15, is also the day when someone he always been close to, left this world in a tragic manner," a popular English monthly magazine "Diplomatist" said in an article marking the 35th anniversary of the assassination of the founding father of Bangladesh.
Advertisement
"I got to know the news in the morning (the murder of Bangladesh's founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman)... I was in Calcutta at that time and was shell shocked. Sheikh Mujib was someone we all looked upon as a close friend," said Pranab Mukherjee, on board a special flight to Dhaka recently.
"Later we came to know that Hasina and Rehana, his daughters were safe in Germany, otherwise the whole family would have been wiped out." Mukherjee said while recalling the darkest days in the chapter of Bangladesh's history.
The man, who has been the longest serving minister in the Indian cabinet, was moved that day. It was not just a crisis for a neighbouring nation but a personal tragedy for him, which overtook him without warning.
Rarely Pranab Babu, the astute statesman in India's cabinet moved, but mention Bangladesh or Sheikh Mujib to him and there is always rare pleasure on his face, the article read.
For Pranab Babu, the `love affair' with Bangladesh started in 1971, when as a young junior minister in the Congress government, he was requested by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to liaise with the political leadership of the Bangladesh government in exile.
"My emotional attachment with Bangladesh started in those days....I got to know most leaders of today's Bangladesh at that time," Pranab Babu reminisced.
Ever since, he has time and again proved that his love for India's eastern neighbour is not merely politician's statement.
Pranab Babu not only liaise with Bangla leaders but also toured a large number of countries to drum up support for Bangladesh's liberation. It was an onerous task for someone as young as 35 years at that time.
Afterwards, as a key aide to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Pranab Babu was often the man called upon to help manage Indo-Bangla relations.
It was during this phase that he got to know Bangabandhu intimately.
As many of Bangladesh's ministers from that era aver, Pranab Babu is the last of those legendary Indian leaders who helped built a close friendship between India and Bangladesh.
The article said that Pranab Babu's family too has over time grown close to Bangabandhu's family. "I look upon Joy and Putul as a brother and sister....we have always felt close to them," said Pranab Babu's son Abhijit, a technocrat.
