Independence Day celebration organized by UK Bangla Reporters Unity

Mohammed Saleh Ahmed : On the occasion of the Independence Day of our beloved homeland Bangladesh and the National Day of March 26, at the initiative of the UK Bangla Reporters Unity, floral tributes were offered at the altar of Shaheed Minar in Altab Ali Park, East London, UK, to pay homage to the martyrs of 1971 and pray for the forgiveness of their souls.

Later, a discussion and recitation session was held in the premises of Shaheed Minar, paying tribute to the martyrs and honoring the freedom fighters, the nation’s best sons.

Muhammed Shahed Rahman, President of UK Bangla Reporters Unity and Special Correspondent of BanglaMirror News, UK Correspondent of Dhaka Post, presided over the event.

The entire program was conducted by Abdul Basir, the general secretary of the organization and editor of ABC Bangla News, and sub-editor of Bridge Bangla 24.

Poems were recited at the meeting by poet Asma Matin, Assistant Secretary of UK Bangla Reporters Unity, Organizing and Training Secretary, Bangla View Reporter Jannatul Ferdous Doly, and J Times TV news reader and organization member Dipa Haque.

Community activist Ahbab Hossain, Jagannathpur Times editor and former president of the organization, Professor Shajidur Rahman, former treasurer of the organization Muhammad Saleh Ahmed, current treasurer of the organization UK Bangla Guardian Executive Editor Mirza Abul Kashem, Assistant Secretary and Editor of Channel NRB UK A Rahman Oli, photojournalist Nahid Jagirdar, lyricist Sheikh Mofazzal Hossain, Shafiq Ahmed Rajib and Sargel Ahmed, among others, participated in the discussion.

The speakers at this discussion meeting said – March 26 is the great independence and national day of Bangladesh. An unforgettable, glorious day in the history of the Bengali nation.

On this day in 1971, the name of independent and sovereign Bangladesh was added to the map of the world. This is not just the birthday of a state—it is the day a nation regains its identity, the final declaration of a long struggle.

The speakers also said that the brutal massacre of the Pakistani occupying forces on the dark night of March 25, 1971, called into question the very existence of the Bengalis. That horrific night of “Operation Searchlight” could not suppress the Bengalis; rather, the fire of resistance was born from that darkness. The final fight for liberation began with the declaration of independence on March 26. At that time, the trial and international recognition of the Bengali genocide committed by the Pakistani forces on the dark night of March 25 have not yet taken place. We demand immediate international recognition of this genocide.

The speakers said – a long nine-month bloody struggle, the exchange of countless lives, the infinite sacrifice of mothers and sisters – all of them resulted in the final victory on December 16. The seeds of that victory were sown on this day. Therefore, March 26 is not just the beginning, it is the center of our consciousness. Which we now experience from the depths of our hearts, living in this diaspora.