The War of Liberation means Bangabandhu. So, respect for the War of Liberation also means respect for Bangabandhu. Liberation War Minister AKM Mozammel Huq came up with the observation while speaking as chief guest at a book launching event titled 'Agrani Bank Family: Memoirs of the War of Liberation' organised by Agrani Bank Family at Liberation War Museum in the capital on Monday.
The minister said Bangladesh and the Liberation War are fundamental parts of each other. It is the responsibility of the mass people to value the freedom fighters who fought for the country’s independence. Until now, whoever we have lost and whoever are still alive among us, are part of our history and they must be honored, he added.
At the beginning of the ceremony, a minute of silence was observed for the memory of Bangabandhu on the occasion of National Mourning Day. Mentioning the significance of the Liberation War, the minister said, “Each of their short stories will play an important role in composing the full history of the country’s independence.”
The book was published in connection with the period of war events of the freedom fighters who worked in the bank. The book describes 133 freedom fighters contribution in the liberation war, while five other names also got a place in the book.The book is written by Md. Abu Hassan Talukder, assistant general manager, Agrani Bank.
Deputy Managing Director of the bank Md Anisur Rahman presided over the meeting. Md Anshar Ali Khan, Mohammad Shams-ul Islam, Managing Director and CEO of Agrani Bank gave the welcome address.Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank Md Sirajul Islam, Chairman of Agrani Bank, Zaid Bakht were guests of honor.
The minister said, “During the liberation war, the daily events of each freedom fighter is also a history. Therefore, to write a complete history of the Liberation War, we need to know the personal history of each freedom fighter.”“Hopefully the book will contribute a lot to preserving the correct history of the war.” Quoting Cuba’s revolutionary politician Fidel Castro, the minister said, “Founder of modern Cuba said, I haven’t seen the Himalayas, but I saw Sheikh Mujib."
Zaid Bakht, chairman of the board of directors of the bank, said, “Agrani Bank is currently the largest bank providing income. The bank has achieved the highest remittance in the country in 20 years. Agrani Bank is the highest level bank in the country. The bank has launched the first online service which no other state-owned bank has done.”
“The bank has been able to achieve so much for two reasons. Human resources and the staff members of the bank are responsible for doing so. The bankers not only manage the bank, they have equal contribution in other areas,” he added.It is worth mentioning that his contribution as a pioneer in the liberation war was also great.
The bank’s CEO Mohammed Shams-ul Islam said, the nation's debt towards them will be repaid to some extent by recognizing the contribution of each freedom fighter and preserving the entire history of the war of liberation.But it is not easy to record the wartime memories of every freedom fighter. We hope that the initiative taken by Agrani Bank to preserve the history will also inspire other banks to come forward to preserve the history of the War of Liberation.