India is always with Bangladesh: Saran

India is always with Bangladesh, High Commissioner Pankaj Saran has said while inaugurating a building in Chittagong dedicated to the memory of New Delhi’s first envoy in Dhaka.

The ‘Subimal Dutt Memorial Library’ is a renovated old library building at Kanungopara, Boalkhali, in the port city of Chittagong.

This building, established in 1902, was often used by freedom fighters against British rulers.

After inauguration, the envoy spoke at a brief ceremony where local MP Mainuddin Khan Badal was also present.

In his speech, he pitched for greater India-Bangladesh collaboration and the need for working together.

“We need to have partnership between us if we want to progress,” the high commissioner said.

“India is always with Bangladesh,” he said.

He also stressed women and girls’ empowerment and education for the better future of both countries.

“Women are the pillar of any society. If we give them respect and dignity, there cannot be any obstacle to progress,” he said.

Later, addressing a gathering of monks at the Ramkrishna Mission in the city, the envoy stressed the essential oneness of all religions.

He said that Ramkrishna Parmahansa’s message to the world is very relevant in today’s world.

He thanked the Bangladesh government for the way it had welcomed the Ramkrishna Mission.

The envoy said people of India and Bangladesh were of the same soil and same region and “our dreams and ambitions are the same”.

So the task of building a better future for India and Bangladesh was “a joint task and a common task” that needed everyone’s cooperation, he said.

That would be good for both countries, he added.

Saran left Dhaka on Monday for a three-day visit to the port city.

He would visit some places and interact with the local people.

Before leaving for Dhaka on Wednesday, he would deliver a speech before business leaders in a function organised by the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industries.