BSS, Dhaka
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today issued a message greeting the countrymen on the occasion of Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bengali New Year 1431, to be celebrated tomorrow.
In her message, the premier said Pahela Baishakh is the first day of the Bengali New Year and it is a universal festival. It is the day of harmony and the great reunion of Bengalis, she said.
Sheikh Hasina called upon all, irrespective of religion and caste, to wake up with new joy forgetting the sorrows and failures of the past year.
The search for the identity and roots of Bengalis can be found through its celebration, Sheikh Hasina said, adding that Pahela Baishakh is a reflection of the Bangalees.
During the Pakistan period, the colonial power wanted to destroy the Bengali tradition, the premier said, adding that the Bengalis resisted it with the strength of self-identity and their own culture.
Bengalis joined the struggle for liberation by holding that power under the leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she continued.
She said the combined flow of culture and politics has been turned into a struggle for independence and freedom.
“This is how independent sovereign Bangladesh emerged in the world,” Sheikh Hasina added.