পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (চতুর্দশ খণ্ড).pdf/৭৭৮

এই পাতাটির মুদ্রণ সংশোধন করা প্রয়োজন।

746 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ চতুর্দশ খন্ড At Bongaon Our staff Correspondent adds: Earlier, addressing the Bangladesh refugees at Bongaon this afternoon the Prime Minister said it was a pity that certain elements in East Bengal were now trying to give a communal color to the liberation war in Bangladesh. Such attempts would only weaken the cause of this country, she added. In the afternoon, Mrs. Gandhi visited two refugee relief centers at petrapole and Itkhola. She also visited the sub divisional hospital at Bongaon and talked to the evacuee patients from Bangladesh who had been shot at by Pakistani troops. She told the refugees that the liberation war in East Bengal was a "war against all kinds of repression and wrongs. Remember your fight is our fight" While fighting against injustice and repression, the people of Bangladesh had been forced to take shelter in India. "We know that despite all our good wishes, you might have to face difficulties here because we are not a rich country" she said. Mrs. Gandhi expressed the hope that the refugees would not have to suffer long and they would be able to return home soon. She said India was a democratic country. Here there was no ill feeling among the Hindus, Muslims, Christians and other communities. She hoped that the people of East Bengal would also maintain communal harmony and jointly fight their war of liberation. At the Petrapole camp, where more than 8,000 refugees were living Mrs. Gandhi gave food to a small girl. She was reported to have lost many of her relatives. A 10year-old boy who had been carrying his small sister on his shoulder burst into tears while narrating his story. She also talked to a woman whose husband had been shot dead by Pakistani troops. According to a spokesman of the Bharat Sevasram, Muslims constituted about 40 percent of the population at the Petrapole camp. Boys and girls below the age of eight numbered 2,200. Demanding immediate recognition of Bangladesh a demonstration was organized by the supporters of the Democratic Students' Organization and the Democratic Youth Organization when Mrs. Gandhi landed at Calcutta airport. The demonstrators protested against the Union Government's attitude towards Bangladesh. Mr. J.C. De; chairman of the West Bengal branch of the Indian Red Cross Society, explained to the Prime Minister, and the chairman of the Indian Red Cross Society, Miss Padmaja Naidu, what the State unit of the Society was doing in Petrapole and many other centers. At Haldibari Our Staff Correspondent at Haldibari adds: Referring to repeated Pakistani intrusions into Indian territory, the Prime Minister said people living near the border "will have in face some risks". She said those living close to the border in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir had to face similar situations even during peace-time.