Delhi says no to cash gifts for martyrs of '71

The Indian government has declined to receive cash gifts for martyred Indian soldiers of the 1971 Liberation War. Ekattorer Ghatok Dalal Nirmul Committee President Shahriar Kabir told the Dhaka Tribune after a meeting with Foreign Minister AH Mahmud Ali on Wednesday afternoon that New Delhi had declined on grounds of feasibility. “The Indian government has explained that it would be problematic to find the descendants of the martyred soldiers to distribute the money,” he said. Shahriar said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would pay respect to the Indian martyrs of '71 during her visit to Delhi in April. Hasina was supposed to hand over crests and Rs5 lakh to the family of each of the 1,668 Indian martyrs. “We have come to know that 46 years after the Liberation War, it would be problematic to find out who the descendants of the martyrs are. So India has urged us to only give crests.” Hasina will hand over crests to seven families and the rest will be distributed through the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi. The Indian army has provided the names of 1,668 soldiers who died in the Liberation War in 1971.