Bangladesh Embassy in Kathmandu celebrates Victory Day 2025

The Bangladesh Embassy in Kathmandu celebrated Victory Day 2025 on Tuesday with due solemnity and festive enthusiasm, marking the country’s victory in the Liberation War of 1971.

The programme, held at the embassy premises, was attended by Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Nepal Md Shafiqur Rahman, SAARC Secretary General Ambassador Md Golam Sarwar, Bangladeshi officials working at the SAARC Secretariat, expatriate Bangladeshis employed in regional organisations in Nepal, officials of Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ Nepal office, members of the Bangladeshi community, as well as distinguished Nepali personalities and business representatives.

Players and officials of a visiting Bangladeshi women’s football club, Nasrin Sports Academy, also joined the celebration, said a press release.

The day’s events began at 10am with the hoisting of the national flag and the playing of the national anthem. A one-minute silence was observed in honour of the martyrs of the nine-month Liberation War of 1971, followed by special prayers seeking eternal peace for the martyrs of the Liberation War and those of the July–August mass uprising of 2024.

Messages from the president, the chief adviser and the adviser for foreign affairs highlighting the significance of Victory Day were read out.

A cultural programme was a key attraction of the celebration. Students from a local art school in Kathmandu performed dances set to Bangla and Nepali music and rendered songs in both languages.

Renowned Nepali vocalist Saraswati Khatri of the Sur Sudha Music Group also performed several Bangla and Nepali songs, adding a special dimension to the event.

Speaking at the discussion, SAARC Secretary General Ambassador Md Golam Sarwar highlighted the significance of Victory Day and urged participants to uphold the spirit of the Great Liberation War.

He also stressed the importance of working collectively to realise the opportunities created by the July–August mass uprising to build a discrimination-free and inclusive Bangladesh.

In his concluding remarks, Ambassador Shafiqur paid deep tribute to the martyrs and wounded freedom fighters of the 1971 Liberation War, as well as to the martyrs of the July mass uprising.

Recalling the long struggle against oppression, injustice and discrimination, he said the July 2024 mass uprising had opened a new pathway to fulfil the unfinished aspirations of the Liberation War by providing an opportunity to build a fair, just, corruption-free and inclusive “Bangladesh 2.0.”

Drawing parallels between the spirit of the Liberation War and the July mass uprising, the ambassador said that while freedom fighters sacrificed their lives to create an independent Bangladesh free from discrimination, the youth of the new generation in 2024 made supreme sacrifices to rebuild the country on the principles of democracy, equity and justice.

He called on expatriate Bangladeshis to contribute from their respective positions to building a new Bangladesh in the spirit of the Liberation War and the mass uprising.