India's north-eastern state of Tripura emerged as a strategically significant base during the 1971 bangladesh Liberation War as the border state not only provided shelter to refugees but also allowed logistics-related support to Bangladesh, which was part of Pakistan.
A section of scholars and political parties both in bangladesh and India have expressed displeasure that a memorial in the Indian state of Tripura erected in memory of the martyrs of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War has been taken away.
The state government in Tripura which is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party decided to move the martyrs' column from the centre of the state capital Agartala to the city's outskirts as part of the Smart City Project.
The state government, however, says it is building a bigger war memorial.
Every year, the Indian Army pays tribute at the martyrs' column during the country's Independence Day (15 August) and Republic Day (26 January).
Last November, the Tripura government relocated a battle tank and an artillery gun from the same spot. Both were relics from the 1971 war.
A group of 20 scholars from Bangladesh have appealed to the Indian government for help and to insist the memorial be replaced to its original location. “The 40-ft-tall martyrs' memorial at Post Office Chowmuhani in the centre of Agartala, the capital of Tripura, is one of the most important monuments to the common liberation aspirations and friendship of the people of…
