Assam Bangladesh unrest
The Indo-Bangla border at Sutarkandi (Representative Image)

Guwahati: To commemorate India’s ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav‘ and Bangladesh’s golden jubilee of independence, a three-day Silchar-Sylhet festival is going to be organized in south Assam’s Silchar town from October 29-31.

India Foundation, in association with ‘Friends of Bangladesh’, an organisation working to develop Bangladesh’s relations with its neighbourhood, is the joint organiser of the three-day event.

Chief Ministers of Northeast states and several Union Ministers along with foreign delegates are expected to attend the festival.

BJP MP from Silchar, Rajdeep Roy said that this will be the first grand inter-country festival to be held in Assam to mark the country’s 75 years of independence.

“In the sideline to the event, we will address the issues related to both countries, including trade and commerce, river sharing, apart from intermixing of art, culture and food,” he added.

The organisers have claimed that as Sylhet was partitioned in 1947 from India, the event will act to bridge the gap between the two countries.

Roy said that nearly 10 Bangladesh MPs and a few Ministers are also expected to attend the three-day event.

Major General (retd) of Bangladesh, Samsul Arfin has come to India to look after the things related to organising this major event and said that the festival will further strengthen the ties between India and Bangladesh.

He said, “Sylhet was once a part of Assam and we are hoping to witness the old connection between the two places once again during the festival.