<i>Concert for Bangladesh</i>

Two issues remain to be addressed for successful conclusion of our independence struggle. One issue, the trial of war criminals, has been discussed a lot in recent times. We, as a nation, owe it to the persons who gave their lives to free us, to the children who were denied their parents' love, to the parents whose dreams about their children never materialized, to the mothers and sisters who were violated by the criminals and to our next generation. Another issue is to express our gratitude and recognise persons, who supported and contributed tremendously to our freedom struggle. Of many such people, I will mention two who had enormous contribution in bringing our struggle to the attention of the world. Music maestro Ravi Shankar along with George Harrison of the Beatles had such a tremendous contribution in bringing the tragic Bangladesh situation in front of the western world through CONCERT FOR BANGLADESH in Madison Square Garden, NY on August 1, 1971. We as a nation failed to give them due honour. I feel very sad that we will never be able to show our gratitude to George Harrison as he died in November 2001. His widow recently contributed half a million dollar for the children of Bangladesh and drew world's attention to the recent disaster. I hope it is not too late to honour Ravi Shankar as he is also not in very good health though still performing once or twice a year. It would be a tremendous expression of our gratitude to invite Ravi Shankar and the widow of George Harrison to Bangladesh and honour them, may be on the occasion of our next Independence Day celebrations.
An ungrateful nation will forever carry the burden of guilt and unclear conscience.