Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today issued a message greeting the countrymen on the occasion of Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bengali New Year 1431, to be celebrated tomorrow.
In her message, the premier said Pahela Baishakh is first day of Bengali New Year and it is universal festival. It is the day of harmony and the great reunion of Bengalis, she said.
Sheikh Hasina called upon all, irrespective of religion and caste, to wake up with new joy forgetting the sorrows and failures of the past year.
The search for the identity and roots of Bengalis can be found through its celebration, Sheikh Hasina said, adding that Pahela Baishakh is a reflection of the Bangalees.
The Bengali nation cannot be suppressed as the achievements and progress of the Bangalee heroes will be remembered ages after ages, she said.
Ethnic heritage and pride are also the key to the lifelong struggle of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in establishing the ideologies such as secularism, liberalism, nationalism and democracy, the premier added.
She hoped that this year's Baishakh will be a great inspiration for the nation to fight against militancy, fundamentalism, extremism and anti-liberation forces and to build a society free from hunger and poverty and a golden Bangladesh cum Smart Bangladesh as dreamt by Bangabandhu.
