The Eternal Flame also known as Shikha Chironton () is a historical landmarks of Bangladesh. The flame was created to keep alive the memory of the martyrs who lost their lives in the Liberation War of Bangladesh and the defeat of the Pakistani Forces. It was jointly opened on March 26, 1997, on the occasion of Bangladesh independence day by then

Prime minister of Bangladesh The prime minister of Bangladesh (, : Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), officially prime minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh (, : Gôṇôprôjātôntrī Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), is the head of government of the Ba ...

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

, the

President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence F ...

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

, the

President of Palestine The president of the State of Palestine () is the head of state of Palestine. Yasser Arafat became the first titular president of the State of Palestine in 1989, one year after the Palestinian Declaration of Independence. The title was origina ...

Yasir Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, President of the Stat ...

and the President of Turkiye

Süleyman Demirel Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously serv ...

History

An initiative was taken in 1996 to commemorate Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's March 7 speech, respect for the martyrs of the Liberation War and the signing of the surrender document of the Pakistani army at this place. On this occasion, on March 7, 1997, the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina lit the eternal flame and inaugurated a nationwide procession. On March 17, 1997, the eternal flame reached

Tungipara Tungipara (Bengali language, Bangla: টুঙ্গিপাড়া) is a municipality in Tungipara Upazila of Gopalganj District, Bangladesh, Gopalganj District in Bangladesh. It is the birthplace of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is considered the ...

, Gopalganj, the birthplace of

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

, and on March 26, it reached

Suhrawardy Udyan Suhrawardy Udyan () is a national memorial and public space located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Originally known as Ramna Race Course, it holds significant historical importance due to its association with key events in the country's history. The sit ...

. On that day, it was installed by four world-famous leaders. Nobel Peace Prize winner South African President

, Palestine's

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

, Turkey's

Suleyman Demirel Suleyman may refer to: * Suleyman (name) ** Suleiman, a name, including a list of variants ** Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as ...

and the then Prime Minister of Bangladesh

. The national flag was hoisted by the then President

Shahabuddin Ahmed Shahabuddin Ahmed (1 February 1930 – 19 March 2022) was a Bangladeshis, Bangladeshi head of state who served as the president of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2001, and the Chief Justice of Bangladesh, chief justice of Bangladesh from 1990 to 1995 ...

. The Suhrawardy 'eternal flame' was installed in 1999.

Gallery

References

External links

* {{Bangladesh Liberation War Monuments and memorials in Dhaka National symbols of Bangladesh Martyrs' monuments and memorials Architecture in Bangladesh Modernist architecture Memorials to Bangladesh Liberation War