<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;">Speakers at a two day seminar organised in Dhaka on Monday urged the government to declare April 10 as the Republic Day  of Bangladesh. The two day seminar titled 'The proclamation of Independence: 10th April 1971 and the Birth of a Sovereign Nation' was addressed by several eminent people including Barrister Tania Amir, Former High Commission of India to Bangladesh Veena Sikri, 1971 war veteran Brigadier R P Singh and Dr. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, power and energy advisor to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina among others. <br />''<br />''On 10 April 1971, a 'Proclamation of Independence' was issued by the provisional government of Bangladesh from its headquarters in Kolkata after ratifying the declaration of independence given by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 26 just before his arrest by the Pakistan army. Subsequently, the provisional government of Bangladesh took oath on April 17, 1971 at Mujibnagar with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman designated as President, Syed Nazrul Islam as Vice President and Tajuddin Ahmad as the Prime Minister. <br />''<br />''Barrister M. Amirul Islam, who drafted the Proclamation of Independence adopted on 10th April 1971, presented the keynote address. Giving a detailed account of the process through which the liberation war of Bangladesh progressed between March-December 1971, Barrister Amirul Islam highlighted the importance of the Proclamation of Independence as a legal and political document that helped Bangladesh to gain recognition as a new nation from the world. The document later served as the foundation of the constitution of Bangladesh.<br />''<br />''Barrister Tania Amir in her welcome address said that the proclamation of independence helped Bangladesh rightfully claim its position as an independent nation without being called a secessionist movement like Biafra in Nigeria. Calling the proclamation of independence 'birth certificate' of Bangladesh, she urged the government to declare it as the Republic Day to recognise its importance in the history of Bangladesh. She also gave a call for the trial of the Pakistanis for war crime for committing genocide in Bangladesh during 1971 liberation war. <br />''<br />''Eminent Historian Professor Syed Anwar Hussain also called upon the government to declare April 10 as the Republic Day of Bangladesh as it marked the birth of Bangladesh in a legal term.<br />''<br />''Former High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Veena Sikri said that the liberation war of Bangladesh enjoyed support in India cutting across all political divides. Parliament of India in its session between March 26-30, 1971 called the Pakistani action in 'East-Bengal' as genocide and the government of India worked to mobilise international public opinion in favour of Bangladesh, said Ambassador Sikri.</span><br />