The War of Liberation of Bangladesh in 1971 was the best time in my life: Henri Levy

Henri Levy, now visiting Dhaka, said this during a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her Gonobhaban residence here today.

PM's special assistant Mahbubul Hoque Shakil briefed reporters after the call on about the discussion between the Prime Minister and Levy, writer of 'Les Indes Rouges' an account of his experience in Bangladesh during the year of its founding.

Shakil said, as a member of the international brigade that was constituted comprising the western intellectuals in 1971 at the call of French intellectual Andr, Malraux, Levy took part in the Bangladesh Liberation War. After independence, Bangabandhu gave him a job in the ministry of finance and planning.

Recalling the hard days of Bangladesh's freedom, Levy said, Bangladesh was a colonial province and Bangabandhu rebuilt the country as a complete independent country in only three and a half years, which was unprecedented in the world. He said, the name of Bangabandhu, as a revolutionary leader, would be ever remembered.

While sharing his experience on war of liberation, emotion engrossed him recalling his memories with Bangabandhu's son Sheikh Jamal, who was brutally killed in the fateful night of August 15, 1975. Praising the socio-economic development of Bangladesh, Levy said, the country has emerged as a model of a modern democratic nation in the world comity.