“Our two countries are bound in firm friendship and both are dedicated to the principles of democracy, secularism and socialism,” declared President VV Giri as he welcomed Bangladesh President Sheikh Mujibur Rehman at Palam on January 11, 1972.

The Bangabandhu, in his reply, described the people and the government of India under the “magnificent leadership of Mrs Indira Gandhi” as the best friends of Bangladesh. “She is not only a leader of men, but also of mankind,” he said amid thunderous applause.

For Sheikh Mujib the stopover in the “historic Capital of your great country” on his way back to Bangladesh was a “most gratifying moment”.

The cheering crowds, marigolds and chrysanthemums, a smiling Indira Gandhi and President Giri, the ceremonially dressed guards, roses in full bloom at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the “correct diplomats” — they all merged with the cries of, “Jai Bangla, Jai Hind. Jai Mujib, Jai Indira.”

And the citizens joined their country’s leaders in a wholehearted gesture to cement the “declaration of brotherhood” of the two nations.

Six minutes after the Royal Air Force Comet, which brought the Sheikh from London, touched the airport the 51-year-old Sheikh faced the glare of television lights, the clicking of cameras and the boom of a 21-gun salute.

Clad in a dark suit and an overcoat, a pipe clenched in his right hand, the Bangabandhu briskly walked down the ramp which the BOAC had lent for the purpose. Received by President Girl and Gandhi, the leader of the newly born nation burst into a smile.

This was the first time that he was meeting Prime Minister Gandhi to whom, he said later, his “country, his people” and he “personally owed an unrepayable debt”.

Welcoming the Sheikh, President Giri described him as “the embodiment of the undying spirit of suffering and sacrifice in the cause of human liberty and freedom”.

Giri said he felt that the Sheikh’s return to his “country as its head at this historic juncture will heighten and ensure the prospects for the establishment of a lasting and durable peace in the region”.

In response, the President of Bangladesh thanked the government and people of India “who have worked so untiringly and sacrificed so much so gallantly in making this journey possible”.

“This journey is a from darkness to light, from captivity to freedom, from desolation to the hope that I am at last going back to Sonar Bangla, the land of my dreams. When I was taken away from my people they wept. When I was held in captivity, they fought, and now when I go back to them they are victorious. I go back to the sunshine of their million smiles,” the Bangabandhu said, as a soft sunlight dispelled some of the early winter morning chill and fog.

In this moment of triumph, he was going back, the Sheikh said, “To join my people in the tremendous task that now lies ahead, in turning our victory into a road of peace, progress and prosperity.”

Later, escorted by PM Gandhi, Sheikh Mujib met the envoys of 24 countries, starting from the USSR ambassador MN Pegov, along with those of the UK, Cuba, Italy, France, Yugoslavia, Columbia, Norway, Mongolia, Bhutan, Mauritius, Denmark, the Vatican, East and West Germany and most of the other Socialist countries.

The President of Bangladesh paused to speak to the Soviet Ambassador and asked him to convey his grateful thanks to his government for the help it had rendered in the liberation of Bangladesh. He also spoke to the French ambassador and the consul-general of the GDR.

As he walked past to the invitees’ gallery, a little girl stood up on a chair and threw a garland towards the Sheikh, who in a gesture which endeared him to the crowd, bent forward and the garland fell right around his neck.

All along the route, the people cheered the Bangabandhu; many of them had come in from neighbouring villages to greet him. He waved to the crowds, held back by strong police contingents and drove directly to the Cantonment Parade Grounds where a mammoth gathering kept up a continuous chant: “Sheikh, Sheikh, Sheikh.”

The placards hailed Indo-Bangla friendship and the people of Bangladesh.

There was a hushed silence as the Sheikh began his speech in English. When the crowd wanted him to talk in Bengali, PM Gandhi whispered in encouragement: “Go on, speak in Bengali.”

He turned to face the crowd with a speech in a language which they could not understand but in a voice which they could feel.

Almost as if by instinct they stood as one to cheer his remarks on the Prime Minister and pledged everlasting friendship. There were no translators, and for once, the crowd did not seem to need one.

From the Parade Grounds to Rashtrapati Bhavan, thousands of people lined the routes and waited impatiently for a glimpse of the Sheikh.

While the crowd waited outside, the Sheikh called on the President, breakfasted with him and later sat for a 45-minute conference with PM Gandhi. From Rashtrapati Bhavan the Bangabandhu took the road back to Palam, anxious to be back in “the sunshine of their million victorious smiles” awaiting him in Dacca.

The crowds cheered him on the last leg of his homeward journey and the glittering festoons twinkled in the sunshine.