But after 35 years of liberation war we, the new generation, find nothing in accord with our freedom fighters' dreams. The whole Bangladesh is, in fact, in the circle of anarchy. Corruption is in the vein of society and as a result, we have been identified the most corrupt country in the world. Our people consider poverty as their fate but our political leaders have no headache about this, as they are almost mad to capture power.

The black magic of fundamentalism and religious bigotry has grasped our country. Our journalists, prominent teachers, novelists, poets, scientists and all other free-thinkers are the target of the anti-liberation forces. It is now clear that the Jamaat-e-Islami is planning to have another 14 December by killing our intellectuals.

We must resist them.

As expatriate Bangladeshis we are now able to watch the live celebrations of our Independence Day on the various Bangla TV channels that are now available to us. Remembering this day in 1971 when we had very limited access to the news and depended on whatever scant news we could catch off the airwaves or by word of mouth, I feel very proud to step back and observe what a long way we have come since then. On these channels I have enjoyed watching some eminent personalities providing their viewpoints and perspectives on our great Liberation War.

Along with the availability of newspapers like The Daily Star in electronic form we are able to not just read today's headlines but also what was stated a year ago.

This year The Daily Star wrote - "The nation yesterday celebrated the 36th Independence Day, recalling the supreme sacrifice of millions who laid down their lives to free the motherland from the clutches of Pakistani occupation forces."

Last year (2005) it was: "The nation celebrates today the 35th Independence Day and National Day to pay tributes to the three million martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for independence, with fresh pledge to build a happy and prosperous society to materialise their dream."

Please note that the number of martyrs has changed from "three million" to "millions". In an article in your 2006 Independence Day special issue the author writes, "More than a million innocent civilians were killed." May be it just happened to be the way the writer put his words on paper or may be this was intentional - Is there a trend to downsize the number of martyrs? Of course the exact number of martyrs will never be accurately established but at the end of 1971 the generally accepted number was 3 million. May be the actual number was higher or may be it was lower. Out of respect for our fallen sisters and brothers, let us stick to one number for all times.

Last year (27 March 2006) you reported: "The government will erect monuments for the seven Birsreshthas and construct commemorative school and college buildings in their home areas to pay homage to the country's highest gallantry awardees." More than 35 years have gone by since they made their supreme sacrifice - but it is never too late to honour them. A year has gone by since your report - do you have an update on the progress of these projects?

To end, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to your paper for keeping us, expatriates, well informed through your use of the electronic media.

Dibosh Rajani, USA

I wonder what exactly the government is trying to achieve by leaving out Bangabandhu's name from its' "special publication" on Independence Day. Denying Bangabandhu his rightful place as the unchallenged leader of the Bengalis during our struggle for independence only damages the credibility of the said publication. Failing to mention him at all reduces it to a joke!

In an even more shameful attempt to avoid recognising his contribution to the birth of our nation, this government neatly edits out the reference to Bangabandhu in the late president Ziaur Rahman's Independence Declaration when it is re-played on such occasions. The people of our country know on whose behalf that declaration was made, and cutting out a few words isn't about to change that!

The government would not lose out in any way by recognising Bangabandhu's contribution to the creation of Bangladesh. As a matter of fact, only by giving Bangabandhu his due can this government hope to attain just recognition for the contribution of the late president Zia, both to our liberation struggle and to our nation as its leader. But this government makes it difficult to accept the latter by refusing to do the former. After all, no one would wish to read a book on India's struggle for independence if it didn't mention Mahatma Gandhi, or one on the greatest batsmen to play cricket if it didn't feature Don Bradman!

Shameran Abed, London