COCKINGTON Green is about to get a striking new addition to its collection when, on Sunday (March 28) afternoon, the Bangladeshi State Minister of Cultural Affairs, Mr KM Khalid, inaugurates a miniature of the National Parliament House of Bangladesh in its gardens.

The work of celebrated American architect Louis Kahn was intended to reflect the democratic hopes of the country, then known as East Pakistan. The building in Dhaka was designed in the Brutalist style familiar to Canberrans from the National Gallery and the High Court of Australia, and is without doubt the jewel in the crown of post-colonial Asian parliament houses.

The Cockington Green event will be the culmination to several days of commemorative festivities marking the birth centenary of the father of the nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman known to all as “Bangabandhu” – friend of Bengal, whose dream was to found a “Golden Bengal”.

March also marks 40 years since the cessation of the nine-month liberation war that saw the former East Pakistan break away from the less populous but more powerful Pakistan after a dispute over cultural issues, such as the right to speak their own highly literary language, Bengali (Bangla).

Sheikh Mujib had declared independence of Bangladesh in the early hours of March 26, 1971, so very early this morning, a formal flag hoisting ceremony took place on City Walk in Civic attended by members of the Bangladeshi diaspora, the ACT Legislative Assemble, diplomatic and community representatives.

At lunchtime today a formal reception will be held in the Mural Hall of Parliament House to mark the 50th anniversary of independence.

Tomorrow, Saturday, March 27, members of the Bangla community will gather at Awaken Church, Kambah for a cultural celebration, complete with poetry readings in Bengali, song and dance, reflecting the aspirations of a community steeped in the arts.

Those aspirations and the degree to which they have been met were on the mind of Bangladeshi high commissioner, Mohammad Sufiur Rahman when he briefed the media.

He told those present how Sheikh Mujibur, assassinated in 1975, was a tolerant man who had established the nation on a democratic, multi-faith basis with the idea of achieving a rules-based society.

Peace and stability has largely been achieved, the high commissioner said, through initial focus on cultural and social capital by improving life expectancy, healthcare, the education of women and significantly reducing mortality.

Those achievements, he said, had paved the way for an increasingly impressive GDP, a rising standard of living, growing levels of safety and a developing infrastructure helped by international collaboration, evident in the present-day projects like bridge construction, a metro system, a new port and  satellite capability. Also, Bangladesh is now deemed a safe country to visit.

It was understandable, Mr Rahman said, that Australia tended to focus on India and Singapore when looking north to do business, but with Bangladesh forecast to surpass Australia’s GDP in 20 years, Australia should be aware that “there are other trees growing”.

Perhaps we have something of a “blind spot”, he suggested.

A big plus was that Australia is well-respected in his country as one of the very first nations to recognise Bangladesh — and of course, Australian cricketers are household names in Bangladesh.