Visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh yesterday offered to support the children of the freedom fighters of Bangladesh by providing them with educational facilities and scholarships.

"We would also like to support the initiatives to provide healthcare and rehabilitation for these freedom fighters," Singh told the trustees and members of the Liberation War Museum after visiting the institution yesterday.

He said India would be happy to support the initiative to house the museum in a new building and use innovative techniques to mount, exhibit and preserve the collections of the Liberation War.

Appreciating the establishment of the museum, Singh said, "The Liberation War Museum serves as a memorial to the determination and bravery of the people of Bangladesh and India, who fought shoulder to shoulder against repression and genocide, which aroused the ire and sympathy of the entire world.

"This museum is the result of commendable private initiative and enterprise and serves to remind Bangladesh of its heritage and of the values for which the 1971 Liberation War was fought."

He lauded the trustees for their efforts to bring together the rare and valuable memorabilia of the struggle by the people of Bangladesh against mindless atrocity and destruction committed in the name of religion, ethnicity and territorial integrity.

As a member of the International Coalition of Historic Site Museums of Conscience, Singh said it is part of the museum to caution humanity against the "horrendous outcome of intolerance and repression by governments of the legitimate rights and demands of their people".

The Indian external affairs minister said India would be happy to help support the museum in every possible way.

"I would like to suggest that the entire collection of this museum may be properly documented and made into a virtual, interactive museum on the worldwide web," he said.

Singh welcomed the Liberation War Museum authorities' interest in establishing reciprocal support system with museums in India. He expressed the hope it would soon be possible for a travelling exhibition curated by the Liberation War Museum to undertake a tour to Indian major cities.

He said people of India were deeply touched at the warm and spontaneous and emotional expression of remembrances at the passing away of Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora in May this year.

Earlier on arrival at the museum, Singh was received by the trustees and members of the institution including Air Vice Marshal (retd) AK Khandaker, former army chief KM Shafiullah, Prof Anisuzzaman, Mofidul Haq, Sarwar Ali, Asaduzzaman Nur MP, Syed Anwar Hossain, Aly Zaker and Sara Zaker.

Singh placed floral wreaths at the eternal flame "Shikha Chiro Amlan" and stood silent for one minute in honour of martyrs of the Liberation War including Indian army personnel.

He signed the visitors' book at the museum where he wrote "This visit has given me an invaluable insight into the unflinching courage and tremendous bravery of the people of erstwhile East Pakistan during Liberation War 1971."

The Trust Board of the museum presented him three framed photographs of the surrender of the occupation force in Jessore during the war.

The Liberation War Museum, established on March 22, 1996, was built to keep alive the spirit of the 1971 war and for preserving its history for posterity.

After visiting the museum, Singh also visited the Rama Krishna Mission in Old Dhaka.

Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Veena Sikri and other high officials were present.