"There is a saying that lesson of history is that none takes lesson from history..We should take lesson from ups and downs of history and implement it in our personal and national life," the President told the 14th biennial conference of Bangladesh History Association at Hotel Sonargaon.

Iajuddin said the country will be benefited and the future generation will get right direction if the nation's history is upheld objectively.

Recalling the political changes in the subcontinent, he said although the rulers were changed in 1947, the colonialism did not end. He mentioned the Language Movement of 1952 and the struggle for autonomy and liberation war in 1971, saying that the people took part in those movements spontaneously.

He said the nation achieved independence in 1971 at the cost of life and blood of three million lives.

"Our proud achievement is independence. We must uphold this heroic history and story of sagacity to the new generation" for their inspiration and future direction, he said.

"Another proud chapter of our history is religious tolerance. In the past during the Hindu-Bouddah-Muslim rule, we have always noticed a unique feature of religious co-existence," he said, adding "even today religious con-existence exists."

Iajuddin, however, deplored that the proud tradition of this country was not properly incorporated in the history. One of the reasons is that there had not been such contemporary historians in this region to project the history with pride.

"Therefore, the aspiration of freedom of rulers in this region was depicted by the then historians as rebellion. But foreign travellers and tourists who visited this part praised this country, its people, beauty and prosperous economy," he said.

The President hoped that the Bangladesh History Association would take effective initiative to write history and tradition of each region of Bangladesh.

Presided over by Association President Prof Dr Shariff Uddin Ahmed, the conference was also addressed by Education Minister Dr Osman Faruk, Association General Secretary Prof Dr Zaheda Ahmad and Joint Secretary Dr Ahmed Abdullah Jamal.