16 dec special

8/13/2019 16 Dec Special

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Victory Day 2013

Illustration: Sabyasachi Mistry

Send us victoriousnZeeshan Khan

Forthe generationsborn

afterDecember16, 1971,Bangladeshwasanexis-

tentially normalplacetogrow up in. Nothingin

theatmospherehinted at theviolentupheavalsourprecedinggenerations

had tocontend withand therewasnoway ofgaugingwhat theyokeof

imperialismfelt like.Wegrew up asfreepeople, ina free

country;freeto liveaccordingto ourownvaluesand freeto advanceour-

selvesasequal citizensofthe world.Weneverexperienced the humiliation

ofsubjugation, orracism, and werenevermadeto feelinadequate. Infact

quiteto thecontrary, wewere raisedtobe proud ofwho, and indeed what,

weare thefirst generationof anindependent Bangladesh.

Itseasy toforget what that reallymeansuntilyouthink about what ittookto get here. Nearly 200yearsof

Britishcolonialrulehad a devastatingeffect onourcivilisationand wewent

frombeingthe richest Mughalprov-incetooneofthepoorest placesinthe

world. Theeconomic exploitationwas

acute, resultingin deathby themil-lions, but thestrainsonour socialand

psychologicalwell-beingwere equallycatastrophic. Added tothat, a British

policy ofadvancingsomecommuni-tiesat theexpenseof otherscreated

sectariantensionsthat wouldnt goaway when1947rolled around.

But anindependent Bengalwasin

theoffingeven asearly asthe40s, andwhenwemoved theLahoreResolu-

tionto bringPakistanintoexistence,wewereactually signingontothe

notionof independent states,i.e. anindependenceofourown. Machina-

tionsby all-IndiaHindusand Mus-limsdenied usa united and independ-

ent Bengal, sowe werecleaved inhalfand thebloody taleof that isofcourse

Partition, whichseemsa lifetimeawaybut really only happened toourgrand-

parents.

Now, withonly halfofBengaland inthenew notionofPakistan,wewerestill hopefulofa chanceto

determineourowndestinies, onourowntermsand becomeeconomically

and politically empowered. Wewere,afterall, amongbrothers.Imagine

oursurprisewhen ourlanguage, ourculture, ourethnicity, oureconomy

and thenultimately ourvotesweresubordinated toa nationalpecking

orderthat placed usat thebottom. Arudeawakeningfollowed, and then

thegunsc ameout.Truthis, thebreakfromPakistan,

evenfromIndia earlier, wasthe

politicalmanifestationofa yearning

that wasalivebefore eitherofthoserepublicseverexisted. A memory

ofan independent country, withitsownsystems, structures, cultureand

values, residessomewherein our

collectiveconsciousness, and informsouridentity ascompletely asgenesdeterminebiology.

WellbeforePakistani, Britishand

theMughalsruled thisplace, a Bengalikingdomlived and breathed here, and

it had itsownway ofdoingthings.

WhenBabur, theMughal, encoun-tered thiskingdomforthefirst time,

inthe 1500shemade thisobservation:

There is an amazing custom inBengal: rule is seldom achieved b y

hereditary succession. Instead, thereis a speciic royal throne, and each

of the amirs, viziers or ofice holdershas an established place. It is the

throne that is of importance for thepeople of Bengal The people ofBengal say, we are the legal proper ty

of the throne, and we obey anyonewho is on it. Whoever becomes

king, must accumulate a new treas-ury, which is a source of pride for the

people. In addition, the salaries andstipends of all the institutions of the

rulers, treasury, military and civilianare absolutely ixed from long ago

and cannot be spent anywhere else.

Itsclearthat hewas describingamodern, responsiblecountry, with

institutions, officesand citizenship,somethingthat wasananomaly in

themedievalera ofconquerors. Aself-awareBengalinationhasexisted

sinceat least thetimeof theBuddhist

Charjapadas. It ranthroughthe Pala

and Sena kingdomsof Gaur-BongototheVangaladesa oftheCholasand was

rebornin theSultanateof Bangala thatBaburencountered.

Theemergenceof Bangladeshwasa historicalinevitability. Repeatedly,

thepeople ofthis land haveresist-ed authority that wasoppressiveor

unrepresentativeof theirbeliefsandidentity. TheKaibarta rebellionin the

tenthcentury, theindependent sul-tanateofthe 1300stheBaro Bhuiyans

inthe 1600s, thefakir-sanyasinmove-ment inthe 1700s, thelikesof Shurjo

Senand SubhasChandra Boseinthe1900sand themovementsof1952

and 1971, wereallthe samestruggleagainst domination.

Thatswhy Victory Day mattersasmuchas it does. Wehavewalked

a longroad toget here. Thiscountrystandsona time-wornplatformof

pluralismand justice, and weexist asa nationbecausewe didnt, and stilldont stumblein theblind alleysof

religiousbigotry and culturalchauvin-ism. Weexist becausewe believein

ourselvesand believethat weknow abetterway.l

Weexistbecausewebelievein ourselves andbelievethatweknow a betterway

MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2013 www.dhakatribune.com

Wewantedittobein redink becausewewantedtocelebrate,becausewewantedtoemphasiseon ouraccomplishment

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A beginningin red inkIn conversation with Mohammad

Abdul Malek, editor of independentBangladeshs first newspaperDainik Azadi

nSyeda Samira Sadeque

December17, 1971. Asthespiritofindependencedawned upon

Bangladesh, a publicationhouseina cornerof Chittagongwas

immersed incelebratingthe victoryina way nootherBangladeshiswere

doingyet:takingout independentBangladeshsvery first and theonly

oneuntillaterintheafternoonnewspaper.

DainikAzadi, a Chittagong-basednewspaper, whichbeganin1960, had

beenoperatingfor 11 yearswhenit be-camean integralpart ofthevery first

momentsofBangladeshsbirth.Theone-pagepublicationwent out

inred inkinstead ofthe conventional

blackink.Wewanted it tobeinred ink

becausewewanted tocelebrate,becausewewanted toemphasiseon

ouraccomplishment,MohammadAbdulMalek, editorof thenewspaper,

said inaninterview withtheDhakaTribune.

Thepaper onthat day sold 50-60,000copies.

Westarted printinginthe morn-ing, printed throughout theday and

lateintothe night,said Malek, whohad beentheeditorofthepaperat

that time.They had latersent copiestoother

partsof thecountry, but initiallyDecember17, 1971sDainikAzadihad

beendistributed mainly inand aroundChittagong.

AlthoughAzadiisknown tobe theonly paperthat waspublished onDe-

cember17, therehavebeendisagree-mentsregardingthisrecord. TheDaily

Ittefaq, forexample, hasclaimed theypublished a paperonthat day as well.

But they printed only intheafter-

noon, and weknow thisbecausetheirpublicationhad informationregarding

a meetingthat tookplace onthat day,Maleksaid, referringtoa Mirikka mag-

azinearticle, underthe PressInforma-tionDepartment, whichclarified this

information.Whenasked how they executed

sucha massivemission, Maleksaid hehad a group of extremely effi cient and

eagerworkers.Therewerepeople wholived

around, inthearea, and they helpeda lot. Wedidnt evenhave tosay

anything. Everyonewasso happy that

they wereallworking, excited toget

thepaper out.Maleksaid thewholeteamreadied

thecontent forthe one-pagepublica-tionthroughout night afterindepend-

encewasdeclared onDecember16.Theindependenceday specialwas

printed withthe useof a heidelbergmachine, whichwasnot the regular

mediumofprintingat that time.Weused themachineforthat day

becauseit wasfaster, and allowed ustoprint a smallerpaper cateringto

that daysdemand.Malekand hiscrew wereunaware

at that point that they had madehistory asthefirst newspaperthat waspublished afterBangladeshgained

independence. They learned only later

ofthe significancethat theirone-page,red-inked publicationhasheld for the

history ofBangladesh.TheDainikAzadi, whichwas

bornin Chittagong, hasremainedinthe port-city since, and today has

a circulationof 50-60,000. Maleksfather, whofounded thepaper, had

started withtheaim todistributethepaperonly tocitizensofChittagong

and around, and Malekhaskept upwiththemissionfor thepast five

decades.Thedemand forour paperis very

hightoday, and it istheleadingnews-paperof Chittagong. Wedont want

tobecomea nationalpublication,said Malek, reflectingbothhisfathersand hisownidealsabout thepapers

operation.Infact, sostrongis hisdedica-

tiontowardsChittagong especiallyinregard tothepaper that Malek

joked at theend ofour conversation:Weoftensay it wasChittagongthat

actually accepted the independenceofBangladesh Dhaka didnt evenbe-

lieveinour independence;they didnthavea publicationabout it! l

On December17, 1971theheadlineofthe Dawn readWartill victoryeven though thePakistani Armyhad surrenderedthe daybefore

Courtesy: KohinoorKamal

DHAKATRIBUNEVictory Day2013Monday,December16,2013

June21

OnJune21, 1971 (overa monthbeforethe famousNew Yorkconcerts), JohnLennonand Yoko

Ono, alongwithLed Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Jethro Tull, and T. Rex (amongmany others), [lent]theirsupport toEdgarBroughtons, SaveA Life, anappeal inaid ofthe East PakistanirefugeesinBangladesh, whichislaunched by theDaily Mirrornewspaperin London

August1

TheConcert for Bangladeshisconsidered a landmarkevent inrock music history. Famously,

GeorgeHarrisonwas inspired tostagethe concert afterRavi Shankarhad approached himwitha suggestionthat hehoped could raisetwenty thousand dollarsforrefugeesfleeingthe warin

Bangladeshfollowingthe Pakistanimilitary clampdownofMarch 1971.Thetwoconcerts onAugust 1, 1971 werehighly successful- witha chequeforUS$243,418.50

beingimmediately sent toUNICEF. However, boththeUK and US governmentsheld up muchofthe subsequent fifteenmilliondollarsgenerated by thebest sellingGrammy award winning

concert albumand filmforseveralyears.AnotherWesternartist whoreferenced theBangladeshliberationstrugglewasJoanBaez with

hersongThe Story ofBangladesh

September18

Althoughlesswellremembered thantheGeorgeHarrisonconcert, perhapsbecauseit wasnot offi cially recorded fora film

and LP, wastheSeptember1971 concertattended by tensof thousandsat theOval

cricket ground inSouthLondon, head-lined by TheWhoand TheFaces intheir

Rod Stewart and RonnieWood heyday

CONCERTS FOR BANGLADESH


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3DHAKATRIBUNEVictory Day2013Monday,December16,2013

Oneof the most detailedstories about Operation Searchlight waspublishedbythe SundayTimes (UK)in June1971 bytheWest Pakistanijournalist AnthonyMascherenas. It was publishedshortly together with

thestory of his andhis own familys escapefromthemilitary authorities.

Ihavewitnessed thebrutality ofkilland burnmissions asthearmy

units, afterclearing out therebels, pursued thepogrominthe townsandvillages.

Ihave seenwholevillagesdevastated by punitiveaction.And inthe offi cersmessat night Ihavelistened incredulously asotherwise

braveand honourablemenproudly chewed overthedayskill.How many did youget? Theanswersare seared inmy memory.

AnthonyMascarhenas

Pakistan: The ravaging ofgolden BengalThis is an extract of the above titled article published in theTime magazine on Monday, August 2, 1971

Overthe riversand downthe

highwaysand alongcountlessjunglepaths, thepopulation

ofEast Pakistancontinuestohemor-rhageintoIndia: anendlessunorgan-

ised flow ofrefugeeswitha few tinkettles, cardboard boxesand ragged

clothespiled ontheir heads, carryingtheirsickchildren and theirold.

They pad alongbarefooted, withthemud suckingat theirheelsin the

wet parts. They aresilent, except for

a child whimperingnow and then,but theirfacestell thestory. Many are

sickand covered withsores. Othershavecholera, and whenthey diebytheroad-sidethereisnooneto bury

them.TheHindus,whentheycan, puta

hotcoalin themouthsof theirdeadorsingethe bodyinlieu ofcremation.

Thedogs,the vulturesandthecrowsdotherest.Astherefugeespassthe

rottingcorpses,someput piecesofclothovertheir noses.Thecolumn

pushingintoIndianeverends,day ornight.

It hasbeenfour monthssincecivilwarbroke out betweenEast and West

Pakistan, and therefugeesstill pour

in. Noonecan count themprecisely,

but Indianoffi cials, by projectingcamp registrations, calculatethat they

comeat therate of50,000a day. Lastweektheestimated totalpassed the

7,500,000mark.Should widespread faminehit East

Pakistan, asnow seemslikely, India

fearsthat thenumber may doublebeforethe exodusends. Hundredsof

thousandsoftheseare stillwanderingabout thecountrysidewithout food

and shelter.Nearthe border, somehavetaken

overschoolsto sleep in;othersstaywithvillagersor sleep out inthefields

and underthetrees. Most areshep-herded intorefugeecamps wherethey

aregiven rationcardsfor food andhoused inmakeshift sheds...

Cordon ofFire

The evidence of the bloodbath is allover East Pakistan. Whole sections

of cities lie in ruins fr om shellingand aerial attacks. In Khalishpur, the

northern suburb of Khulna, nakedchildren and haggard women scav-

enge the rubble where their homesand shops once stood.

Stretches of Chittagongs Hizari

Lane and Maulana Sowkat Ali Roadhave been wiped out. The central

bazaar in Jessore is reduced totwisted masses of corrugated tin and

shattered walls. Kushtia, a city of40,000, now looks, as a World B ank

team reported, like the morningafter a nuclear attack.

In Dacca, where soldiers set

sections of the old city ablaze with

flamethrowers and then ma-chine-gunned thousands as they

tried to escape the cordon of ire,nearly 25 blocks have been bull-

dozed clear, leaving open areas setincongruously amid jam-packed

slums.For the benefit of foreign visitors,

the army has patched up many shellholes in the walls of Dacca Universi-

ty, where hundreds of students werekilled. But many signs remain. Thetank-blasted Rajarbagh Police Bar-

racks, where nearly 1,000 surround-ed Bengali cops fought to the last, is

still in ruins.Millions of acres have been aban-

doned. Much of the vital jute exportcrop, due for harvest now, lies rotting

in the fields; little of that already har-vested is able to reach the mills. Only

a small part of this years tea cr op issalvageable. More than 300,000 tons

of imported grain sits in the cloggedports of Chittagong and Chalna.

Food markets are still operating inDacca and other cities, but rice prices

have risen 20% in four months. Fearand deep sullen hatred are every-

where evident among Bengalis.Few will talk to reporters in pub-

lic, but letters telling of atrocities anddestroyed villages are stuck in jour-

nalists mailboxes at Daccas HotelIntercontinental. In the privacy of

his home one night, a senior Bengalibureaucrat declared: This will be abitter, protracted struggle, may be

worse than Vietnam. But we will winin the end. l

Acollection of all thesignificant internationalpublications that have been

accredited as being the first few tohave acknowledged the plight ofthe Bangladeshis during the war

The BloodTelegramWhat the Nixon White House knew

Our government has failedto denouncethesuppression of democracy. Our govern-ment has failedtodenounceatrocities. Our

government has failedto takeforcefulmeasures toprotect its citizens whileat thesametime bendingover backwards toplacatethe West Pak[istan] dom-inatedgovernment andtolessen any deservedlynegativeinternationalpublic relations impact againstthem. Our government has evidencedwhat manywillconsider moralbankrupt, ()But wehavecho-sen not tointervene, even morally, on thegroundsthat theAwamiconflict, in which unfortunatelytheoverworkedtermgenocideis applicable, is purelyan

internalmatter of a sovereign state. PrivateAmer-icans haveexpresseddisgust. We, as professionalcivilservants, express our dissent with current policyandferventlyhope that our trueand lastinginterestsherecan bedefinedand our policies redirected.

TheBlood telegramwrittenby AmericanConsulGeneralArcher Blood signed by 29 Americansis

famously knownnow asoneof themost stronglyworded demarchesever writtenby ForeignService

Offi cersto theState Department.

This will bea bitter,protractedstruggle,may beworsethan Vietnam.But wewill win in theend

InternationalHeraldTribune, March30, 1971

DHAKA CIVILIANS STUNNEDBYKI LLINGS, WITNESS SAYSDhaka (AP):Aftertwodays and night ofshellinginwhichperhaps 7,000Pakistanisdied inDhaka alone, the

PakistanArmy appearstohavecr ushed SheikhMujiburRahmans25 daysofdefiance inEast Pakistan.Thearmy, whichattacked without warningonThursday night withinfantry, artillery and Americansup-

plied M-24tanks, destroyed partsofthecity.Itsattackwas aimed at theuniversity, thepopulousold city, whereSheikhMujib, theAwamiLeague leader,

had hisstrongest following, and theindustrialareason theoutskirtsof thecity of1.5 millionpeople.

Newsweek, July19, 1971PAKISTAN:T HE BENGALIS STRIKE BACKIam glad tobeable totell you,declared PakistanPresident Mohammad Yahya Khanina recent addressto

hisnationthat thearmy isin fullcontrolof thesituationin East Pakistan. It hascrushed themischief-mongers,saboteursand infiltrators.Alas forYahya, thefacts told a different story. Throughout East Pakistan, theembattled

Bengaliresistancemovement seemed moredetermined thanever toprove, that it wasalive and well-and capableofmakinglife extremely diffi cult forthe heavily armed but thinly spread occupationforcesof thePakistaniArmy.

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Eye-witness accounts from the Liberation WarWritten by descendants of witnesses, translated by Ahsan Sajid

Barisal

Written bySyedMaidulIslam, WB Union Institution, 10th grade, ScienceSectionAccount of ShefaliBegum, Village/Post: Atipara, Thana: Ujirpara, Barisal

I

often ask mygrandmother ShefaliBegumabout my grandfather ShaheedKaziMozammelHaque his rolein theLiberation War andhow hebecame

a martyr. Shetells meabout how after thewar started, hebravedthe walkfromKhulna toUjirpur thanas Aatipara villagewhere shewas livingwithher father. Mymother hadnot yet been born. Hesettleddown there, andsecretlystartedmilitia training.

Mygrandfather wouldkeepmy grandmother in thedark about his activ-ities, but shestillknew a fair bit. His friends, freedomfighters SyedMokbulandAliAshrab Jamaddar wouldhead out on their missions with onlytworifles. Tomygrandmothers ardent requests tostayback, they wouldsay:Wehaveto liberatethecountry. Welldieif wehaveto.

Mygrandparents relocatedto mygrandfathers hometown in Changuriavillageduringthewar, wherethe peopleof thevillagebeseeched mygrand-father totrain their men sincehe was a member of thearmy. This is when mygrandfather startedto train freedomfighters, but hehadnt left hometojointhewar yet. Oneday theWest Pakistaniarmylandedin Gutia on a gunboat.

Theymassacredtheir waytoChanguria villagelookingfor thehouseofKaziMozammelHaque. Panickedvillagers ran out of their houses onlytofallright in front of thePakistaniarmy. Thearmydid not recognisemygrandfa-ther, andaskedhimfor directions tohis own house. HespokeUrdu and ledthemfurther ahead.

Thearmystarted toindiscriminatelykillvillagers. After thearmy leftmygrandfather triedtotreat someof theinjuredpeople with whatevermedicinewas availabletohim. One of his neighbourswas lyingwith his gutsin his hands. Mygrandfather triedtopush the guts back but theman diedwithin minutes. Manypeopledied similar deaths that day.

Mymother was onlya month oldat thetime. Mygrandfather toldhiswife: Ishouldhave diedtoday. Theycameto killme, becauseIve trainedfreedomfighters. Allah has savedme. Iwill goto war tomorrow.My grand-mother beggedhimtonot leavebehind his month-olddaughter anda-year-and-a-half-oldson, tono avail.

Heaskedhis mother, whowas stillaliveat the time, tolook after his fam-ily, andto tryand explain tohis wifewhyhe must go. Hejoinedthewar andbecamein chargeof Chowdhurybaricamp, in Banariparas Alta village.

A few days later the PakistaniarmyattackedShorupakathis Banariparaon a gunboat. A longbattleensued that martyredmanymen. Oneday, dur-

ingthemonth of Bhaidra, when there was water everywherea few peoplecarrieda corpseback to thehouse; it was mygrandfather.

Mygrandmother returnedto her fathers villagein Aatipara andpreparedfor lifeas a widow after thewar. Sheraisedher twochildren, andgave thema goodeducation. Shehas, tothis day, kept thebloodyshirt mygrandfatherwas wearingwhen hedied. Shesays: Iamproud tobe a martyrs wife.Iamalsoproudto bea martyrs grandson.

Rajbari

Written byMd Afazuddin, Baharpur High School, 10thgradeAccount of MdFaridMondol, Rajbari

T

hesad occurrences of 1971 keepus awakeeven today. Onenight, mygrandfather tells me, mygrandmother hadleft her children home togo toher neighbours housetoborrow somerice. Our villagewas surroundedon

twosides bytherailway, fromwherethe Pakistaniarmyattackedrandomlyat thevillagewith machineguns.

Seeingthis, mygrandmother ran back homeandpickedup her baby, at whichpoint shegot shot in theknee. She was in shock, not realisingwhat hadjust hap-pened, transfixedin oneplace. Mygrandfather camerunningand askedher totakethebabyandrun back tothepondbehindthehouse.

Shetried tomakea run for it, but shecould not raiseher foot. It was as if herfoot was stuck tothe ground. Shebegan wailing, andsoon lost her consciousness.Thebarrageof bullets was constant, whilesome peoplewere pouringcoldwateron mygrandmothers headandothers weremassagingher scalpwith oil. Shehadbecomecompletelyhelpless tryingto protect her child. Shewas unconscious forthreedays straight.

Her son was screamingfor milk, andher feet weresmearedin blood. She cametoconsciousness oneday, but didnt movefor twotothree moredays. Shehadbecomecompletelyemaciated. A doctor lookedher over, but she was completelyparalysed.

Sheis stillalivetoday, but shecannot walk.

Bagerhat

Written bySheikh Al Mamun, GoalmathRoshikolalMiddleSchool, 7thgrade, Ka-chua, BagerhatAccount of Zulekha Begum, Rajipara,PO: Sholarkola, Thana: Kachua, Bagerhat

M

yhusbands nameis Sofi Meddaandour sons nameis Shaha Med-

da. Theywere part of Muktibahini.ThePakistaniarmywas searchingfor myhusbandtokill him.

Our housewas in Kakarbil. On thefate-fulday, hehadcometo Goalmath Bazartobuy somegroceries. ThePakistaniarmywas alertedabout this andtheycame tothebazaar tokill him. But hewas alreadygonebythetimetheygot there.

However, hehadforgotten tobuysomethingfor his son, andwent back,this timehe took his son alongwith him. Ifhehadnot cometothe bazaar maybehewouldnt havebeen shot. Thesecondhegot there, thePakistaniarmyrounded himupalongwith his son in themiddleof thebazaar andstartedpoundingthem.

After beatingthem up, thearmymenblindfoldedSofi Medda andhis son ShahaMedda, andcarriedthem off in a van fromtheGoalmath Bazar. At Fatehpur Bridge,theykicked Sofi Medda andhis son off thevan.

Sofi entreatedthe armytokill himbutsparehis son, tonoluck. ThePakistaniarmymen toldthem tobathe in theFateh-pur streamfor onelast time. When fatherandson took a diveand reappearedonthesurface, thearmy shot at his son first,killinghiminstantly, andthen him.

Thebystanders ran for their lives.

Kurigram

Written byLuckyParvin Khushi, NewashiJagoroniGirls College, 10thgrade, SocialSciences SectionAccount of HafezMolla, Newashi, Nagesh-wari, Kurigram

Iamaninhabitantof KurigramdistrictsNewashivillageinNajeshwarithana.Myfathersnameis MdHafezMolla.My

nameisLuckyParvin Khushi.Myfatherwasafreedom fighter.Heisextremelyhardworkingandbrave.He tookpartintheLiberationWarof 1971andis stillalive.Ihave heardofmany storiesabout1971frommyfather.

Hedid his guerilla trainingin IndiasNengtishingBazars harsh militia trainingcenter for onemonth beforemovingontoadvanced trainingat ShilguriPanigotamilitia trainingcenter whereheearned FFnumber 4411.

After this hetraineda further onemonth. Himalongwith 500 other free-domfighters under thenameof AlphaCompanyseizedcontrol of thevillageSha-hebpur, in theIndia-Bangladesh bordernear Najeshwari. Fromhereonwards, theypreparedfor flat out war.

Myfather tells methat duringthedayheused todress as a civilian andgather

intelligenceon theenemy, which theyusedto formulateoperations that theycarriedout at night. This waytheycontin-uedto captureenemycamp after enemycamp. This alsorestockedtheir supplyofgunpowder andweapons.

Duringthewar, myfather hadgottenshot in his left hand. Hefought in thewarandhe is alivetothis day. Iconsider this ablessing.

Faridpur

Written byNupur Biswas, Alfadanga A ZGirls High School, 9 thgrade, CommerceSectionAccount of Nihar Bala, Alfadanga, Faridpur

Duringthe1971 Liberation War Iwas just a wifein this villageand myhusbandwas a fisherman. Ihad twosons andtwo daughters. Oneday, at dawn, thePakistanimilitaryattackedour village.

Somepeople werestillsleepingat thetime, whileothers hadheadedout tothefieldfor work. Themilitaryset allthe houses on fire. Everybodyran anywhich waytheycould. Our neighbours fledtoIndia. Theyhad toldus tofollow suit with theentirefamily. But myhusbandwas not around, andIcouldnot leave.

Myhusbandand his younger brother hadtaken tothestreets with meandmyfour children tofinda safepassagefor us. Myhusbands brother believedthatnobodywouldattack us. He took us tohis house. Just as hewas sayingthis themilitaryshot himand myhusband, killingtheminstantly. Iaskedthemto shoot

meas well, becauseIcouldnt leavemy husbandbehind, but mymother in lawdraggedmeback, saying: Whos goingtolook after thekids if you die too?WhatwillIdo?WherewillIgo?What willIfeedthechildren?

Theyhad alreadyburnt our housedown. Iset out with mychildren on foot to-wards India. But halfway, Iturned back. Ifoundmy wayback tomy fathers house,but nobodywas alive. On theway, mymother in law died of starvation.

In thehousenext tomy fathers, livedoneof mysisters in law. Oneof herdaughters haddiedfromstarvation as well. Shehad somehow managedto keepher son alive. Shedidnot manageto salvageanyclothes, andwent out togetwater with a ragwrappedaroundher.

In a house close to the one we were living in, the Muktibahini had come toeat. When they sat down to eat, a plane flew past the house. Everybody wasunder so much panic those days that they rushed out, thinking the plane hadbeen alerted about their whereabouts. After the plane flew away, they cameback to eat.

Nilphamari

Written byMdSadique Sarwar, Domar BohumukhiHigh School, 10thgradeAccount of MdNur Islam

Ihaveheardabout this event frommy father MdNur Islam. It tran-spiredon a Wednesday, on thefieldin front of the villages primaryschool. In theafternoon, a makeshift villagebazaar came together

on thefield.A leader of theMuktibahini, Rahman, was speakingto thegathered

crowdfrominside theschool, urgingelders tolet their sons join thewar, andurgingtheyouth totake uparms for thecountrys liberation.Myfather was alsoon thefield.

At this time, fivepeople cameto thefield tosell hay. Theywere cladin lungi, shirt andgamcha in other words theylooked likeordinarypeople. Theywereaccompaniedbyone of our own. Oncetheyhadspreadout in thefield, theypulledout rifles that theyhadbeen hidingunder thehayand began firingin theair. When peopletriedtorunaway, oneof themshouted: Sit down exactlywhere you areif you donot want tobeshot.

Fearingfor their lives, thepeopleapprehensivelysat down. Themen enteredthe schoolbuilding, andpicked upMuktibahinileaderRahman, with thehelpof a local. After this noone ever heardanythingabout Rahman again.

Themen, wereof the Pakistaniarmy. But thelocalcollaborator wasoneof our own. Onlywith his assistancewas thearmyableto capturethis leader of theMuktibahini. Thereare a number of similar storiesabout thecollaborators duringthe Liberation War.

Naogaon

Written byMdRoyal Ali, KaligramRathindranath Institute, 6thgradeAccount of MdAbdul Jabbar, Manyari, Patisar, Thana: Atrai, Naoga

Mygrandfather toldmeabout how onedayin 1971 theRazakars andtheal-Badr brought thePakistaniarmytoour villagePatisar. On theway toPatisar, theytargetedthree men fromtheprevious villageandshot them

deadon thefield.Oncethey got toPatisar, theyindiscriminatelybegan toloot andplunder the

village. Theyraped twowomen in thevillage. Somevillagers managedtostay outof sight, andused thewaterways tosneak toManyarivillageto seek shelter.

Whilemakingtheir waythrough Manyari, theyrandomlypicked out twomen,Mohabbat andTomij, andshot themdead. Theyalso grabbedKocchimoddifromapondand took himprisoner, whomno onesaw again.

Joypurhat

Written byMdAsaduzzaman, Alampur DemukhiHighSchool, 8thgrade, JoypurhatAccount of MdShadulHossain, Khetlal, Joypurhat

Istillvividlyremember 1971. At thetimeI was 40-years-old. Iwas harvestingwheat in the field. Out of nowhere,thePakistaniarmycame andcapturedme alongwith

threeother peoplefromthe village, anddraggedus away.Their car hadgotten stuck andtheymadeus push it

out. Then theymadeus push it for nearly2kilometers.Bythe sides of theroad therewere hundreds of Pakistaniarmymen. Wealso noticeda few stacks of corpses hereandthere.

When our strengths werecompletelygivingaway, theyraidedthehouses of someother villagers, andmade thempush thecar instead. Theyelledfor us toget lost andwe

ran for our lives, back home. Ihadnever seen anythinglikeit andI remember it tothis day.

KISHORE PAREKH



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Weenticeda largenumber ofenemy soldiersto aswampandwere ablemurderthem in largenumbers. Ihave usedthe word murder extensively. In regularwarfare, thewordmurderis notused. Defeating theenemyis themainobjective. Butin thisguerrilla fight, theidentifiedenemyisa criminal in humanitarian terms. Murder, forhim isonly afairsentenceLT COLONEL ABU TAHER,ABOUT KILLING THE MANY PAKISTANISOLDIERS IN THE KAMALPUR SIEGE

Kill threemillion ofthemandtherest will eatoutof ourhands. YAHYA KHAN AT THE FEBRUARY CONFERENCE,ABOUT THE POLITICALTHREAT POSED BY BANGALIS

SECTOR 1

SECTOR 8

SECTOR 4 SECTOR 5 SECTOR 6 SECTOR 7

SECTOR 9 SECTOR 1 1

SECTOR 2 SECTOR 3

September

5:Battle ofGoahati, Jessore

28:BangladeshAir Forcestartsfunctioning

October

13:Dhaka guerrillaskillAbdulMonemKhan,

governorofEast Pakistan

28:Battleof DhalaiOutpost, Srimongol

31:4 day Battleof Dhalaistarts:Indianattack

fromTripura intoEast Pakistantostop

Pakistanicross-bordershelling

November

9:Six smallshipsconstitutethefirst fleet

ofBangladeshNavy

16:Battleof Ajmiriganj, an18 hourencounter

betweenMuktiBahiniand Pakistanarmy. A

famousfreedomfighter,JagatjyotiDas,

ismartyred

20-21:Battleof Garibpur:Indianattack

inBoyra salient inEast Pakistan

21:BangladeshArmed Forcesisformed

November22to December13, and sporadic

fightingtoDecember 16:Battleof Hilli:Indian

attackonBogra in East Pakistan

December(The1971Indo-Pakistan War)

3:BangladeshAir ForcedestroysPakistanioil

depots. Pakistaniair attacksonIndia result inIndia declaringwar onPakistan

6:Bhutanbecomes thefirst country torecognize

BangladeshafterIndia

ShadhinBangla BetarKendra becomes

BangladeshBetar

7:Liberationof Jessore, Sylhet and

MouloviBazar

9:Battle ofKushtia:Indianattackfrom West

BengalintoEast Pakistan, Chandpurand

Daudkandiliberated

11:Liberationof Hilli, Mymenshingh, Kushtia

and Noakhali. USS Enterpriseisdeployed by the

USA intheBay ofBengalto intimidate

IndianNavy

13:Soviet Navy deploysa group ofwarshipsto

counterUSS Enterprise

14:Selectivegenocide ofBengalinationalist

intellectualsLiberationofBogra

16:End oftheBangladeshLiberationWar

22:Thepr ovisionalgovernment ofBangladesh

arrivesinDhaka fromexile

March

1:General Yahya Khancallsoff thesessionofNationalCounciltobe held onMarch 3

7:SheikhMujibur Rahmanshistoric address9:Workersof Chittagongport refuse

tounload weaponsfromthe ship Swat16:Yahya Khanstartsnegotiation

withSheikhMujiburRahman19:Nearly 50peopledieas PakistanArmy opens

fireon demonstratorsat Jaydevpur24:PakistanArmy opensfire onBengali

demonstratorsinSyedpur, RangpurandChittagong. Morethana thousand

peopleare killed25:PakistanArmy startsOperation

Searchlight inDhaka and rest ofthe country26:At 1.15 AM, SheikhMujiburRahmanis

arrested by thePakistani3commandounitIndependenceofBangladeshisdeclared

31:Kushtia resistancebegins

April

2:Jinjira massacre

6:The Blood Telegram10:A provisionalBangladesh

government-in-exileisformed12:MAG Osmanitakesup the

command ofBangladeshArmed Forces17:A provisionalgovernment-in-exile

tookoathin Baidyanathtala18:Battleof Daruin, Comilla and Battleof

Rangamati-Mahalchariwaterway,

ChittagongHillTracts28:Tajuddinpleasfor armsaid toneighbors

May

5:Gopalpur massacre

15:Indianarmy startsaidingMuktiBahini20:TheChuknagarmassacretakesplace

at Khulna wherethePakistanarmy

killsnearly 10thousand people24:SwadhinBangla BetarKendra

findshomein Kolkata

July

1117:SectorCommandersConference1971

August

1:The Concert forBangladesh

16:OperationJackpot, Bangladeshnavalcommandooperation

20:Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahmansattempt todefect by hijackinga fighter

30:PakistanArmy crackdownonDhaka guerrillas

8000Wounded

93000Troops,41 Tanks,

50 GunsandHeavy Mortars,

104 RecoillesGuns,

18F86Aircrafts

Surrendered

115officers

40Junior

commissionedofficers

1482other ranks

officially dead

4500Killed

4000Wounded

2261Killed

December 4 - December 16

The joint forces assault

March 26 - December 3

Before the Indian army joined the war

Source:SurrenderatDacca,LtGenJFRJacob

AHMamun/DTInfographic

P A K I S T A N I C A S U A L T I E S


Commander: MajZiaur Rahman, Captain RafiqulIslam

Aug28, Mirersarai: An FFgroup leadby Mizan mineda railway

track aroundMirersarai. At 8:45am, a train carryingPakistani

troops werederailed. 35enemysoldiers werereportedlykilled

Dec 9, Nazirhat: Theguerrilla companyoperatingin Nazirhat,

leadby Lt. Shawkat, attackedPakistanis. Thefreedomfighters

killed20 andinflictedheavy casualties. 5of our soldiers were

martyredand 3 werewounded.

Pak armysurrendered on Dec 16, at Chittagong, Sitakundu and

Kumira

Commander: Major Osman

Chowdhury, Major MA

Manzoor

Nov24, Gharibpur: Major Alik

Kumar Gupta ledJoint forces

engaged14 Pakistanitanks.

AllPak tanks weredestroyed.

TheJoint forces lost 5tanks

Dec 7: Jessoreand Narail

wereliberated on Dec 7

Commander: Major KhaledMosharraf, Major ATM Haider

Jun 7, Feni: WhilethePak armywas advancing towards

Belunia, theyconfrontedtheK force, ledbyB rigadier

KhaledMusharraf after a dayof fierce battle; the

Muktibahinikilled almost 60% peopleof an entire

battalion. 300 bodies werefound, manyothers washed

off bytheChilonia river

Dec 15, Siegeof Mynamoticantonment: 9th Bengal

regiment. 150 Pak soldiers surrenderedandmanyfled.

Theultimate surrender happenedon Dec 16

Commander: Major M A Jalil, Major MA Manzur, Major JoynalAbedin

Aug, Dateunknown, skirmish at Panpatti: FreedomFighter Nurul

Huda saidthat in a twodayfierce battle, theMuktis camefacetoface

with thePatuakhali region Pak armycommander, Major Yamin. Yamin

Dec 13Dec 17: Blockadeof theKhulna Newsprint Mill

Thejoint commandmet stern resistancefrom Brigadier Hyatt Khan.

Nonotableprogress was beingmade. Therewas heavyfiringand air

strikes even.

Hyatt refusedto surrender even after Dec 16. In theend, thePak

troops droppedtheir arms on December 17

Commander:MajorKMShafiullah,CaptainANMNuruzzaman

Aug716,Katiadiambush:Afteran unsuccessfulbattleinBelabo,

thePakarmywas highinconfidence.OnAug16,Pakistaniarmy

wasadvancingtowardsKatiadiona fewsteamers.Thewaiting

S-forcesoldiersopenedfireanddestroyedmanyofthese

steamers.143Paksoldierswerereporteddead,manyfled. This

ambushwasleadby HabildarAkmalAli

Dec1316:KMShafiullahsSforcewere thefirstto takeDhaka.

OnDec16,at Demra,0431hrs,thePakforces surrendered.The

commanderoftheoppositionwasColonelKhiljee

Commander:MajorsZiaur Rahman,AbuTaher,Squadron LeaderM HamidullahKhan

Sep1011,Kamalpurbase,Mahendraganj:Theambushwaslong,hardandultimately

futile.Taherstroopssystematicallydrewtheenemytoa swampandthesiegeturned

intoanambush,accordingtothemanhimself,theLMGfirekilledthemlikesittingducks

December1016,JamalpurtoDhaka,withlove:FreedomfighterJohurulHaque

Munsheewassenttothe commanderofthe31stBalochregiment,askingtheenemyto

surrender.Thecommanders entabu lletwrappedin paperas ananswer.

Bythetimethesurrenderhappenedat5amnextmorning,212Paksoldiershaddiedand200

furtherwere injured

Commander: Major Chittarajan Datta, Lt ColMdAbdur

Rob

June19, Latitila Operation: Robs companypreparedfor a

dawn attack andwas in position since2pm. At 5:45in the

morning, theforces totallysurroundedthe Pakistanicamp

andthe combat started. Thesoldiers of 22Baloch fledto

thewoods indiscriminately. Most of themwerekilled

Dec 15, Khademnagar: Joint troops siegedthePakistani

HQ at Khadimnagar. Fightingcontinuedall day. Finally, on

Dec 16, theenemysurrendered

Commander: Major Mir Shawkat Ali

Gourinagar, October 30:Major Taheruddin Akhanzee

ledthe attack on thePakistani campat Gourinagar.

175soldiers wereat the front of theattack. The

Sector commander himself coveredthetroops with

120mmmortar fire

Dec 916: Mir Showkat AliattackedGovindaganj and

drovethePak army as far as Lamakazi. On Dec 12,

4Indian Armyjets bombardedlamakaziand within

days, thepak armysurrendered

Commander:WingCommanderKhademulBashar

Nov2630,Pachagarh:1battalionMuktibahiniand 2batallions

oftheIndianarmyattacked thestrongPakistanipostat

Pachagarhatnight,Navember26. OneoftheMa jorbattlesof

thewar,thissiege lasted4days

Dec13,Syedpur:Thejointforces advancedtotakeSyedpur.At

about5miles fromSyedpur,tanksengagedtheopposition.3

pakinstanitanksweredestroyedwhile1 Indiantankwasalso

lost.Aroundevening,107Paksoldiersincludingthe commander

ofthe48 Punjabregimentandanotheroffi cer,surrendered

Commander: Major NazmulHaque, Major

QuaziNuruzza man

Nov13, Train blast in Shihipur: Ledby

Dulu, fromMahimaganj, locals Bably,

Khaleque, Hamidandother chargeda

Pakistan armytrain in Shihipur. Morethat

150 enemies werekilled

Dec 16: Brigadier Ghiasuddin Chowdhury

attackedNawabgang with his troops at

6amand emergedvictorious

Notable battles in the 11 SectorsnCompilation:Shahtab Mahmud, Source: Bangladesher Shadhinota Juddho, Ministry of Information

6

nRumana Habib andAbu Bakar Siddique

Today, ourcountry isfestoonedwithflags. Red and greeniseverywhereyoulook:lining

thestreets, onpeoplesclothes, andpainted onchildrensfaces.

Today, onthisday ofcelebration,weput asideourpoliticaldifferences,

and honourouridentity asonenation.Theturmoilof thispre-election

yearhastaken itstoll. But today, morethan30,000peoplewill meet at the

NationalParadeGround, and unitetocreatethe worldslargest humanflag.

TherecanbenomorefittingwaytocelebrateVictory Day not just

becausethesight of ourflag stirstheprocionred ofour blood, but also

becauseourgreatest resourceis, andhasalwaysbeen, ourpeople.

Thisbold initiativewasthe brain-

child ofRobiAxiata. Withthesupportofthe army, they wereable toquicklyspinthisdream intoreality.

Iftheattemptis successfulit willberecordedintheGuinnessBookof World

Records.Thecurrentrecordis heldbyPakistan,at24,200participants.

Anticipation

Inthe lead up totheevent, Robis

Photoschool, inassociationwithDriks

ShahidulAlam, hosted a red and greenthemed photography contest.

They launched a websiteat http://

bdworldrecord.com, invitingusers tocomment and participateinvarious

conteststowin ticketstothe event.Visitorstothesitecanalsomakea

collectiveflagof theirown.Thesitefeatures a user-generated

3Ddigitalflag. By clickingthebuild

theflag button, peopleat homecanhelp lift thevirtualpiecesthat makeup theflag, whichisa proportionate

modelofthehumanflagtobecreatedtoday.

Precision

At theparadegrounds, the30,000volunteerswillstand informationand

hold up theirplacards, coloured inred

orgreen.

Thechallengingjob goesto thoseholdingthemarginpieces, wherethered and greenmeet onthesamecard.

They must stand inexactly therightspot and hold theirpieces inexactly

theright orientation.Squareshavebeen carefully

chalked out ontheparadegrounds,and labelled. Eachsquareis num-

bered, matchingthe numberofitscorrespondingplacard piece.

Thehumanflag willfollow theoffi cialmeasurementsof thenational

flag, includingthe off-centrered circle.Accordingtothe GuinnessRecord

rules, peoplemust hold theflagup forfiveminutes.

A Guinness-accredited auditorwillbepresent tooversee theattempt in

Bangladesh. Aftersuccessfulcomple-tionof theevent allrelevant docu-

mentsand imageswillbe sent tothe

GuinnessWorld Record committeeforvalidation.

ParticipationWearereally lucky toget a chanceto

jointhe squad,said Masud Parvez, acheerfulcollegestudent and volun-

teer, at therehearsalonSaturday.Heand 20ofhis friendshad joined

theefforts. It wasa matterof prideand

joy forthemto bea part of history,Masud said.

Around 10,000spectatorscancollect freeticketsfromany Robicus-

tomercare centre, and 1,200ticketswillbe availableat theentrancesof the

venuetoday.

Approximately 1,000guests, celeb-rities, sportspersons, educationists,businesspersonsand othernoted indi-

vidualshavebeeninvited, said Ashi-kurRahman, a Robispokesperson.

Celebration

Theprogrammewill start at 10am,withtheNational Anthemtobe sung

by Rezwana Chowdhury Bonnya.

At 12pm, thevolunteers mostlyschooland collegestudentsfrom

different academic institutions willgatherto formthe humanflag. The

event willbetelevised and streamedliveontheir websitehttp://bd-

worldrecord.com. Aerial viewswill

comefromthe helicopterbrought intocapturethe bigmoment.

Therewillbe a concert onthe

groundsimmediately followingtheflagformation, featuringAyubBach-

chuand Bappa Mazumder.Membersofthe Bangladeshnavy,

BGB, police, Ansarand theair forcewillbe deployed at thevenueto

strengthensecurity.l

Therecan beno morefittingway tocelebrateVictory Day notjust becausethesightofourflagstirs theprocion redofour blood,butalso becauseourgreatestresourceis, andhas always been,ourpeople


MohammadNazmul Haque

MahmudRupam

Zakaria Joy

KaisarAhamed

Kazi Mushfiq

Milton Bennett

ShafayetChowdhuryMakinurRahman

Shegufta Shahriar

Tajul IslamKhan

Red andGreen

In the lead up to the big event, Robi Photoschool,in association with Drik, Shahidul Alam held aphotography contest with the theme red and green.Shahidul selected the top ten finalists. The winnerwill be announced today

Todaywe

holdour

heads

high

Amomentfromthepreparationsto makehistory SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN


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Art and culture influenced by theLiberation WarBiren Shome: Exhibition in ExileOne of the Bangladeshi artists who fled to India, and becameambassadors for the cause abroad

nTasnuva Amin Nova

BirenShomeis a baldingmanwithwhitelong hairloosely

tucked behind hisears.Unusually faircomplexion

fora Bangladeshi. Slenderbody withanoblongface. Talksfast, as

ifin a hurry. WhenIarrived he, wear-inga sweaterover a fullsleeved shirt,

waschattingwitha group offriendsbesidetheprinting roomof Dhaka Art

Center. AsIcame in, heguided metothe printingroom, wheretwogirls

werealready working, insearchofa quieteratmosphere. Aswetalked,

thegirls listened, occasionally askingabout theexhibition, whichBirensays

not many peoplehereknow about.BirenShomeis a now freelance

artist inDhaka. At thetimeof war, Bi-renhad graduated fromthe FineArtsDepartment ofDhaka University, and

just joined asteacherof Botany inthesameuniversity.

Hefled BangladeshinApril, 1971,fearingthetortures ofPakistaniarmy.

Talkingabout thecontributionofex-iled artistsinIndia, Birensaid that the

fund raised fromsellingthepaintingswasused by theBangladeshgovern-

ment tofinancethe war, and it helpedcreateawarenessamongpeople who

cameto visit theexhibition. BirenclaimsthisexhibitioninKolkata as

thefirst art exhibitionofindepend-

ent Bangladesh. Theexhibitionwasalsoheld inDelhiand Mumbai(thenBombay).

WhileworkinginIndia, many oftheexiled artistslived theirlivesin

poverty, but they had a senseof broth-erhood amongst themselvesat the

timeof crisis. They did not haveanyjobor a sourceofincome. Nomatter

how littleamount ofmoney orfoodthey had, they would shareit amongthemselves. Herecalls comingacross

QuamrulHasaninKolkata whenhewent tomeet ChintamoniKaurabout

theexhibitionto beheld there. WhileinIndia, theseexiled artistsweregiven

many privileges. Birensays, Whiletravellingusingpublic transport orat

restaurants, sayingJoy Bangla wouldhelp usget a freeride oreven dis-

counted meals. Everyoneknew aboutthespirit ofthe twowords.Healso

recollectsthat interactionswithother

artistsincreased duringthewar. Biren

alsocameacross artist ShahabuddinAhmad duringthewar and artistsfromotherfieldsas well.

Afterthewarended,theexiledartistscamebacktoBangladesh.TheBangla-

deshgovernmenthadannouncedthatthosewhowereworkingforgovern-

mentorganisationshadtocomebackbyJanuary30ortheydlosetheirjobs.

NasirBishhashwasamongthefirstonestoreturn.Birenrecallsthatbeingexiled

inaforeigncountrywasnota pleasura-

bleexperienceforanyone.

WhenBirenwent backto hisvillage, hefound nothing;everythingwasburnt toashes. Heand hisfamily

lost theirhouseand all belongings.Birensfamily tookshelter inAssam

duringthewar. But thewarended,Birenbrought thembackto their

villageafterthree months. Duringthesemonths, heand brotherarranged

accommodationtakinghelp fromeveryoneelsearound.l

Bangladeshi artists participatedin an artexhi-

bition in Kolkatas Birala Academy in Septem-

ber13,1971. Through this movement,thebrave

artists portrayedthegenoc idetakingplace in

Bangladesh afterthehorrific events on March

26,1971.

This helpeddraw foreign attention tothe ongo-

ingmassacre in thecountry.

Theserebellious artists alsoactively contrib-

utedby designinglogos forthe government

ofBangladesh andnational organisations

andalso in designingfestoons, posters and

banners.

Artists whoseworks weredisplayedin the

exhibition,andlater in Delhi,include: Mustafa

Monwar,Swapan Chowdhury,Quamrul Hassan,

Debdas Chakroborty,Nitun Kundu,Kazi Gias-

uddin andBiren Shome

LITERARY WORKS

DOCUMENTARIES

Ami Birangona Bolchi

(1996)

Neelima Ibrahims ground-

breakingAmi Birangona

Bolchi(I, theBirangona,

Speak)is a compilation

of someof thepersonal

stories of theBirangona,

the200,000 women who

wererapedbythePaki-

staniArmyduringthe1971

war of independence

AGolden Age(2007)

Tahmima Anams stunningnovel,

A Golden Age, lays barea moth-

ers ordealin thegulf between

East andWest Pakistan. Thebook

won the2008 Commonwealth

Writers Prizefor Best First Book

MuktijudherItihash (2009)

Muktijuddher Itihash (Historyof the

Liberation War)is probablytheshortest

historybook that has ever been written.

MuhammedZafar Iqbal, theauthor of this

book captures theentire historyof the1971

liberation war in just 22pages with referenc-

es fromauthentic sources

TheBlood Telegram: Nixon,Kissinger,

anda Forgotten Genocide(2013)

A rivetinghistoryandthefirst full

account of theinvolvement of Richard

Nixon andHenryKissinger in the1971

atrocities in Bangladesh that ledto war

between India andPakistan, which had

major strategic consequences that still

affect theworld today

Jochona oJononir

Golpo(2004)

Humayun Ahmedpro-

pensityfor varietyis best

seen in his novelJosna O

Jononir Golpo. It follows

thefate of a largecast of

characters fromdiverse

backgrounds, as they

witness thebreakout of

theLiberation War and

livethrough thehorror

MuktirGaan (Song ofFreedom) (1995) Directedby Tareque

Masudand CatherineMasud

Thefilm follows a troupeof musicians travellingthrough refugee

camps andwar zones duringthe Liberation War. Theyperform

throughout thecountrysideto boost themoraleof citizens and

freedomfighters andpeople. Much of thefootage of thetroupewas

taken byAmerican filmmaker Lear Levin. When theMasuds tra cked

himdown in New York, Levin saidhe hadbeen waitingfor their

phonecallfor morethan 20 years

ACertain Liberation (2003) Directedby YasmineKabir

A short documentary about an incredible woman supported

Gurudasi Mondol resigned herself to madness in 1971 when, during

the Liberation War of Bangladesh, she witnessed the murder of her

entire family. Today Gurudasi continu es to roam the streets of Ko-

pilmoni, a small town in rural Bangladesh, in pursuit of all she has

lost; snatching at will from the pockets of strangers and breaking

into spaces normally reserved for men, taking liberties only her

madness and her strength of character afford her

StopGenocide(1971) Directedby ZahirRaihan

This 20-minutedocumentarywas instrumentalin helpinggain

internationalawareness andsupport for thewar effort. Usingfound

footage, newreels andphotographs, thefilm documents thekillings

andatrocities carriedout bythe Pakistan army.

The Mujibnagar Cabinet, along with other exiled politicians,

watched the first screening of Stop Genocide in secret in in

India. Moved by the film, Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi

instructed her film division to buy the film and distribute it

internationally


Peace: Biren Shome, Pen &Ink 1971

Genocide: Drawing Quamrul Hasan 1971Genocide: Drawing Prnesh Mondal 1971

Genocide: Drawing Mustafa Monwar1971

Drawing: Swapan Chowdhury. Pen &Ink1971

8

nBarrister Harun ur Rashid

In1971, Iwas a mid-leveloffi cer

at thePakistanForeignOffi ceand lived inIslamabad withmy

family.Littledid werealisethat the

military junta would beso brutalandruthlessinerstwhileEast Pakistan,

launchinga military crackdownonunarmed Bangalicivilianson March

25, 1971;constitutinggenocideandcrimesagainst humanity.

Wedid not know what actuallyhappened onMarch25 and 26, asthe

media inPakistanprovided uswitha sanitised versionofthe horrible

events. Webeganlisteningto thenewsbroadcastsof AllIndia Radio

and theBBCforcorrect news.Iwas deeply concerned about the

fateof my elderbrother, BarristerKaziAhmed Kamal, whowasvery closetoBangabandhuasthey weretogetheras

undergraduatestudentsat theBakerhostelinCalcutta during1942-44(af-

terindependence, my brotherwasthefirst BangladeshAmbassadorto East

Germany in1972). Ifound out laterthat my brotherfled Dhaka and went

toour villageinVikrampur.

When the Pakistan army surrendered

in Dhaka on December 16, it erasedforever from our mind the ignominy

of being ruled by others and broughtus the resplendent dawn of freedom.

From that day our lives changedforever.

Soon, in1972, wewere givenan

optionto servePakistanor so-calledBangladesh.Whenwe exercised

ouroption toserve Bangladesh, ourserviceswereterminated immediately

and webecamehostages undertheBhuttogovernment.

Wesoonlearnt that wewould besent toconcentrationcampsoutside

Islamabad and would remainthereuntiltheissue ofthe repatriation

ofPakistaniprisonersof warwasresolved.

Escapefrom Pakistan toBangladesh

Duringthistime ofhelplessness,someofus decided toescape from

Pakistantoreturn toBangladeshviaAfghanistanand India. Thequestion

forme was:how tomakeit happenwitha family ofthreeyoungchildren,

theeldest child being6 yearsand theyoungest barely 2?

Ourmainconsiderationsrevolved

around threefactors how would thechildrenhandletheescapade? Would

webe ableto keep themquiet during

thetrip, asthe slightest noisefromthechildren(in Bangla ratherthan

Urdu) would involveriskingarrest andjail?How safewould webewith the

unknownpeoplewhowould organise

theescape?Icontacted a group of Peshawar

University studentswho agreed to

organiseourescape inexchangeforcash. Wewould gotoPeshawaron our

ownfromIslamabad, therewewouldbepicked up by a car(theregistration

numberwasgivento us) at Peshawarrailway station, and thereafterwe

would betransported by trucksandcarsto Afghanistan, crossingthebor-

derat Torkhamvia theKhyberPass.Weweredressed inPakistanistyle

ShalwarKameez, and wetooka thirdclasscompartment toavoid meeting

any friendsoracquaintanceson thejourney. Thepolicechecked ourcom-

partment and left us undisturbed.Wearrived at therailway stationin

Peshawarand found thecarwith the

givenregistrationnumberwaitingatthestation. Aftera good 45 minutes

drive, wewereled toa donkeysmudhouse, and told tostay thereuntilfur-

thernotice. Thelocationof theshedwasnearthe entry tothe KhyberPass.

Werealised wewere underthecontroloftribesmenwho had covered their

faceswith chadors (cloaks), leavingonly theireyesuncovered.

Wealmost frozein shockwhenwelearnt that theguard whotookcare of

uswasa convicted murdererwhohadescaped tothe tribalareasof Pakistan.

Wewerementally and physicallydistressed. Wehad to spend day and

night foralmost threedaysinthe don-key-shed. By thetimewe left theshed

wewerejoined by a few moreBangalicouples. Onthethird day at 9pm, we

wereadvised toget ready tomoveonwardstoLandikotal. Theplace was

wellknownfor itssmugglers marketinthe tribalarea.

Twohugetrucks cameand wehadtoclimbup a ladderontothetop ofoneof them. Below uswere twolev-

els, they werefilled withmolassesand

boxesofvegetableghee beingtrans-ported toAfghanistan. Wesat down

onthetop of thetruck, wherewewerecovered by a hugetarpaulinsothat no

onecould seeusfrom outside. Simplyput, webecamehuman commodities.

Wearrived at midnight inLandilko-taland weretakento a house. Wesat

ona floor covered by a whitesheet.Weweresubjected toa lengthy ser-

mon, thepurposeof whichwasto ex-tract money fromus. We handed over

somemoney tothemand thefinallegofjourney began. We administered

sleepingmedicinestomy youngerchildren, toprevent themfrommak-

ingany noiseinthe truck.Theborder opensat 6amevery day.

Ourtrucksgot totheborderintheearly morningbut themen whohad

beenbribed at thecheck-point werenot present and my smallchildren

beganto wakeup.Wewereworried that theslightest

noisefromthe top ofthe truckwouldland usinjail. Thedriver, sensingadelay at theborder, put themusic

fromthe truckradioup toits loudestvolume. Thiswould minimisethe risk

ofany noisesuchas a baby crying, orcoughingand sneezingbeingheard.

Aftera delay ofanhourand a halfattheborder, thebribed-mencameand

ourtruck wasallowed tocross theborderintoAfghanistan.

Atlastin Afghanistan

Insidethetruck, wedid not

know whetherwehadactually crossed intoAfghan-

istan. Eventually wenoticedthetruck wastravellingon

theright sideofthe road, in-stead oftheleft sideas it did

inPakistan. Werealised thatwewere inAfghanistanandsoonour tarpaulinwaslift-

ed. Weweregreatly relievedthat wewereout ofBhuttos

trap inPakistan.

Wewaited threeweeksin Kabulto

get theAfghanAir flight toNew Delhiand thentoCalcutta. Finally weflew

toDhaka.Inhindsight, Ithinkthat wetook

a great riskwithour livesbecausetheuniversity students, towhomwegavethemoney, disappeared. We

weretransferred fromonegroup totheother inthe tribalareaslike a relay

race;they could havedoneimmenseharmtous, inparticularto my wife.

Iwillnever forget thisextraordinaryepisodeofmy escapewithmy wife

and children.l

Thewriter is former Bangladesh

Ambassador tothe UNand Geneva.

Escape to Bangladesh

We were mentally and physically distressed. We

had to spend day and night for almost three days inthe donkey-shed. By the time we left the shed wewere joined by a few more Bangali couples. On thethird day at 9pm, we were advised to get ready tomove onwards to Landikotal

Tale of a family stranded in West Pakistan after the LiberationWar and their strife to get back home

We were worried that the slightest noise from thetop of the truck would land us in jail. The driver,sensing a delay at the b order, put the music fromthe truck radio up to its loudest volume


Theescape startedfromPeshawar, taking theauthor andhis familyon an arduousjourney to theirfreem

16 dec special

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