Bangladesh 1971

Remembering Sriramshi and Raniganj Bazar massacres

2010-07-11T23:34:00.001+06:00

31 August 1971

It was Tuesday. About 20 to 30 members of Pakistan Army on 8 to 9 boats came to the Srairamshi bazar of Jagannathpur thana at about 10 AM. They asked the villagers of Sriramshi and the adjacent ones to gather at the just attached Sriramshi High School building immediately for joining a discussion to form peace committee. Some of the local collaborators also made an announcement. They also said, the measure had been taken to avoid any untoward incident and for ensuring peace in the remote villages. Otherwise, there would be a mass killing, they warned. Accordingly, the villagers about 200 in number with a sincere belief, reached the school ground. A Rajaker leader from the nearby Hobibpur-Ahmed Ali Khan whispered an army man something, resulting in an action by some others with Sten gun and other weapons.

As the villagers were waiting for the so-called meeting with great anxiety, the army men took some young students, teachers and others to a separate room in the school. Again they picked up groups of 15 to 16 people to separate groups kept along the narrow canal, that flows between the school and the small bazar. Also the army tied their hands,pulling them behind their back. Within a short time, the killers stood them up in a square and asked them to recite their Kalema. Things went wrong and before the innocent villagers could realize any thing, the Pak army opened brush fire on the Bangalees. As many as 126 innocent people were shot dead and they embraced martyrdom. The unknown village became a part of the great history of the nation's liberation war.

The water in the narrow canal became reddish with the blood of peace loving men, who were just cheated by the killers. The dead included, Post master, Tahsilder, UP Member, students, youth, traders and local elites. Then the army men poured kerosene oil in the shops in the market and set those on fire. There was no sound or any cry of protest.

Then the occupation army men went on rampage at the
village. Also they set some of the dwelling houses and shops at the bazaar ablaze. With the spread of the news of such a mass killing, the rest of the people also left their homesteads in the remote villages nearby.

However, after 3 days, a handful of people from the nearby villages managed to reach the village and found some of the remains of the human bodies and buried those somehow. Meantime, dogs and foxes had done a lot on those bodies.

Some of the dead were identified as Headmaster Saad Uddin, Tahshilder Ahea Chowdhury, Satya Narayan Chakravarty, Syed Ashraf Hossain, Shafiqur Rahman, Firoze Miah, Sunu Miah, Ala Miah, Nozir Miah, Abdul Mannan, Waris Miah, Manik Miah, Abdul Jalil, Dobir Miah, Morom Ullah, Montaj Ali, Sarwar Ullah, Rais Ullah, Abdul Majid, Abdul Latif Ekhlas Miah, Mokhtar Miah, Samir Ali, Abdul Hai, Shamsu Miah, Soab Ullah, Rufu Miah, Rusmot Ali, Asab Miah, Taiyab Ali, Roab Ali, Tofazzal Ali, Mosoddor Ali, Abdul Hannan, Abdul Barik member, Shudhangshu tailor, Syed Jahir Uddin, Post Master of Sriramshi post office.

Crippled Amjad Ali with bullet on his body still bears the black memory of that day. The other bullet wounds include Soil Uddin, Haji Alkas Miah, Zoahir Chowdhury, Amzad Ali, Topon Chakravarty, Sundar Ali,, Hushiar Ali, and Alkas Ali.

The incident got a wide coverage in the world media including the BBC also. Same way, the Pak army men enacted a similar incident at Raniganj bazar in Jagannathpur upazila on 8 September when 30 people were shot dead in a brush fire. Also they burnt out the Raniganj bazar soon after.

After the end of the liberation war, Commander in Chief of the war-Gen MAG Osmani and the then Agriculture minister Abdus Samad Azad visited the Sriramshi village to pay homage to the luminous sons. Azad was born at the same upazila. Also he was elected to the parliament from that constituency. Besides, there had been many commitments to take measures for remembering the martyrs. The remote village was once named Shahid Nagar, but it did not continue. Some of the important personalities told us about many other things that has happened there.

With the assistance from the Sunamganj district unit of Bangladesh Muktijodha Sangsad, a small plate inscribing the names of the great sons was constructed in 1980 at the premises of the school. Later, the locals gave up the hope of getting government assistance and locally managed things. They formed Sriramshi Shahid Smriti Sangsad in 1987 for commemorating the martyrs and their sacrifice. Since then, the Sangsad organizes annual events to remember those valiant sons of the soil. It also publishes annual magazines styled 'Chetona' as a yearly event.

Two small monuments have been constructed at the area. One was constructed 2 years ago at the very place where the killing took place. It is in the Biswanath Upazila. The earlier one was constructed at the school premises, which falls in the Jagonnathpur upazila.

Source

Proud soldier of the soil Sajjad A Zahir

2010-03-28T13:42:00.003+06:00

Proud soldier of the soil Sajjad A Zahir, standing first from right, with his co-fighters at Borolekha battlefield of Moulvibazar in October 1971.

Courtesy: Inam Ahmed and Julfikar Ali Manik

Sajjad lay panting at the bed of the shallow gorge. Bullets were flying overhead. He knew he was safe in the dried-up gorge. But for how long?

He could hear his team leader Pakistani army Capt Munir's voice. "Shoot him! He is fleeing! Shoot!" And he could hear the eardrum-shattering rat-a-tat-tat of a submachine gun posted near the watchtower just 700 metres away. Then he heard the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) open fire. Second Lieutenant Q Sajjad A Zahir, later to become Lt Col, smiled. He knew the Indians would react with fire.

He was safe at the bottom of the gorge as no-one would chase him when both sides had opened up. He started crawling fast. The rough surface of the gorge scraped his elbows and knees. But he did not stop. He took maximum advantage during the firing time and moved towards the Indian border as quickly as possible.

The firing had stopped now and he heard the excited voice of Capt Munir from a distance. "Find that bastard! We must find him!"

Sajjad felt the urgency to hide and found a place -- a long narrow channel. He squeezed himself in and lay calm. He could see the blue sky of the northeast frontier border turning grey with the approaching dusk. Sajjad waited for the night to come. He reflected upon the things that had happened in the past few months since March. It was now the end of August.

It was a long struggle for Sajjad, a Bangalee teenager, to get into Pakistan Army in 1969. He was sent to Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul of Abbotabad in the North West Frontier of former West Pakistan for officers' training. While he was engrossed in training, the war broke out in East Pakistan.

"But we did not know much about the war. We were somewhat in the dark," Sajjad recalls. "We had no idea what had happened in Dhaka on March 26 or of the enormity of the massacre. We just heard that the army had gone into action and a few people had died. That was all the Pakistan army shared with us.”

He only came to know about the extent of the atrocities when he visited his Punjabi friend's family in Rawalpindi in April. The friend, was the son of a retired senior civil servant, and he was in the army.

"A lot has happened in East Pakistan," the friend's father said. "The army has killed thousands of Bangalees. Tikka (martial law administrator in East Pakistan) should not have done it. This is wrong."

Sajjad shuddered in horror. He had no idea if his family were alive. He returned to the academy with a heavy heart, determined to desert the Pakistan Army and fight the monstrous killers. He started planning his escape. The first chance to do so came fast.

He graduated from the academy in August as a second lieutenant in the artillery corps and was posted to Shialkot under the 14 para brigade. On the way to his posting, Sajjad stopped at Rawalpindi to visit his uncle, who was also in the Pakistan Army. There he met some Bangalee army officers at the officers' mess.

Sajjad sought support from his seniors. "We have to fight the Pakistani forces. There are some Bangalee soldiers in Shialkot, where we can group together and fight the first battle on the Pakistan soil and retreat to India."

The response was disheartening. They eyed him with suspicion, because of his uncle's posting in the military intelligence department.

Only one officer came forward. "If you can organise the soldiers in Shialkot, we can come, fight the first battle and enter India."

He joined his unit in Shialkot and further discussed his plan with other Bangalee officers but they were too scared of his plan.

Sajjad kept up his spirits. One August evening, he rode a bicycle to the garrison cinema. A romantic movie 'Nail Laila, na Majnu' was showing. He bought a ticket and entered the hall at 9:00pm. But the love scenes on the screen failed to touch his heart. A bigger plot was brewing in his mind.

An hour and a half later, he quietly came out of the hall. The Indian border was about seven kilometres from Shialkot. He started pushing his bicycle through the dark towards the border following the village tracks. His plan was to get within two kilometres of the border, then abandon the cycle and make it across on foot.

Sajjad was a master in night navigation. He could find his way just by watching the positions of stars. So crossing the border would not be a problem.

He had travelled about five kilometres -- excited by the prospect of getting out of Pakistan. A dark bush loomed by the trackside. Suddenly, four dark figures appeared from behind it.

"Halt! Hands up!" the orders came.

In the starlight, the muzzles of their guns glinted at him. As Sajjad slowly raised his hands, he realised they were field intelligence personnel guarding the border. They talked into walkie-talkies and a jeep wheeled in.

Sajjad sat still in the vehicle, trying to cook up a defence for his overnight venture to the border. The jeep stopped at a camp around 12pm.

The interrogation started. Punches and kicks rained down on him.

"You were escaping -- you bloody Bangalee."

"No, I was not."

"Then why were you heading for the border, you Bangalee?" More blows and kicks. Blood streamed out of his nose.

"I am new here. I just lost my way."

The next morning he was taken to the brigade commander at the headquarters. Sajjad repeated his story and showed him the movie ticket. A plain land guy may get lost in this wild frontier, he argued.

The commander heard him through. "You are a damn good officer in the making," he said.

"They tortured you a lot, but you did not let out a single scream. Well, we can't prove anything against you. You were caught three kilometres inside the border on a cycle. And we don't believe that you would attempt to cross the border without a weapon. Be a good Pakistani. You are a damn good chap and have very good records. You have a bright future in army. Don't ever disclose this incident to anyone."

Sajjad heaved a sigh of relief. “My first attempt failed. Next time I will be more careful and make it,” he thought.

***

"Have I made it this time?" Sajjad thought lying in the narrow channel. "I must make it because this time there will be no excuse. They know I tied up a Pakistani army officer to a tree and ran away. They know I dashed for the border. They will put a bullet in my head if they find me."

Sajjad knew the Pakistani soldiers very close. The firing had stopped. The Indians also held back. It was getting dark and the Pakistani soldiers knew they must find him before dark. Sajjad knew he must stay holed in until the dusk fell.

It was going to be a game of patience. He thought about his two other failed attempts to escape.

A team from Sajjad's regiment was supposed to go on a border familarisation patrol near an enclave called Sakkar Gar on the north of Shialkot. Capt Munir was leading the team. Lt Fashahad Beg was there too. He was a kind friend to Sajjad. They had nine soldiers with them.

They came and put up with the Jhelam Rangers who were the border security forces stationed in Sakkar Gar area.

Sajjad was given a Sten gun and two magazines. From the moment of taking up the weapon, he knew it was a big opportunity he must not blow. He had already chalked out the plan and gone over it for the umpteenth time in his brain. They would walk in a single file on patrol and he would have to be at the end of it. The plan was simple: he would just draw his carbine and mow them down, and then take off to the border.

But luck was against Sajjad. Capt Munir took the lead and ordered Sajjad behind him. The rest of the bunch followed.

Sajjad was racking his brain to find a way of tackling the situation. Somehow he had to be at the end of the file or this chance would go in vain again.

An idea popped in his mind. "I wanna pee," he uttered loudly. He stepped out and went behind a small hill.

He urinated for real and went over his plan for the last time. Then suddenly on impulse he quickly disassembled the Sten gun. His heart froze. The weapon did not have the firing pin, and without the firing pin it would not fire.

It took him a few seconds to realise why his gun had no firing pin. It was a deliberate trap laid out for him. Had he tried to implement his plan, he would be dead without doubt.

Sajjad reassembled his Sten gun as quickly as possible and joined the advancing patrol team as if nothing had happened. His heart was burning all the time as the second chance was wasted. He broke out in a cold sweat.

That night Sajjad went to sleep early in his tent. Around midnight, he woke up. He must take this chance. He lifted the flap of his tent and stepped out. It was not too dark. He could make out the other tents.

Sajjad took a deep breath and was ready to head for the border.

A voice sounded in from the watchtower in front.

"Sir, are you okay?" A soldier was on guard.

"Yup. Just wanted to take a leak." Sajjad walked toward the toilet, his heart heavy with frustration.

The deep channel felt stuffy to Sajjad. It was already a hot evening and the narrow hole was making it even hotter. He reflected on what had happened only the night before and where he was now. If last night was a failure, tonight must be a success. "There is no other way," he spoke to himself. "I must succeed." Then he remembered how he had planned today's escape attempt, and laughed.

Sajjad stepped out of the tent to a bright Sunday morning. Last night's soldier was still there on the watchtower.

He had a new plan and must execute it cautiously. He spent the lazy Sunday in light conversation with the platoon commander of the Jhelam Rangers, a Pathan, and waited for noon to come. He knew Capt Munir loved to take an afternoon siesta and other soldiers would also rest on Sunday. That was the time he chose. He drew a small map of the area and calculated the time and space to reach the border. He knew how to make an accurate field sketching.

After lunch, Sajjad offered a special prayer seeking success. He put on khaki trousers and a T-shirt and quietly stepped out of his tent. Capt Munir was sleeping as usual in the next tent.

He approached the tent of his friend Lt Fashahad Beg.

"What's up?" Fashahad asked as Sajjad stepped in.

"Nothing. It's too boring here."

"True my friend. I am bored to death!"

Sajjad looked around the tent and saw pictures of a film actress. Fashahad's love for women was well known and Sajjad wanted to exploit that.

"Well," Sajjad said. "I know a place where you can watch beautiful women bathing."

"Really?" Fashahad's eyes lit up. "Where?"

"There is a stream over there, where village girls come to bathe."

"Have you seen them?"

"Oh yes. I have seen the place during patrol and we can go there."

"Let's go my friend." Fashahad quickly put on his trousers and shirt. Through the gap in the tent, Sajjad saw Fashahad tucking a pistol in his waist. It meant that the Pakistani was not trusting Sajjad much.

Together they left the tent. The guards did not say a word as Fashahad was with him. Sajjad knew, without Fashahad, the guards would not allow him to go out alone.

They walked about 700 metres from the camp towards the stream. Sajjad tried to recall the map of the area that he had studied in the morning when he was talking to the Jhelam Rangers platoon commander.

They were now close to a large tree near the stream. In the meantime, a routine patrol from Bhura Chak was going toward Nihala Chak side across the tree and Fashahad waved to the patrol indicating everything was okay.

The girls were there in the stream, frolicking in the water.

"Fashahad, let's climb a tree. We can have a clear view from up there," Sajjad suggested.

Fashahad's eyes glittered. "But I don't know how to climb a tree."

"I will help you." Sajjad quickly climbed up the tree. Being a Bangalee it was not a difficult task. He then pulled Fashahad up. Slowly they made their way up the branches until they found a suitable place with a clear view of the stream. From there, the Indian border was visible -- about 1,300 metres away.

About 700 metres away from the tree, a deep gorge ran through the border into India. This area from the map was studied by Sajjad. He knew he must cross this stretch in about three minutes, giving minimum reaction time to Pakistani soldiers. An additional setback was the patrol that just crossed the area. Sajjad decided to go slow, letting the patrol leave the area.

"We should tie ourselves to the branch, or we might fall," Sajjad said. Both were carrying coils of long ropes at their waists.

First, he tied himself with the tree and, then Fashahad, so that he would not doubt the move.

But Sajjad tied himself with a special knot that would allow him to untie himself and slide down quickly. Fashahad's was a different knot, difficult to untie.

"You turn this way to have a better look," he said and turned Fashahad with a jerk. In an instant, he brushed his hand against the pistol. The pistol dislodged from Fashahad's waist and dropped to the ground.

"My pistol! My pistol! It's gone. Mera pistol gir gia."

"Don't worry. I will get it for you." Sajjad swung down his rope in a jiffy. He picked up the pistol and waited for a moment. “Should I shoot Fashahad and run?” The thought burned in him. But he turned around and started running.

"Stop! Stop! Guards! The Bengali gaddar is fleeing. Catch him! Fire koro usko vag gia," he heard Fashahad shouting from the treetop.

Sajjad stopped for a second and waved the pistol toward Fashahad before tossing it near a bush so that Fashahad could locate it.

"Thank you my friend!" he yelled back. He could not shoot his friend in cold blood. That was not the rule of the game. That was the human aspect of the war. He knew that if the pistol was lost, Fashahad would face court martial and might lose his job.

But the friend in Fashahad did not have the same feeling. He kept on shouting to open fire on Sajjad.

Just then he heard the first shot. Bullets were pinging around him. The Pakistani guards were running toward him.

Sajjad started running hard. The gorge was just a hundred feet away now, but could he make it? Just as he had calculated, the BSF opened fire. That was both a blessing and a clear danger for him as he was now running through a hail of bullets.

He did not know how he reached the gorge, but he jumped into it, rolling about 15 feet down the slope. Now he was safe. The Pakistani soldiers could not come looking for him because of the BSF firing. Now was the time for him to cover as much distance as possible.

He crouched and ran. The firing stopped and he heard excited voices -- the Pakistani soldiers were searching for him. He heard Capt Munir's voice, "Find that bastard! We must find him!"

Sajjad looked for a place to hide and saw the deep channel running alongside of the gorge. He moved into it and waited until the dark descended.

The disappointed Pakistan army had returned to their camp. Sajjad came out of his hiding and started walking along the gorge. He knew he was now on the Indian side and so climbed up the gorge. There was a high ground, which he had to climb to get the direction to the nearest bus stop in the Jammu-Kashmir highway called Samba.

As darkness fell, Sajjad headed to Samba town with the help of his accurate night navigation.

Unfortunately for Sajjad, before he could reach Samba he was caught by Indian Central Reserve Police and taken into custody.

His defection as an officer of Pakistan Army was aired by Jammu Radio, and hearing that Humayun Rashid Chowdhury, who was the acting high commissioner of the new Bangladesh government there, tried to contact him. But Rashid was denied access and he passed the information to General Osmany. Osmany called Indian army chief General Sam Manekshaw, asking for Sajjad's release.

Sajjad was then put on a train with a Gorkha guard, brought to Kolkata and handed over to Osmany at 8 Theatre Road, the makeshift office of the Bangladesh government.

"You've done a fascinating job. You are only 19 years old and you did it all by yourself. I am now confident that Bangladesh will be independent with the efforts of young people like you," Osmany said. "When do you want to join the war?"

"Tomorrow."

General Osmany quickly connected himself with Acting President Syed Nazrul Islam and Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed.

“I am sending a young man from Sakkar Gar to you. You will surely enjoy talking to him,” he said into the phone.

He was put on a civilian plane to Agartala where he met Khaled Mosharraf, one of the sector commanders of Bangladesh Mukti Bahini.

He took a truck to Masimpur in Assam, about 150 kilometres away. Sajjad joined Sector 4 and later Z-force and raised 2 Field Artillery Battery and continued to fight against the Pakistan army.

Source: The Daily Star

1971 photo archive

2008-12-22T20:02:00.001+06:00

There are a photo archive on pro.corbis.com. This site has more then 70 rare pictures on Bangladesh 1971 freedom fight. Visit pro.corbis.com and search with keyword 'Bangladesh 1971'. All pictures are copyrighted by corbis.com

Soldiers Examine Captured Weapons
Indian Army Officers examine a pile of rifles taken from surrendered Pakistani troops in the military action that separated East Pakistan from West Pakistan, and created the state of Bangladesh. 1971.
Image: © Bettmann/CORBIS
Collection: Bettmann
Standard RM
Photographer: Peter Kingley
Date Photographed: December 18, 1971
Location Information: Dhaka, Bangladesh

Mass grave containing the bodies of Bengali intellectuals, killed by Razakars, in a clay pit near Dhaka during the war for Bangladeshi independence.
Image: © Christian Simonpietri/Sygma/Corbis
Collection: Sygma
Standard RM
Photographer: Christian Simonpietri
Date Photographed: December 18, 1971
Location Information: near Dhaka, Bangladesh

Acknowledgment: I am sorry to use copyrighted images. I just wanted to dig the history of 1971.

Say no to war criminals in polls

2008-12-16T19:42:00.001+06:00

The mourning procession commemorating martyred intellectuals paraded through Dhaka University campus with rickshaw-pullers passing by singing the national anthem and flag-hawkers in solemn silence following intellectuals, teachers, students, artists, cultural activists and journalists.

As the procession ended at fine arts institute some rickshaw-pullers and flag-hawkers joined the crowd and raised hands together making a vow to boycott the war criminals in the upcoming election and bring them to justice.

“We have taken an oath in the name of all martyrs of our long liberation struggles; in the name of the soil, water and air of Bangladesh; in the name of the child born today or to be born…. We will continue the struggle until the war criminals are brought to justice.”

These are the words of the “Oath of the Martyred Intellectuals Day” made at Bakultala at the Institute of Fine Arts, Dhaka University.

The oath was taken in the name of farmers, labours, poets, writers, song composers and revolutionary figures to build Bangladesh as a country free from exploitation, harassment and deprivation.

Noted intellectual Prof Serajul Islam Chowdhury conducted the oath, while artist and Language Movement veteran Imdad Hossain, Prof Pias Karim, and Prof Asfar Hossain, among others, were present.

This was the scene on the DU campus as Banglar Sangskrity Andolan organised the programme commemorating the day.

The same scene was seen elsewhere at the Central Shaheed Minar and Martyred Intellectuals Memorial in Rayer Bazar where sector commanders and city dwellers irrespective of age and religion vowed the same.

“We need not be frustrated as communalism still persists in our society. There cannot be any bigger flaw in a society like fundamentalism. But we have history to have our demands met through struggle and we will press home our present demand through the struggle again,” said Language Movement veteran Abdul Matin.

“This movement is to free our culture. This movement is to establish democracy and against capitalism. This movement is to free people and it will continue,” said Prof Serajul Islam Chowdhury.

The Sector Commanders’ Forum in Rayer Bazar pledged once again to boycott the war criminals in the election and continue campaign against them in constituencies across the country.

“We fought the Liberation War and we are fighting now to bring the war criminals to justice. We will fight with the entire Bangladesh to press home our demand,” said Commander of Sector 4 Maj Gen (retd) CR Dutta.

“We will request the people not to let any war criminals go to parliament as we have got our parliament in exchange of three million lives,” said Sector Commander Maj Gen (retd) KM Shafiullah.

They also vowed to run a campaign against all the war criminals contesting the polls, especially against Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami, supreme commander of Al Badr Bahini, Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, head of Al Badr in Dhaka, and alleged war criminals Delwar Hossain Sayeedi and Salahuddin Qader Chowdhury.

Different organisations placed floral wreaths at the memorial throughout the day.

Bikshubdha Deshbashi also brought out a flag procession from Central Shaheed Minar in the morning led by journalist Kamal Lohani urging people to boycott the war criminals in the election.

President Iajuddin Ahmed and Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed paid tribute to the martyred intellectuals by placing wreaths at the martyred intellectual mausoleum in Mirpur.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina also placed wreaths at the mausoleum, reports BSS.

Hundreds of mourners including freedom fighters, advisers, special assistants to the chief adviser, political leaders, and high civil and military officials visited the mausoleum.

DU PROGRAMMES
Martyred Intellectuals’ Day was observed at Dhaka University (DU) yesterday through different programmes.

Teachers, students and employees led by DU Vice-chancellor Prof SMA Faiz assembled at the foot of Aparajeo Bangla in the morning and brought out a silent procession, which paraded the campus streets.

They visited the mausoleums on the campus with the procession and placed wreaths there. They also went to Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals memorial and laid floral tribute to the nation’s bravest sons.

The DU authorities hoisted black flags on all the administrative buildings in the morning and held a discussion meeting at TSC auditorium in the afternoon.

Speaking at the discussion, VC Prof SMA Faiz said Dhaka University had made a big contribution to the country in 1971 and the university will take necessary steps to preserve the true history of liberation war and to present it to the next generation.

He said the university will install plaques with a list of names and addresses of the martyred teachers, students and employees at the entrances to the campus. Detailed information about the martyrs will also be given on the DU website.

The young generation can learn the history of liberation war as a University Museum and Archive is going to be set up in front of the Arts and Social Science Faculty on the campus, he added.

Other speakers called upon the people of the country to work together so that the dreams of the martyrs could be fulfilled.

DU pro-VC AFM Yusuf Haider, Dhaka University Teachers’ Association president Prof Sadrul Amin, Prof Abul Kashem Fazlul Haq, Prof Mansur Musa, Officers’ Association president Md Ashraf Uddin, Technical Employees Association president Md Shamsul Haq Khan, Commander of Dhaka University Freedom Fighters Aminul Haq and DU registrar Syed Rezaur Rahman, among others, spoke at the programme.

Besides, milad mahfils were arranged at University central mosque and hall mosques after Zohr prayers for the eternal peace of the departed souls. Special prayers were also arranged at other places of worship on the occasion.

bangladeshnews.com.bd

Moments

2008-11-22T13:25:00.001+06:00

Do I need caption?

2008-11-20T14:09:00.000+06:00

The truth

2008-11-19T13:25:00.000+06:00

The history

2008-11-18T13:17:00.001+06:00

Always remember

2008-11-15T13:11:00.000+06:00

Blood flows in a painful birth for Bangladesh

2008-10-28T09:52:00.000+06:00

From the archive: Blood flows in a painful birth for Bangladesh
April 4, 1971: Nicholas Tomalin witnesses a massacre as Pakistan is torn apart

From 1947-71, eastern Bengal was a province of Pakistan. In 1955 it became East Pakistan; in December 1971 it won independence as Bangladesh after Pakistan was defeated by India.

IT was around midday on Thursday – April Fool’s Day – at the Jessore headquarters of the East Pakistan Rifles, who are fighting on the rebels’ side in this civil war. In a confusion of hysteria, enthusiasm and sudden waves of terror, the population was mustering with shotguns, bamboo staves, long spears straight from a Kipling tiger hunt and elaborately patterned sabres.

Among each contingent arriving at headquarters were tall, usually bearded Punjabis. Their hands were tied and they were being pushed along by rifle butts. These men from West Pakistan were the hated usurers and bosses at the local jute mills who, in the words of a captain in the East Pakistan Rifles, were “bleeding us dry for years and years and now killing our wives and children”. They were all “spies”, said their captors, who had picked them up in their homes during the past few days. And as we watched, they were marched off into town.

A crowd of the enthusiastic local soldiers we had seen earlier dashed into hiding as we drove up. We thought the West Pakistan soldiers were attacking and scattered, only to discover, on a grass patch beside the road, men freshly stabbed and bludgeoned, lying in still-flowing pools of blood. Four of them were still just alive, rolling over and waving their legs and arms. None made any noise.

At this moment our guide became hysterical and tried to rush us back to the local Rifles HQ. He said it was not safe, the West Pakistanis were attacking. He tugged us away from the bodies. Suddenly we realised who these dead and dying men were. They were not Bengali; they were – we were convinced – the Punjabi prisoners we had seen under guard an hour before.

The victims could not have been killed by anyone but local Bengali irregulars, as these were the only people in central Jessore that day.

Even as the locals began to threaten us and we were forced to drive away, we saw another 40 Punjabi “spies” being marched towards that same grass plot with their hands above their heads.

Our introduction to Jessore, a city of some 50,000, was the sight of a dozen village huts on the outskirts burnt to the ground. We were escorted by Bengali soldiers to an old British police station to be shown the victims. They dragged out five bodies to be filmed. One old man with a beard, three girls and a baby.

A Punjabi patrol had passed through the area during the night, said our guides. They had blown up the electricity substation, burnt down the huts at the direction of Punjabi informers, raped the girls, then killed the entire group. Other bodies lay elsewhere.

Until about Thursday the West Pakistan garrison, which is about battalion size, was in some kind of control. But these troops started killing people for no discernible reason. The local hospital is filled with 35 wounded men, women and children, who claimed that Punjabi troops fired indiscriminately.

If Jessore is typical, East Pakistan is in for a terrible time in the next months and Karachi’s great gamble – to crush all opposition by one big attack – has failed.

Our stay in Jessore confirmed all the original feelings about this war. It was created by geography but was nonetheless a tribal conflict between the small, volatile Bengalis and the dour, firmly disciplined Punjabis. The Bengalis have, alas, none of the military virtues, and the Punjabis have, alas, all the military vices.

How can these extraordinary, delicate, childishly excitable Bengalis form themselves into any kind of coherent force to oust the regular West Pakistan army from its strongholds?

As we left Jessore in an armoured jeep, with rifles poking in all directions and guns banging off from time to time, I suddenly heard a voice coming from underneath a second world war British Army helmet five sizes too large for its wearer. The voice – in perfect Peter Sellers style – said: “Excuse me, sir, but may I say how much I have always appreciated your English Shakespeare? And your Shelley, sir, truly great poetical artist with words! Truly sublime. Sir, I am studying for accountancy . . .” Bang!

Tomalin was killed in October 1973 covering the Yom Kippur war. He was 41.

Source: Times Online

When A War Criminal Visiting USA

2008-08-24T11:41:00.000+06:00

This the image of an evil - another Radovan Karadzic of Bangladesh. The only difference is unlike Karadzic, Abul Kalam Azad, an Islamist war criminal of Bangladesh was not in hiding. As a high profile "Islamic scholar" he is in the limelight in Bangladesh and for the last few years has been conducting Islamic theological program for a notable private television in Bangladeshi capital, NTV.

The same Abul Kalam Azad was a cold blooded murderer in the year 1971, when Bangladeshi people were fighting against brutal Pakistani occupational army. Azad was alleged to be directly involved in bringing Pakistani army in Faridpur district's Nagarkanda's Thandia village where the marauding army went on rampage and a killing spree. In one incident, the Pakistani army killed eleven unarmed civilians. Abul Kalam Azad was also alleged to rape two women. In 2001, Daily Janakantha published the testimonials of the victims tortured by this notorious Rajakar in its daily, no action was taken against him as the BNP-Jamat axis came into power. Here are the links of the articles published in Daily Janakantha in 2001:

Now Abul Kalam Azad is on a Islamic tour in USA. He is supposed to stay in this country for at least two more weeks. Today, that is Friday, the 22nd of August, he was scheduled to deliver khutba (Islamic sermon) and was supposed to lead Jumma prayer in the most influential Bangladeshi mosque in Jamaica, New York. When the news of his program spread to the community, there was tremendous outrage and resentment among many Bangladeshi-Americans. People against his mosque participation argued with the mosque committee against his appearance and the argument went on till midnight. Ultimately, it was decided he would not lead the prayer, nor would he be allowed to deliver Khutba. This afternoon [Friday, the 22nd], the killer of 1971 quietly came to the mosque and prayed the Jumma prayer with others. Nonetheless, he was allowed to speak a few words. Not surprisingly, he did not stay in the mosque too long.

The Islamist war criminal of Bangladesh, Abul Kalam Azad did not have any problem getting U.S. visa. He is quite lucky to be born in a country, whose majority of the population are the most apathetical bunch of people of the world. His current U.S. schedule involves touring Michigan, Minnesota and a few other states where he would definitely give sermon on spirituality and godliness.

Courtesy: deshivoice

Skewing the history of rape in 1971 A prescription for reconciliation?

2008-08-20T08:49:00.001+06:00

Nayanika Mookherjee runs a critical eye over Sarmila Bose's controversial analysis of the violence committed during the Liberation War

This is a discussion of Sarmila Bose's article: "Anatomy of Violence: Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan in 1971" (EPW, Oct 8, 2005). A version of this paper was first presented by Dr Bose at a two-day conference, on June 28-29, 2005, organized by the historian branch of the United States Department of State titled "South Asia in Crisis: United States Policy, 1961-1972." This was arranged to mark the release of declassified US records relating to the theme of the conference.

As an Indian working in Bangladesh for nearly a decade on the public memories of sexual violence during the Bangladesh war of 1971, I was particularly struck by the author's use of the phrase "civil war" to refer to the Bangladesh war. Most Bangladeshis denounce the use of the term "civil war" to refer to the Bangladesh war as it deflects attention from its genocidal connotations.Instead, they semantically and politically distinguish the Bangladesh war as either muktijuddho (liberation war) or shadhinotar juddho(independence war).

It is also important to note that occurring at the juncture of Cold War politics, with the United States government supporting Pakistan during 1971, and the Indian government assisting the East Pakistani guerrilla fighters, the genocidal connotations of the Bangladesh war remains unacknowledged, till date. The use of the phrase "civil war" in the title of the article suggests that the author was in agreement with the Pakistani and US government's version of events of 1971. Yet the paper was claiming to provide "an impartial account." I was intrigued.

Through what Bose refers to as "case studies," she tries to highlight how violence was inflicted by both sides -- the Pakistani army and the East Pakistani liberation fighters -- during the 1971 war. She also refers to the lack of incidents of rape during the Bangladesh war in her "cases" in a small paragraph found at the end of her long article. She suggests a prescription for reconciliation through an acknowledgement of violence inflicted by all parties involved.

Soon after the Washington conference, the points made in her paper were promptly picked up by the Pakistani newspapers: The Daily Times (Hasan, June 30,2005; Editorial, July 2, 2005) and Dawn (Iqbal, July 7, 2005). Both refer to the violence inflicted by both sides, and the absence of rape during the Bangladesh war. The entry on Sarmila Bose in Wikipedia, the popular internet encyclopedia, reiterates only the brief paragraph on rape.

In a response to Uttorshuri, a Bangladeshi web mail group, on July 2, 2005, Bose said: "The heading given to the Daily Times, Pakistan, report is incorrect and not the finding of my study." Her work unleashed a barrage of criticism in Bangladesh and her research methods have been attacked as being shoddy and biased.
Collingwood (1945) has shown that historical "facts" are the reconstitution of the past in the historian's minds, involving the selection and interpretation of the past, as history is the choice of a particular expository style that is itself determined historically.

My discussion of Bose's article here, nearly ten months after the publication of her article in EPW, is an attempt to show the various responses to Bose's work, her response to these feedbacks and to highlight Bose's expository style which is appropriated by varied configurations.

In this discussion, I critically address Bose's exposition about: a) violence being inflicted on both sides, b) the lack of instances of rape in her "cases," and c) interrogate her formulation of reconciliation and highlight its implications on sub-continental politics.

Violence inflicted on both sides
All parties involved are shown to "commit acts of brutality outside accepted norms of warfare, and all had their share of humanity …with Bengalis, Biharis and West Pakistanis helping one another in the midst of mayhem," in Bose's article. This is evidenced by the Pakistan army targeting adult males while sparing women and children. However, local Bengali "loyalists"/collaborators, and not the Pakistani army, are involved in inflicting violence on their fellow Bengalis and the killing of intellectuals.

According to these accounts the Pakistani army did not inflict all the violence. This decontextualized account of Bengali collaborators does not recognize the triggers and advantages that the presence of, and collaboration with, the Pakistani army created. It misses the analytical point that in all wars local collaborators become the indispensable foot-soldiers of the institutionalized military paraphernalia.

The Pakistani army is portrayed as kind, but violent when provoked, whereas the Bengalis inflict violence "for unfathomable reasons." The situation in Bangladesh during 1971 is described through phrases like: "widespread lawlessness during March," "encouraged to break the law," "urban terrorism," and "rebels."
The treatment of the Pakistani army namely: "refusal of Bengalis to sell them food and fuel, being jeered and spat at … and the widespread disregard of curfew orders, murder of army personnel," are not considered to be examples of resistance and opposition, but are cited as instances of the suffering of the Pakistani army and an exhibition of "extraordinary restraint of the army under provocation."

The "rule of law" remains with the Pakistani army as they "secure" and "gain control" over territories. Army reaction is cited as "overwhelming" while the rebels are "disorganised and amateurish" who for "unfathomable reasons … take pot-shots at the advancing units in the bazaar which triggered an overwhelming reaction from the army."

There is no commentary on the contestations that exist in Bangladesh in relation to the varied national narratives of 1971. As a result, the observation by the former liberation fighter Iqbal: "This must be the only country in the world where there are two views on the independence of the country," remains unanalysed.
As in-depth reading of various critical literature on war and violence (Butalia 1998; Das 1995; Nordstrom 2004) would show liberation and independence of countries are not homogenous narratives, and contain within their folds multiple contesting interrogations of wars through which countries become free. This is more so the case in Bangladesh (Hitchens 2001), given its fractured histories of partitions and independence.
Also, Nixon's reference to Bangladesh as the "god-damn place" remains uncommented upon. This article, which was first presented in a conference hosted by the US department of State, is particularly conspicuous in the absence of any critical examination of the US support for Pakistan's role in the Bangladesh war of 1971, in the context of Cold War calculations.

The article is helpful in addressing the ethnicization of the army as "Punjabis," and in bringing out some of the nuances of the Pakistani army. That wars and conflicts are rife with instances of violence, kindness, cowardice, complicity, contradictions by the same individuals is not anything new and has been highlighted by various feminists, critical researchers and filmmakers within Bangladesh (Akhtar et al. 2001; Choudhury 2001; Kabir 2003; Masud 1999, 2000).

They show the multiple, contradictory, subjectivities of the Bangladesh war experience, and the violence inflicted upon the poor, women, Biharis, and adivasis. In my own work, I have encountered similar complicities and contradictions. Rather than citing these experiences as ahistorical and apolitical "facts," they need to be located at the crossroads of local and national politics and histories.

The earlier mentioned formulation by Collingwood is significant here. In her other writings, Bose has attempted to go beyond Indo-Pakistani enmities. She highlights the various symbolic roles of a flag, and the possible repercussions of possessing a Pakistani flag in India (Bose 2003). In the Christian Science Monitor she argues (Bose and Milam 2005) in support of the sale of F-16s to Pakistan as a stabilizing factor within world and sub-continental geo-politics. In the EPW article, the nature of her expository style and presentation of "facts" make her "cases" representative of war-time experiences of all in Bangladesh.

Skewing the history of rape
The small paragraph, located in the last page of the article, relating to the absence of rape in the "cases" has been highlighted as evidence that the Pakistani army did not rape. In her response to Uttorshuri, Bose says: "The issue of rape amounted to about 100 words out of a nearly 6,500 word paper on the subject of patterns of violence in 1971." An issue as contentious as the "patterns" of violence of rape can be claimed to be absent, through only 100 words! Bose explicates: "As I pointed out in the discussion that followed, there is evidence elsewhere that rape certainly occurred in 1971. But it seems -- from this study and other works -- that it may not have occurred in all the instances it is alleged to have occurred."

Bose's comment that rapes did occur elsewhere in 1971 is absent in her EPW article. In it she emphasizes the need to distinguish between the instances where rape occurred and where it did not. Throughout, it shows that the Bengalis raped Biharis while the Pakistani army did not rape anyone during the war. Also, it is not very clear which "cases" are being referred to in the statement: the rapes "may not have occurred in all the instances they are alleged to have occurred." Rather than this generalized statement, it would have been more transparent scholarship to cite the specific "cases" where the rapes were alleged which the research instead finds, is absent.

Bose shows, in the case of "mutinies" by "rebels," that "there was assault and abduction" of women. The Pakistani army however, "always" targeted adult males while sparing women and children. The Hamdoodur Rahman Commission (2000) established by the Pakistani government, while referring to the attack and rape of pro-Pakistani elements by Bengalis, also cites various instances of rape.

Eyewitness accounts can also be found in the eighth volume of the Dolil (Rahman 1982-85: 106, 192, 385). There is literature from the 1970s (Greer 1972; Brownmiller 1975) and recent scholarship and films based on oral history from within Bangladesh (Akhtar 2001; Choudhury 2001; Guhathakurta 1996; Ibrahim 1994, 1995; Kabir 2003; Masud 2000) which shows that the Pakistani army committed rapes and highlights the complexities of these violent encounters. Bose makes no reference to any of these documentations.

Recently, in Bangladesh, various women from different socio-economic backgrounds have narrated their violent experiences of rape by the Pakistani army and local collaborators. The well-known sculptor, Ferdousy Priyobhashini, has been vocal about her war-time experiences and the role of Pakistani army and Bengalis. My own work with various women who were raped during the war shows the contradictions of the war-time experiences while highlighting their violent encounters. All these documentations emerge as important counter-narratives to the various prevalent Bangladeshi nationalist accounts of the war. Emphasizing these war-time contradictions is not tantamount to a denial of the incidents of rape perpetrated by Pakistani army and their local collaborators.

A prescription for reconciliation?
Reconciliation, according to Bose, is possible through an acknowledgement of violence inflicted by all parties involved. However, for her, this is hinged on an unequal reliance on literally accepting the various viewpoints of the Pakistani army and administration, drawn from secondary sources (only one interview with General Niazi is briefly quoted).

While referring to the innumerable publications on 1971 as a "cottage industry," Bose seems to negate the emotive expressions of her informants as "the cultivation of an unhealthy victim culture" and a "ghoulish competition with six million Jews in order to gain international attention." This highlights a lack of empathy with her informants, and insensitivity to their comprehension of violence.

Primo Levi's work on Auschwitz shows that individuals who have encountered and survived violence make various complicated, competitive and contradictory negotiations to inhabit their survival and "victimhood." Here, Bangladeshi testimonials are ironically the means through which war-time narratives are negated.

The various individual accounts of violence, in turn, become muted with the prescription of "reconciliation." Significantly, for many Bangladeshis, "reconciliation" has a jarring resonance, as it is perceived to be the objective of various war-time collaborators, who are currently rehabilitated in the Bangladeshi political landscape.

Seen only as a "god-damn place" (Nixon), a "basket case" (Kissinger), Bangladesh is stereotypically viewed internationally, and in South Asia, as a country ravaged only by poverty, floods, cyclones and, hence, in need of the saviour, interventionist, developmental paradigms.

Here, Bangladeshi histories and politics are again delegitimized as a result of sub-continental dynamics, as there is no engagement with the wider picture in Bangladesh.

The expositions in this article itself stand in the way of reconciliation between Bangladesh and Pakistan, and cannot provide a prescription to resolve these hostilities. War-time contradictions, complicities, nuances can be highlighted without negating the foundational violence of the history of rape of the Bangladesh war perpetrated by the Pakistani army and the local collaborators.

While the Bangladesh war might be a "civil war," or Indo-Pakistan war for India and Pakistan, for most Bangladeshis it is the war of liberation and independence, even though that liberation might be interrogated in post-colonial Bangladesh. Only by recentring the issues which concern Bangladesh, along with highlighting the contradictions of wartime experiences, rather than proffering an argument which caters to Indo-Pakistan geo-political concerns, could one help the cause of reconciliation between Pakistan and Bangladesh.

This piece is adapted from "Bangladesh War of 1971: A Prescription for Reconciliation?" EPW, Vol. 41 No 36: 3901-3903. We have reprinted it here by special arrangement with EPW due to the intense interest within Bangladesh generated by the original Bose article that Dr Mookherjee discusses.

Dr Nayanika Mookherjee is a Lecturer in the Sociology Department in Lancaster University and a Research Fellow for the Society of South Asian Studies, British Academy.

------

References

Akhtar, Shaheen, Suraiya Begum, Hameeda Hossain, Sultana Kamal, and Meghna Guhathakurta, eds. 2001. Narir Ekattor O Juddhoporoborti Koththo Kahini (Oral History Accounts of Women's Experiences During 1971 and After the War). Dhaka: Ain-O-Shalish-Kendro (ASK).

Bose, Sarmila. 2005. "Anatomy of Violence: Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan in 1971," Economic and Political Weekly, October 8, 2005.http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=10&filename=9223&filetype=html

Bose, Sarmila and WB Milam. 2005. "The Right Stuff: F-16s to Pakistan is Wise Decision." Christian Science Monitor, April 11, 2005. http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0411/p09s02-coop.html

Bose, Sarmila. 2003. "What's in a Flag?" The Daily Times (Pakistan), September 23, 2003. http://www.countercurrents.org/ipk-bose230903.htm

Brownmiller, Susan. 1975. Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape, pp. 78-86. London: Secker & Warburg.

Butalia, Urvashi. 1998. The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India. New Delhi: Viking Penguin India.

Collingwood, RG. 1945. The Idea of History. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Das, Veena. 1995. Critical Events, pp. 55-83. Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Greer, Germaine. 1972. "The Rape of the Bengali Women." Sunday Times, April 9, 1972.

Hamdoodur Rahman Commission of Enquiry. 1971. Published in August 2000. Pakistan Government.

Guhathakurta, Meghna. 1996. "Dhorshon Ekti Juddhaporadh" (Rape is a War Crime). Dhaka: Bulletin of Ain-O-Shalish Kendra (ASK), February 6-8.

Hasan, K. 2005. "Army Not Involved in 1971 Rapes." June 30, 2005. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_30-6-2005_pg1_2

Hitchens, Christopher. 2001. The Trial of Henry Kissinger. London: Verso.

Ibrahim, Nilima. 1994-5. Ami Birangona Bolchi (This is the "War-Heroine" Speaking), 2 Volumes. Dhaka: Jagriti.

Iqbal, Anwar. 2005. "Sheikh Mujib Wanted a Confederation: US Papers." July 7, 2005. http://www.dawn.com/2005/07/07/nat3.htm

Levi, Primo. 1996. Survival in Auschwitz: The Nazi Assault on Humanity. Translated from the Italian by Stuart Wolf. New York: Touchstone Books.
Mookherjee, Nayanika. (forthcoming). Specters and Utopias: Sexual Violence, Public Memories and the Bangladesh War of 1971. Durham: Duke University Press.

Mookherjee, Nayanika. 2006. "Remembering to Forget: Public Secrecy and Memory of Sexual Violence in Bangladesh." Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute (JRAI), 12 (2), June 2006: pp. 433-450.

Mookherjee, Nayanika. 2004. "My Man (Honour) is Lost but I Still Gave my Iman (Principle): Sexual Violence and Articulations of Masculinity." South Asian Masculinities. R Chopra, C Osella and F Osella, eds. New Delhi: Kali for Women: pp. 131-159.

Nordstrom, Carolyn. 2004. Shadows of War: Violence, Power, and International Profiteering in the Twenty-First Century. California Series in Public Anthropology, University of California Press.

Rahman, Hasan H, ed. (1982-1985). Bangladesher Shadhinota Juddho Dolilpotro (Documents of the Bangladesh Independence War). Sixteen Volumes. Dhaka: People's Republic of Bangladesh, Information Ministry.

Films

Choudhury, Afsan. 2001. Tahader Juddho (Their War).

Kabir, Yasmin. 2003. Shadhinota (A Certain Freedom).

Masud, Tareque and Catherine Masud. 1999. Muktir Katha. (Words of Freedom). Dhaka: Audiovision.

Masud, Tareque and Catherine Masud. 2000. Women and War. Dhaka: Ain-O-Shalish-Kendra (ASK) and Audiovision.

Web-sites

Discussion Forum: Story of Pakistan http://www.storyofpakistan.com/discforum/topic.asp?topicid=89&forumid=11&page=1

Drishtipat: http://drishtipat.org/sarmila/sarmila.htm

IndPride: Sarmila Bose: In Praise of Pakistan http://www.indpride.com/mediamonitor.html

The Daily Times (Pakistan), July 2, 2005. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_2-7 2005_pg3_1

US Department of State South Asia in Crisis: United States Policy, 1961-1972 June 28-29, 2005, Loy Henderson Auditorium, Tentative Program. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/46059.htm

Uttorshuri: "Revisionist Historian on Rapes of 1971," July 2, 2005.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uttorshuri/message/4090

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarmila_Bose

Source: The Daily Star Forum

Massacre at Faiz Lake

2008-08-15T11:17:00.000+06:00

by Rounaq Jahan

in Samuel Totten, et al.
Century of Genocide: Eyewitness Accounts and Critical Views
New York: Garland Publishing, 1997
Chapter 10, pp. 291-316

This testimony is from Abdul Gofran's "Faiz Lake-Gonohataya" ("Massacreat Faiz Lake"), which first appeared in Rashid Haider (ed.), 1971: Terrible Experiences. It was translated by Sohela Nazneen.

I own a shop near Akbar Shah mosque in Pahartali. On November lOth, 1971, at 6. A.M. about forty to fifty Biharis came to my shop and forced me to accompany them. I had to comply as any form of resistance would have been useless against such a large number of people. They took me to Faiz Lake. As we passed through the gates of Faiz Lake I saw that hundreds of non-Bengalis had assembled near the Pump house and wireless colony. The Bengalis who had been brought in were tied up. They were huddled by the side of the lake which was at the north side of the Pump-house. Many of the Biharis were carrying knives, swords and other sharp instruments. The Biharis were first kicking and beating up the Bengalis brutally and then were shoving their victims towards towards those carrying weapons. These other group of armed Biharis were then jabbing their victims in the stomach and then severing their heads with the swords. I witnessed several groups of Bengalis being killed in such a manner. ...When the Biharis came for me one of them took away my sweater. I hen punched him and jumped into the lake. ...I swam to the other side and hid among the bushes. .. The Biharis came to look for me but I was fortunate and barely escaped their notice. From my hiding place I witnessed the mass murder that was taking place. Many Bengalis were killed in the manner which had been described earlier.

The massacre went on till about two o'clock in the afternoon. After they had disposed off the last Bengal victim, the Biharis brought in a group of ten to twelve Bengali men. It was evident from their gestures that they were asking the Bengalis to dig a grave for the bodies lying about. I also understood from their gestures that the Biharis were promising the group that if they completed the task they would be allowed to go free. The group complied to their wish. After the group had finished burying the bodies, they were also killed, and the Biharis went away rejoicing. There were still many dead bodies thrown around the place.

In the afternoon many Biharis and [the] Pakistani army went along that road. But the Pakistani soldiers showed no sign of remorse. They seemed rather happy and did nothing to bury the dead.

When night fell I came back to my shop but left Chittagong the next day.

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Collected from Eyewitness Accounts: Genocide in Bangladesh

The Maulvi's Story

2008-08-15T11:15:00.000+06:00

by Rounaq Jahan

in Samuel Totten, et al.
Century of Genocide: Eyewitness Accounts and Critical Views
New York: Garland Publishing, 1997
Chapter 10, pp. 291-316

This testimony appears in Arnica Malik's The Year of the Vulture, pp. 102-104.

On April 19, 1971, about 35 soldiers came to our village in a launch at about 8 A.M. A couple of days earlier, I had asked the Sheikh's father and mother to leave the village, but they refused. They said. "This is our home and we shall not go away." Soon after I heard the sound of the launch, a soldier came running and said, "Here Maulvi, stop, in which house are the father and mother of the Sheikh?" So first I brought out his father. We placed a chair for him but they made him sit on the ground. Then Sheikh Sahib's amma [mother] was brought out. She took hold of my hand and I made her sit on the chair. The soldiers then held a sten-gun against the back of the Sheikh's abba [father] and a rifle against mine. "We will kill you in 10 minutes," said a soldier looking at his watch.

Then they picked up a diary from the Sheikh's house and some medicine bottles and asked me for the keys of the house. I gave them the bunch of keys but they were so rough in trying to open the locks that the keys would not turn. So they kicked open the trunks. There was nothing much inside except five teaspoons, which they took. They saw a framed photograph and asked me whose it was. When I said it was Sheikh Sahib's, they took it down. I tried to get up at this stage but they hit me with their rifle butts and I fell down against the chair. Finally, they picked up a very old suitcase and a small wooden box and made a servant carry them to the launch.

Then they dragged me up to where the Sheikh's father was sitting and repeated, "We shall shoot you in 10 minutes." Pointing to the Sheikh's father, I asked: "What's the point of shooting him? He's an old man and a government pensioner." The soldiers replied, "Is lire, keonki wohne shaitan paida kira hai" ["Because he has produced a devil."]. "Why shoot me, the imam of the mosque?" I asked. �Aap kiska imam hai? Aap vote dehtehain" ["What sort of an imam are you? You vote."], they replied. I said: "The party was not banned, we were allowed to vote for it. We are not leaders, we are janasadharan [the masses]. Why don't you ask the leaders?" The captain intervened to say that eight minutes were over and we would be shot in another two minutes. Just then a major came running from the launch and said we were to be let alone and not shot.

I immediately went towards the masjid (mosque) and saw about 50 villagers inside. Three boys had already been dragged out and shot. The soldiers asked me about a boy who, I said, was a krishak (cultivator). They looked at the mud on his legs and hands and let him go. Khan Sahib, the Sheikh's uncle, had a boy servant called Ershad. They asked me about him. I said he was a servant. But a Razakar maulvi, who had come with them from another village, said he was the Sheikh's relative, which was a lie. The boy Ershad was taken to the lineup. He asked for water but it was refused.

Another young boy had come from Dacca, where he was employed in a mill, to enquire about his father. He produced his identity card but they shot him all the same. They shot Ershad right in front of his mother. Ershad moved a little after falling down so they shot him again. Finally, the boy who had carried the boxes to the launch was shot. With the three shot earlier, a total of six innocent boys were shot by the Pakistani army without any provocation. They were all good-looking and therefore suspected to be relatives of the Sheikh.

After this, the Sheikh's father and mother were brought out of the house. Amma was almost fainting. And the house was set on fire and burnt down in front of our eyes until all that remained was the frame of the doorway which you can still see. Altonissa, the lady with the blood- stained clothes of her son, is the mother of Torab Yad Ali who was shot. They did not allow her to remove her son's body for burial, because they wanted the bodies to be exposed to public view to terrorize the villagers. They also shot Mithu, the 10-year old son of this widowed lady. She had brought him up with the greatest difficulty-they never had anything to eat except saag-bhaat (spinach and rice). They shot little Mithu because he had helped the Mukti Bahini. You can now ask the ladies about their narrow escape.

Shaheeda Sheikh, Sheikh Mujib's niece, then added that fortunately all the women were taken away to safety across the river to a neighbouring village three days before the Pakistani soldiers came. For months they had lived in constant terror of Razakars pouncing on them from bushes by the village pond. Beli Begum, Mujib's niece, a strikingly lovely woman, told me how she had fled from the village when seven months pregnant and walked 25 miles to safety. Pari, a girl cousin, escaped with a temperature of 104 degrees. Otherwise they would all have been killed.

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Collected from Eyewitness Accounts: Genocide in Bangladesh

The Officer's Wife

2008-08-15T11:12:00.000+06:00

by Rounaq Jahan

in Samuel Totten, et al.
Century of Genocide: Eyewitness Accounts and Critical Views
New York: Garland Publishing, 1997
Chapter 10, pp. 291-316

This testimony is from Amita Malik's The Year of the Vulture, pp. 141-42.

Another pathetic case is that of a woman of about 25. Her husband was a government officer in a subdivision and she has three children. They first took away the husband, although she cried and pleaded with them. Then they returned him half-dead, after brutal torture. Then another lot of soldiers came in at 8 or 9 A.M. and raped her in front of her husband and children. They tied up the husband and hit the children when they cried.

Then another lot of soldiers came at 2.30 P.M. and took her away. They kept her in a bunker and used to rape her every night until she became senseless. When she returned after three months, she was pregnant. The villagers were very sympathetic about her but the husband refused to take her back. When the villagers kept on pressing him to take her back, he hanged himself. She is now in an advanced stage of pregnancy and we are doing all that we can do to help her. But she is inconsolable. She keeps on asking, "But why, why did they do it? It would have been better if we had both died."

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Collected from Eyewitness Accounts: Genocide in Bangladesh

Our Mothers and Sisters

2008-08-15T11:09:00.001+06:00

by Rounaq Jahan

in Samuel Totten, et al.
Century of Genocide: Eyewitness Accounts and Critical Views
New York: Garland Publishing, 1997
Chapter 10, pp. 291-316

The following testimony is from M. Akhtaurzzaman Mondol's "Amader-Ma Bon" ("Our Mother and Sisters") which appears in Rashid Haider (Ed.) 1971: Terrible Experiences, p. 197. It was translated by Sohela Nazneen. Reprinted with permission.

We started our fight to liberate Vurungamari from the Pakistani occupation forces on November 11. 1971. We started attacking from West, North and East simultaneously. The Indian air forces bombed the Pakistani stronghold on November 11 morning. On November 13 we came near the outskirts of Vurungamari, and the Indian air force intensified their air attack. On November 14 morning the guns from the Pakistani side fell silent and we entered Vurungamari with shouts of "Joy Bangla" (victory to Bangladesh). The whole town was quiet. We captured fifty to sixty Pakistani soldiers. They had no ammunition left. We found the captain of the Pakistan forces, captain Ataullah Khan, dead in the bunker. He still had his arms around a woman-both died in the bomb attack in the bunker. The woman had marks of torture all over her body. We put her in a grave.

But I still did not anticipate the terrible scene I was going to witness and we were heading toward east of Vurungamari to take up our positions. I was informed by wireless to go to the Circle Officer's office. After we reached the office, we caught glimpses of several young women through the windows of the second floor. The doors were locked. so we had to break them down. After breaking down the door of the room, where the women were kept, we were dumbfounded. We found four naked young women, who had been physically tortured, raped, and battered by the Pakistani soldiers. We immediately came out of the room and threw in four lungis [dresses] and four bedsheets for them to cover themselves. We tried to talk to them, but all of them were still in shock. One of them was six to seven months pregnant. One was a college student from Mymensingh. They were taken to India for medical treatment in a car owned by the Indian army. We found many dead bodies and skeletons in the bushes along the road. Many of the skeletons had long hair and had on torn saris and bangles on their hands. We found sixteen other women locked up in a room at Vurungamari High School. These women were brought in for the Pakistani soldiers from nearby villages. We found evidence in the rooms of the Circle Officers office which showed that these women were tied to the windowbars and were repeatedly raped by the Pakistani soldiers. The whole floor was covered with blood, torn pieces of clothing, and strands of long hair. ...

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Collected from Eyewitness Accounts: Genocide in Bangladesh

Horror Documentary

2008-08-15T11:06:00.001+06:00

by Rounaq Jahan

in Samuel Totten, et al.
Century of Genocide: Eyewitness Accounts and Critical Views
New York: Garland Publishing, 1997
Chapter 10, pp. 291-316

This testimony is from Amita Malik's The Year of the Vulture (New Delhi: Orient Longmans, 1972, pp. 79-83).

At the professors' funeral, Professor Rafiq-ul-Islam of the Bengali Department whispered to me, "At the television station you will find that there is a film record of the massacre of professors and students at Jagannath Hall. Ask them to show it to you."

This sounded so incredible that I did not really believe it. However, I wasted no time in asking Mr. Jamil Chowdhury, the station manager of TV, whether he did, indeed, have such a film with him. "Oh yes," he said, "but we have not shown it yet because it might have dreadful repercussions." He was, of course, referring to the fact that the

Pakistani army was still very much in Dacca in prisoner-of-war camps in the Cantonment, and it would have been dangerous to show them gunning down professors and students at Dacca University. The people of Dacca had shown tremendous restraint so far, but this would have been going a bit too far. However, I had it confirmed that N.B.C. VISNEWS and other international networks had already obtained and projected the film.

"But who shot the film?" I asked in wonder. "A professor at the University of Engineering, who had a video tape-recorder and whose flat overlooks the grounds of Jagannath Hall," said Mr. Chowdhury. It was therefore by kind courtesy of Dacca TV that I sat in their small projection room on January 5 and saw for the first time what must be a unique actuality film, something for the permanent archives of world history.

The film, lasting about 20 minutes, first shows small distant figures emerging from the hall carrying the corpses of what must be the students and professors massacred in Jagannath Hall. These are clearly civilian figures in lighter clothes and, at their back, seen strutting arrogantly even at that distance, are darker clad figures, the hoodlums of the Pakistan army. The bodies are laid down in neat, orderly rows by those forced to carry them at gun-point. Then the same procession troops back to the Hall. All this time, with no other sound, one hears innocent bird-song and a lazy cow is seen grazing on the university lawns. The same civilians come out again and the pile of bodies grows.

But after the third grisly trip, the action changes. After the corpses are laid on the ground, the people carrying them are lined up. One of them probably has a pathetic inkling of what is going to happen. He falls on his knees and clings to the legs of the nearest soldier, obviously pleading for mercy. But there is no mercy. One sees guns being pointed, one hears the crackle of gunfire and the lined up figures fall one by one, like the proverbial house of cards or, if you prefer, puppets in a children's film. At this stage, the bird-song suddenly stops. The lazy cow, with calf, careers wildly across the lawn and is joined by a whale herd of cows fleeing in panic.

But the last man is still clinging pathetically to the jack-boot of the soldier at the end of the row. The solider then lifts his shoulder at an angle, so that the gun points almost perpendicularly downwards to the man at his feet, and shoots him. The pleading hands unlink from the soldier's legs and another corpse joins the slumped bodies in a row, some piled on top of the very corpses they had to carry out at gunpoint, their own colleagues and friends. The soldiers prod each body with their rifles or bayonets to make sure that they are dead. A few who are still wriggling in their death agony are shot twice until they also stop wriggling.

At this stage, there is a gap, because Professor Nurul Ullah's film probably ran out and he had to load a new one. But by the time he starts filming again, nothing much has changed except that there is a fresh pile of bodies on the left. No doubt some other students and professors had been forced at gun-point to carry them out and then were executed in turn. In so far as one can count the bodies, or guess roughly at their number in what is really a continuous long-shot amateur film, there are about 50 bodies by this time. And enough, one should think.

Professor Nurul Ullah's world scoop indicated that he was a remarkable individual who through his presence of mind, the instinctive reaction of a man of science, had succeeded in shooting a film with invaluable documentary evidence regardless of the risk to his life.

I immediately arranged to trace him down and he very kindly asked me to come round to his flat. Professor Nurul Ullah is a Professor of Electricity at the University of Engineering in Dacca. I found him to be a quiet, scholarly, soft-spoken, and surprisingly young man with a charming wife. He is normally engrossed in his teaching and students. But he happened to be the proud possessor of a video tape-recorder which he bought in Japan on his way back from a year at an American university. He is perhaps the only man alive who saw the massacre on the lawns of Dacca University on the first day of the Pakistani army crack-down. He took his film at great risk to his personal life. It was fascinating to sit down in Professor Nurul Ullah's sitting room and see the film twice with him, the second time after he had shown me the bedroom window at the back of his flat which overlooked both the street along which the soldiers drove to the university and the university campus. When he realized what was happening, he slipped his microphone outside [through] the window to record the sounds of firing. The film was shot from a long distance and under impossible conditions. Professor Nurul Ullah's description of how he shot the film was as dramatic and stirring as the film itself:

"On March 25, 1971, the day of the Pakistani crack-down, although I knew nothing about it at the time, my wife and I had just had breakfast and I was looking out of my back windows in the professors' block of flats in which I and my colleagues from the Engineering University live with our families. Our back windows overlook a street across which are the grounds of Jagannath Hall, one of the most famous halls of Dacca University. I saw an unusual sight, soldiers driving past my flat and going along the street which overlooks it, towards the entrance to the University. As curfew was on, they made announcements on loudspeakers from a jeep that people coming out on the streets would be shot. After a few minutes, I saw some people carrying out what were obviously dead bodies from Jagannath Hall. I immediately took out my loaded video tape recorder and decided to shoot a film through the glass of the window. It was not an ideal way to do it, but I was not sure what it was all about, and what with the curfew and all the tension, we were all being very cautious. As I started shooting the film, the people carrying out the dead bodies laid them down on the grass under the supervision of Pakistani soldiers who are distinguishable in the film, because of their dark clothes, the weapons they are carrying and the way they are strutting about contrasted with the civilians in lighter clothes who are equally obviously drooping with fright. �As soon as firing started, I carefully opened the bedroom window wide enough for me to slip my small microphone just outside the window so that I could record the sound as well. But it was not very satisfactorily done, as it was very risky. My wife now tells me that she warned me at the time: ~re you mad, do you want to get shot too? One flash from your camera and they will kill us too.' But I don't remember her telling me, I must have been very absorbed in my shooting, and she says I took no notice of what she said.

"It so happened that a few days earlier, from the same window I had shot some footage of student demonstrators on their way to the university. I little thought it would end this way.

"Anyway, this macabre procession of students carrying out bodies and laying them down on the ground was repeated until we realized with horror that the same students were themselves being lined up to be shot. After recording this dreadful sight on my video tape-recorder, I shut it off thinking it was all over only to realize that a fresh batch of university people were again carrying out bodies from inside. By the time I got my video tape-recorder going again, I had missed this new grisly procession but you will notice in the film that the pile of bodies is higher.

"I now want to show my film all over the world, because although their faces are not identifiable from that distance in what is my amateur film, one can certainly see the difference between the soldiers and their victims, one can see the shooting and hear it, one can see on film what my wife and I actually saw with our own eyes. And that is documentary evidence of the brutality of the Pak army and their massacre of the intellectuals."

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Collected from Eyewitness Accounts: Genocide in Bangladesh

Eyewitness Accounts

2008-08-15T10:56:00.001+06:00

by Rounaq Jahan

in Samuel Totten, et al.
Century of Genocide: Eyewitness Accounts and Critical Views
New York: Garland Publishing, 1997
Chapter 10, pp. 291-316

The following eyewitness accounts of the 1971 genocide depict different incidents. The first two eyewitness accounts describe the mass murders committed on March 25 night on Dhaka University campus. The first account is by a survivor of the killings in one of the student dormitories (Jagannath Hall) where Hindu students lived. The second account is by a university professor who witnessed and videotaped the massacres on Dhaka University campus. The third and fourth eyewitness testimonies describe the mass rape of women by the Pakistanis. The fifth testimony describes the killings in the village of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of the nationalist movement. The last account describes the atrocities of the non-Bengali Biharis who collaborated with the Pakistan army. The testimonies are taken from two sources; one is a Bengali book entitled 1971: Terrible Experiences (Dhaka: Jatiya Shahitya Prakasheni, 1989), which was edited by Rashid Haider and is a collection of eyewitness accounts. Sohela Nazneen translated the accounts from Bengali to English. The other source, The Year of the Vulture (New Delhi: Orient Longmans, 1972), is an Indian journalist's (Arnita Malik) account of the genocide. In the Malik book Dhaka is spelled as Dacca, which was the spelling used in 1972.

Massacre at Jagannath Hall

This testimony is from Kali Ranjansheel's, "Jagannath Hall e-Chilam" ["I was at Jagannath Hall"], in Rashid Haider (ed.), 1971: Vayabaha Ovigayata [1971: Terrible Experiences] Dhaka: Jatiya Shahitya Prakasheni, 1989, p. 5. It was translated by Sohela Nazneen. Reprinted with permission.

I was a student at the Dhaka University. I used to live in room number 235 (South Block) in Jagannath Hall. On the night of 25th of March I woke up from sleep by the terrifying sound of gunfire. Sometimes the sound of gunfire would be suppressed by the sound of bomb explosions and shell-fire. I was so terrified that I could not even think of what I should do! After a while I thought about going to Shusil, assistant general secretary of the student's union. I crawled up the stairs very slowly to the third floor. I found out that some students had already taken refuge in Shusil's room, but he was not there. The students told me to go to the roof of the building where many other students had taken shelter but I decided (rather selfishly) to stay by myself I crawled to the rest rooms at the northern end of the third floor and took refuge in there. I could see the East, the South and the West from the window. I could see that the soldiers were searching for students with flashlights from room to room, were taking them near the Shahid Minar (Martyr's memorial) and then shooting them. Only the sound of gunfire and pleas of mercy filled the air. Sometimes the Pakistanis used mortars and were shelling the building. The tin sheds in front of assembly and some of the rooms in North Block were set on fire. ...

After some time about forty to fifty Pakistani soldiers came to the South Block and broke down the door of the dining room. The lights were turned on and they were firing at the students who took shelter in that room. ...When the soldiers came out they had Priyanath (the caretaker of the student dormitory) at gunpoint, and forced him to show the way through all the floors of the dormitory. During this time I was not able to see them as I left the restroom by climbing up the open window and took shelter on the sunshed of the third floor. But I could hear the cracking sounds of bullets, the students pleading for mercy and the sound of the soldiers rummaging and throwing things about in search of valuables. The soldiers did not see me on the sunshed.

...After they left I again took refuge in the washroom. I peeked through the window and saw that the other students' dormitory, Salimullah Hall, was on fire. The Northern and the Eastern parts of the city was on fire too as the North and East horizon had turned red. The whole night the Pakistani soldiers continued their massacre and destruction. ...Finally I heard the call for the morning prayer. ...

...The curfew was announced at dawn and I thought that this merciless killing would stop. But it continued. The soldiers started killing those who had escaped their notice during the night before.

...It was morning and I heard the voices of some students. I came out of the washroom, and saw that the students were carrying a body downstairs while soldiers with machine guns were accompanying them. It was the dead body of Priyanath. I was ordered to help the students and I complied. We carried bodies from the dormitory rooms and piled them up in the field outside.

There were a few of us there-students, gardeners, two sons of the gates-keeper and the rest were janitors. The janitors requested the Pakistanis to let them go since they were not Bengalis. After a while the army separated the janitors from us.

...All the time the soldiers were cursing and swearing at us. The soldiers said "We will see how you get free Bangladesh! Why don't you shout Joy Bangla (Victory to Bengal)!" The soldiers also kicked us around. After we had finished carrying the bodies, we were divided into groups. They then took my group to one of the university quarters and searched almost every room on the fourth floor and looted the valuables. Downstairs we saw dead bodies piled up, obviously victims from the night before. They also brought down the flag of Bangladesh.

...After we came back, we were again ordered to carry the dead bodies to the Shahid Minar. The soldiers had already piled up the bodies of their victims and we added others bodies to the piles. If we felt tired and slowed down, the soldiers threatened to kill us-

...As my companion and I were carrying the body of Sunil (our dormitory guard), we heard screams in female voices. We found that the women from the nearby slums were screaming as the soldiers were shooting at the janitors (the husbands of the women). I realized that our turn would come too as the Pakistanis started lining up those students who were before us, and were firing at them. My companion and I barely carried the dead body of Sunil toward a pile where I saw the dead body of Dr. Dev [Professor of Philosophy]. I cannot explain why I did what I did next. Maybe from pure fatigue or maybe from a desperate hope to survive!

I lay down beside the dead body of Dr. Dev while still holding onto the corpse of Sunil. I kept waiting for the soldiers to shoot me. I even thought that I had died. After a long time I heard women and children crying. I opened my eyes and saw that the army had left and the dead bodies were still lying about and women were crying. Some of the people were still alive but wounded. All I wanted to do was to get away from the field and survive.

I crawled towards the slums. First I went to the house of the electrician. I asked for water but when I asked for shelter, his wife started crying aloud and I then left and took refuge in a restroom. ...Suddenly I heard the voice of Idu who used to sell old books. He said,

"Don't be afraid. I heard you are alive, I shall escort you to safety." I went to old Dhaka city. Then I crossed the river. The boatman did not take any money. From there, I first went to Shimulia, then, Nawabganj and finally I reached my village in Barishal in the middle of April.

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Collected from Eyewitness Accounts: Genocide in Bangladesh

Niazi's book mocks Jamaat's claim

2008-08-14T09:35:00.000+06:00

Zayadul Ahsan and Shakhawat Liton

An account of events chronicled by the commander of Pakistani occupying forces in 1971 renders rather untrue Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh's vehement claim that they were not involved in anti-liberation activities, by categorically saying that the Army of Razakars was formed by the erstwhile Pakistan government itself to fight against the liberation forces of Bangladesh.

Lt Gen AAK Niazi, who led the Pakistani occupation forces as the chief of the eastern command of Pakistan Army in 1971, in his book titled 'The Betrayal of East Pakistan' described the formation of the Army of Razakars, their training, procurement of weapons and other logistics, and the deployment of the paramilitary vigilante force.

To train the Razakars, military schools were set up, a separate Razakars Directorate was established, they were provided with machine guns, sten guns, and with intelligence against the Bangalee freedom fighters, and against their supporters and sympathisers.

According to Niazi's book, Jamaat-e-Islami, Nizam-i-Islam Party, and several factions of Muslim League were known as rightist political parties at the time, and the Army of Razakars was formed with men recruited from those parties.

But, Jamaat-e-Islami men were dominating the Razakars annoying other parties. Maj Saddik Salik, who was the public relations officer of the then eastern command of Pakistan Army and worked closely with Niazi in 1971, in his own book titled 'Witness to Surrender', said in September 1971 a political delegation from erstwhile West Pakistan complained to General Niazi that he had raised an army comprising men nominated by Jamaat-e-Islami.

"The general [Niazi] called me to his office and said: From now on, you will call the Razakars -- Al-Badr and Al Shams -- to give the impression that they do not belong to one single party," Salik wrote.

Interestingly enough, Niazi dedicated his book to the Razakars and the Mujahids of East Pakistan along with the members of the armed forces, civil armed forces, civilian officers, and the West Pakistan police saying they 'strove hard, made supreme sacrifices and suffered humiliation to keep Pakistan united'.

Maj Salik said in his book, the only people who came forward to form the Army of Razakars were the rightists like Khwaza Khairuddin of Council Muslim League, Fazlul Qader Chaudhry of Convention Muslim League, Khan Sobur A Khan of Muslim League Qayyum, Prof Golam Azam of Jamaat-e-Islami, and Maulvi Farid Ahmed of Nizam-i-Islam Party.

Jamaat-e- Islami leaders Golam Azam, Abbas Ali Khan, Motiur Rahman Nizami, and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed launched a countrywide campaign urging the youth to join the Razakars, Al-Badrs, and the Al-Shams to resist the liberation forces of Bangladesh. The then home ministry also sent reports to West Pakistan about their activities in favour of the Pakistan occupation forces.

FORMING THE RAZAKARS
About the formation of the Army of Razakars, Niazi in his book said, "The proposal for raising an organised Razakar Force remained under consideration with HQ, CMLA and GHQ for a long time. Although their recruitment had started earlier, sanction for the raising of this force was given at the end of August 1971."

"A separate Razakars Directorate was established, and the whole set up started taking proper shape. Two separate wings called Al-Badr and AL-Shams were organised. Well educated and properly motivated students from the schools and madrasas were put in Al-Badr wing, where they were trained to undertake 'Specialised Operations', while the remainder were grouped together under Al-Shams, which was responsible for the protection of bridges, vital points and other areas," Niazi went on.

About the deployment of the Razakars, Niazi who was also appointed as the martial law administrator in the then East Pakistan in September 1971, said the Razakars were mostly employed in areas where the Pakistan occupation army was around to control and utilise them. Being an army of rookies not fully trained, the Razakars were prone to subversion through local influences, he added.

"---- this force [Razakar] was useful where available, particularly in the areas where the rightist parties were in strength and had sufficient local influence," Niazi said in the book.

"Seventy percent of the target ceiling, of 50,000 Razakars spread over all the districts of the province, was achieved. Battle schools were established to train Razakar platoon and company commanders. To provide an effective command structure to this organisation, about sixty young officers were selected to be appointed as Razakar Group Commanders," Niazi said.

GETTING WEPONS FOR THE RAZAKARS
Niazi said all engaged in operations having Razakar elements among them, felt that in order to make the Razakars really effective in the field, they must be equipped with automatic weapons. That was important, as the rebels were carrying automatic weapons, which were far superior to those issued to the Razakars, said Niazi, who surrendered to the allied forces of Mukti Bahini and the Indian military on December 16, 1971 in Dhaka.

"To cater for only one light machine gun and one sten gun per Razakar platoon, we required a minimum number of 2,500 light machine guns and an equal number of sten guns. Unfortunately, we could only provide them with 275 light machine guns and 390 sten guns. This reflects the poor state of weapons with the Razakars. It adversely affected their morale and their overall performance in the field against the well equipped Mukti Bahini. The Razakars felt that they were not being trusted with superior arms. This state of affairs was further aggravated as the Razakars were already exposed to the local negative influence and to Indian propaganda. In order to keep them under control and utilize them properly, they were mixed with West Pakistani police and non-Bengali elements," Niazi said in his book.

MUJAHIDS
Niazi in his book also said some Mujahid battalions and independent Mujahid companies were employed in operational duties along with the regular forces. Their battalion commanders started arriving in East Pakistan in November 1971. This force was also short of weapons and equipment. A case was taken up with the Military Operation and Infantry Directorate at GHQ, but they also had their own limitations. Most of the men of that force were local with quite a few deserting the camps.

WOLRD PRESS ON THE RAZAKARS
New York Times, on July 30, 1971, ran a report on the formation of the Army of Razakars where the following was printed: "The Razakars.....should be specially helpful as members of rural communities, who can identify guerrillas [freedom fighters], an army officer said...The government says it has already recruited more than 22,000 Razakars of a planned force of 35,000."

The Wall Street Journal on July 27, 1971 reported on Razakars, which said, "To help control the Bengali population, the Pakistan Army has been setting up a network of Peace Committees superimposed upon the normal civil administration, which the army cannot fully rely upon."

"Peace Committee members are drawn from.....Biharis and from the Muslim Leagues and Jamat-e-Islami. The peace committees serve as the agent of army, informing on civil administration as well as on general populace. They are also in charge of confiscating and redistribution of shops and lands from Hindus and pro-independence Bengalis. The Peace Committee also recruits Razakars...many of them are common criminals who have thrown their lots with the army," The Wall Street Journal added.

JAMAAT LEADERS IN 1971
While visiting an Al-Badr camp on September 22, 1971 Motiur Rahman Nizami, the present chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh said, "Only the patriotic youths of East Pakistan can effectively annihilate the Indian infiltrators and their local agents."

Addressing a gathering of Razakars in Jessore, Nizami said, "Every single one of us must identify ourselves as soldiers of Islam and we have to use all our forces to destroy the people who are involved in an armed conspiracy against Pakistan and Islam," Sangram, the official voice of Jamaat, reported on September 15, 1971.

Current Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islaimi Bangladesh Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, who was the president of the Dhaka unit of East Pakistan Islami Chhatra Shangha (ICS) in 1971, directed his activists to build the Al-Badr Bahini to resist the freedom fighters of Bangladesh back then, according to a 'fortnightly secret report on the situation in East Pakistan', which was a routine report of the political section of the then East Pakistan home ministry to the head of the erstwhile Pakistan government, General Yahya Khan.

Mojaheed at a meeting of ICS in Rangpur on October 17, 1971 directed his vigilantes to build the Al-Badr Bahini. He told the meeting that 'anti-Islamist forces' must be resisted. He also emphasised organising the young generation in Al-Badr.

The then Jamaat amir Golam Azam at the party council of Kushtia district unit in the second week of August 1971 described the freedom fighters as 'criminals' and directed the party workers to resist them. He also personally oversaw the formation of Shanti Committees [Peace Committees] in every village of the country. He told the meeting that very soon the Razakars, Mojahids, and the police would be able to resist the 'criminals', said document no 549 (159)-PL.S (I) signed by the then home secretary to erstwhile provisional government of East Pakistan MM Kazim on September 14, 1971.
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Source: thedailystar
Published On: 2007-12-19

April 1971: 'Recalling Massacres of Those Days in Faridpur'

2008-08-04T23:56:00.001+06:00

April 1971: 'Recalling Massacres of Those Days in Faridpur'

By Rabindranath Trivedi

The birth of Bangladesh in 1971 was a unique phenomenon- it was the first nation state to emerge after waging a successful liberation war against a postcolonial state. The nine-month-long liberation war in Bangladesh drew world attention because of the genocide committed by Pakistan, which resulted in the killings of approximately three million people, and raping of nearly a quarter million girls and women mostly over 70 percent were Hindus. Ten million Bengalis, of whom 80% were Hindus, reportedly took refuge in India to avoid the massacre of the Pakistan army, and thirty million people were displaced within the country were poor Muslims and Hindus.

Thirty-six years passed since the occupation Pakistan army entered Faridpur on April 21, 1971 and started arson, loot, rape and atrocities in and around Faridpur town, Talma, Nagarkanda, Bhanga, Kanaipur and Ishan Gopalpur. Since the offensive began the troops have killed countless thousands of Bengalis -- foreign diplomats estimate at least 200,000 to 250,000 -- many in massacres. Although the targets were Bengali Moslems and the 10 million Hindus at first, the army was then concentrating on Hindus in what foreign observers characterize as a holy war. The justification for the annihilation of the Hindus was paraphrased by Lt.Gen.Tikka Khan, the Military Governor of East Pakistan in radio broadcast on April 18,1971, he said: 'The Muslims of East Pakistan, who had played a leading part in the creation of Pakistan, are determined to keep it alive.'

At the end of June 1971, Schanberg visited the town of Faridpur and reported on the persecution there:'The Pakistani Army has painted big yellow "H's" on the Hindu shops still standing in this town to identify the property of the minority eighth of the population that it has made special targets.... In April, as a public example, two Hindus were beheaded in a central square in Faridpur and their bodies were soaked in kerosene and burned.' Still, there is no sign of a hate-Hindu psychology among the Bengali Muslims. Many have taken grave risks to shelter and defend Hindus; others express shock and horror at what is happening to the Hindus but confess that they are too frightened to help.'

The Pakistan army and the Razakars did not stop at simply massacring Hindus. They also took to raping Bengali women. During nine months in 1971, over 200,000 Bengali women and girls were raped. Many were taken as sex slaves and raped multiple times by the Pakistani army." 'Measuring the Tragedy' the New York Times (June 7,1971) mentioned: “People have killed each other because of animosities of race, politics and religion; no community is entirely free of guilt. But the principal agent of death and hatred has been the Pakistan Army." These paramilitary units, the al-Badr and al-Shams, worked as informers and assassins to augment the military's gruesome task of killing Bengalis.

Eight Bramacharee were butchered and by Pakistan Army in Faridpur

On 21April 1971 (07 Baikh 1377 BS, Wednesday ) eight bramahcharees of Sree Angan of the Lord Jagat bandhu Sunder were butchered and tomb of the temple was demolished. All those Vaishnava Brahmacharees namely Sahid Kirtan Bandhu, Shahid Nidanbandhu,Shahid Kshitibandhu, Shahid Bandhudas , Shahid Chirabandhu, Shahid Gour Bandhu, Shahid Andha Kanai and Shahid Ravibandhu were killed by the Pakistani Occupation forces while Brahmacharees chanting kirtan, prayer, of lord Jagatbandhu Sundar,an incarnation of Vishnu,a vaishnava cult in Hinduism. This Sree Angan as commonly known to all section of people is a holy shrine and profoundly respected to all irrespective to caste, creed and religions.

Believe it or not, it was happened, a Pakistani Army Captain Jamshed who commanded the massacre in Faridpur from April to July’71 had to beg divine mercy and ultimately commit suicide before the altar of Lord Jagatbandhu’s main temple of the Sree Angan just a few days before Pakistan Forces surrendered to Joint Command of Indian Army in Dec.1971.Capt Jamshed was burried in the Sree Angan (near pond of the Shiva Temple) by the Razzakar and Bihari Muslims, Probodh Kumar Sarkar, a Freedom Fighter of Faridpur told me recently. It may be mentioned here Captain Jamshed who had torched the main temple, killed the Brahmacharees and desecrate the holy place became lunatic before his unnatural death. But why he committed suicide before the altar of the main temple of Pravu Shri Shri Jagatbandhu Sundar? Was it a dictum of destiny or maledictions of divine power?

Massacre at Ramna Kali Bari : An American Eyewitness

"On the night on 28 March 1971 all the 250 Hindu men, women and children, who lived in and around the 700-year old Ramna Kali Bari in the heart of Dacca, were massacred. The priest of the Temple held the deity and prayed to Goddess Kali and he remained like that until incendiarism of the Pak army 'cremated' him alive along with all others.

An American eyewitness said: "There are no more Hindus in Ramna Kali Bari… I went to see it. Houses were still aflame and bodies were stacked at grotesque angles." This American added, "The sight staggered foreigners allowed to see it --- among them Mr. David Gordon, head of the World Bank in Pakistan". About 100 corpses were put on display in the village on 29 March 1971.

Dr John E. Rohde of USAID noted that “on the 29th we stood at Ramna KaliBari, an ancient Hindu village of about 250 people in the center of Dacca Ramna Race Course, and witnessed the stacks of machine-gunned, burning remains of men, women and children butchered in the early morning hours of March 29,1971. I photographed the hours later.”

Mr. Gordon Allott's speech in the Senate on July 14, 1971 mentioned that the 'Ramna Kali Bari is an ancient small Hindu settlement situated in the middle of the Dacca racecourse. Even during the most violent Hindu-Muslim riots of partition, the village was able to avoid participation in communal strife …on March 29, a pile of bodies charred and machine-gunned, was on visible display in Kali Bari. The entire village was burned to the ground.'

There was something of a joker in Yahya Khan. Perhaps because of the World Bank officials’ disapproval of the destruction of the Ramna Kali Temple, the military President of Pakistan or his trusted Governor, General Tikka Khan, sanctioned Rs.20, 000 for rebuilding, the temple which had been not only razed to the ground but after the rolling of bulldozers over it not a single brick remained there.

The Ramna Kali Bari and the two villages are now an extension of the grassy racetrack of Dhaka.

When a World Bank official was shown a temple, a foolish stage show was arranged to convince him that the Hindus were freely pursuing their religious duties. A non-Bengali police constable was made to shave off his head leaving a tuft on it. He put on a dhoti and was made to sit and offer flowers as if he was doing the usual puja. When the Inspector- General of Police and others brought the World Bank official there, the fake Hindu priest seeing his boss, jumped up to stand to attention and gave a smart salute, said Mr. A B M Musa of Times, London and BBC correspondent at Dhaka.

In Bangladesh there are more than 30,000 temples and religious citadels in Bangladesh, and most of those were ransacked, demolished and desecrated.. Thousands of people-men, women and children-were killed and women raped by Pakistani army and their local stooges and collaborators of the so-called peace committees looted Hindu properties. When the burden of the killing became too much for the army, the Pakistanis enlisted and trained paramilitary units made up of non-Bengali Muslims and Bengali collaborators from right-wing religious parties.

Sydney Schanberg of The New York Times was expelled from East Pakistan:

In June 1971 Sydney Schanberg reported on the formation of these units:' Throughout East Pakistan the Army is training new paramilitary home guards or simply arming "loyal" civilians, some of whom are formed into peace committees. Besides Biharis and other non-Bengali, Urdu-speaking Moslems, the recruits include the small minority of Bengali Moslems who have long supported the army -- adherents of the right-wing religious parties such as the Moslem League and Jamaat-e-Islami.'

Collectively known as the Razakars, the paramilitary units spread terror throughout the Bengali population. With their local knowledge, the Razakars were an invaluable tool in the Pakistani Army's arsenal of genocide.'

However, In June the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sydney Schanberg filed a number of eyewitness accounts from Bangladeshi towns for The New York Times. In response, the Pakistan army expelled him from the country on June 30, 1971.

Wither Hindus In Bangladesh?

The sacrifices of the Hindu leadership were never acknowledged either officially or publicly. Does the nation pay respect to those departed souls? Is there any room for the Hindu leaders in the history who fought for the cause of history and the War of Liberation? In the post-August 1975, Bangladesh, Bengali, Hindu and India are equated with a typical psyche by the ruling cliché.

The existing literature on the history of Bangladesh underplays not only the inner contradictions of the Muslims of Bengal, but also other significant features of her past. Those who have sacrificed lives at the altar of the War of Liberation, as termed ‘Shahid’ but what reward would get their families and memories in this land, while Razakars become policy makers.

I seldom visited Faridpur town after 1972, as I could not stand there. If I stand before the Alimuzzaman Bridge over the Kumar River in the evening, hundreds of known departed faces approach me haunt me, martyrs’ souls haunt me their souls questioned me. Did the martyrs of the Liberation War sacrifice their lives for this Bangladesh where people’s enemy, the founder of Al-Badr, was safely placed with ministerial berth and a slot in the country's policy-making body? I look down to the tiny stream of the Kumar River, as the 'Herman Hess' looked into the river through Gobinda's image in the eternal stream in 'Sirddhartha'. I found time passes from Zilla school in early fifties to Rajendra College in sixties, from there on to join the six-point movement turned War of Liberation. A ill-clothed boy made his journey from Talma,a native village in early fifties and have reached this victory day after three and half decades over the Alimuzzaman bridge. Whither Bangladesh?

As a retired officer, who witnessed the birth of Bangladesh at Mujibnagar and fought the War of Liberation, served the exile government at Mujibnagar and government in the liberated Dhaka till OSD-ship in November 2001, keenly observed that during the War of Bangladesh Liberation, the policy of Hindu-hunting helped Pakistan to be successful in 1971.

After my retirement in September 2003, I frequently visited my native village to repair my so long neglected house for passing the rest of my life there as I have no house or plot in Dhaka, although I had the occasion to the president and prime minister and ministers of the Republic since its birth in April 1971, presently, I am accommodating in the changed situation under duress in a rented abandoned house without job.

I am paying for my ignorance of culture of corruption and kleptocracy. Both the prime ministers had ignored the President's recommendation for an assignment abroad on a humanitarian cause.

But in the village I found that the Hindus were gradually getting uprooted. Even the families of the martyrs and victims of Pak-military atrocities were surviving only as natural species of human beings. The minorities of East Pakistan had not only fought for independence of Bangladesh together with all citizens of other sections of society. It is very difficult to guess about the inner world of the present-day Bangladesh. The distortion of the history of Bangladesh in post August 1975 and with it the Bangladesh foreign policy objectives started following the fifth and eighth amendments to the constitution of Bangladesh. But why it happens in Bangladesh?

The Hindus, as a nation, religion and of ancient civilization identity, had to pay a great sacrifice for Bangladesh nationhood, but after August 1975, they are being cornered, ciphered and uprooted due to property and votes bank assaults like erstwhile Pakistan military regimes.

Published in the Bangladesh Observer as a Lead Post Editorial on Monday 16 April 2007
Rabindranth Trivedi is a retired Additional Secretary and former Press secretary to the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh

- Asian Tribune -

Source: Truth of Bengal

ফিরে দেখা ৭১

2008-07-19T21:03:00.004+06:00

বাংলাদেশ এবং ১৯৭১ এই বিষয় নিয়ে প্রয়োজনীয় বইপত্র, প্রকাশনার পরিমাণ ততোটা বেশি নয়। প্রিন্ট মাধ্যম, অডিও-ভিডিও, চিত্র, ভাস্কর্য এমনকি অনলাইন কোন মাধ্যমেই মুক্তিযুদ্ধ বিষয়টা যতোটা আসা উচিত ছিল ততটা আসেনি। পর্যাপ্ততার অপ্রতুলতা রয়েছে।

সমকালে রাজাকার-আলবদরদের আস্ফালন যতটা বেড়ে গেছে, তার প্রতিক্রিয়ায় আমরা কিছুটা হতবাক হয়েছি বটে। এই দুঃসময়ে সামহোয়্যারইনব্লগ নামক সাইটটির কর্ণধাররা এক চিরস্মরণীয় কাজ করেছেন। তাঁরা মুক্তিযুদ্ধ নিয়ে এক বিরাট আকারের সংকলন প্রকাশ করেছেন। নাম ফিরে দেখা ৭১ । মানসম্পন্ন এই সংকলনটি নিজস্ব সংগ্রহে রাখার মত উন্নতমানের হয়েছে। আমি এই দুর্লভ তথ্যসমৃদ্ধ 'ই-বুক' খানি নিজের সংগ্রহে রেখে নিজেকে গর্ব ও ধন্য বোধ করছি। প্রিয় পাঠকবর্গ, আপনারা অবশ্যই ঐতিহাসিক ই-বুক খানি ডাউনলোড করুন। নিজের সংগ্রহে রাখুন। অন্যকে পড়তে উৎসাহিত করুন।

ফাইল প্রকার: পিডিএফ, অ্যাক্রোব্যাট রিডার দিয়ে পড়তে হবে।
পৃষ্ঠা : ২০৫
ফাইল সাইজ: ৬.৪৭ এম বি

Hatiar dal do

2008-07-15T10:28:00.000+06:00

Hatiar dal do (হাতিয়ার ডাল দো):
A tribute To Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw

Ajoy Roy

Published on July 01, 2008

The call of surrender

That was the repeated call of the then General Manekshaw, Army Chief of the Indian Military, to Pakistani soldiers fighting against Mitrabahini in the occupied territory of East Pakistan during the period 12-15the December 1971 as the Indian Army and Bangladesh army hand in hand penetrating deeper and deeper in Bangladesh territory In the mean while well fortified Jessore garrison fell in 7th December without serious fight by the Pakistanis. Mitrabahini and Bangladesh Army were fast approaching Dacca, the capital of Bangladesh, last fortress of General Neazi, commander of the Pakistan Army in Eastern front from all sides west, north, north east.

The strategy of the combined force was to offer least resistance to well fortified position of Pakistani army, such as Hilly, Comilla Cantonment etc and by pass those strong holds and rush to Dacca. However the resistance offered by Pakistanis on way of advancement of the Mitrabahini was totally and drastically wiped out.

At this stage General Manekshaw opened a psychological war front to further demoralize the morale and courage of fighting spirit of the already demoralized Pakistani soldiers by calling Neazi and his soldiers to surrender to the combined India-Bangladesh force in eastern front. The call was `surrender unconditionally’ to Mitrabahini immediately. In Urdu the call was simply `Hatiar dal do’. General Manekshaw assured the Pakistani occupation force that their lives and security would be guaranteed and Geneva convention would be applied to POWs.

Field Marshal Manekshaw was a great friend of Bangladesh. But his professionalism has never been overshadowed by sentiments and emotion. He was a cool thoughtful man and wonderful military strategist, totally committed to his professionalism as military personnel. The following narration illustrates his strict principle of professionalism and capability of distance vision. In an interview in 1996, he disclosed that some time in mid April General was summoned in a cabinet meeting attended by apart from PM Indira, Jagjivan Ram (defence minister), Sardar Sharan Singh (foreign minister) and Y, B. Chyavan (finance minister). At that time a large number of refugees started pouring in Tripura, Asam and West Bengal. PM Indira, showing a telegram of chief minister of Assam that expressed concern over it and if some thing positive was not done to prevent the refugee flux, a grave situation might develop in north-east region of India that might go beyond the control of the state government, asked the General `What are you doing ?’ Sam replied, `nothing’, and what am I to do?’ PM said that the government wanted that you march in. Sam’ rely was vey amusing and materialistic at the same time. This meant a war against Pakistan. ‘Are you ready ? Honestly speaking I am not.’ ‘In a few weeks time, monsoon will set in Bangladesh would turn into an ocean. And you can not move not to speak of fighting fortified Pakistanis’, continued the General., ‘we wiill be restricted to only land roads. The Air force will be of little use.’ In such a condition we cannot win against Pakistanis. More over our armament division is not fully equipped for shortage of tanks’, was the straight answer of Manekshaw. When the meeting was over and all left, PM asked to Sam to sit down. Sam thought that PM probably got annoyed with him and would ask him to resign. On the contrary PM asked him if that what he said were the true picture. Manekshaw convinced Indira that not only militarily, but even the condition and people were not prepared, the international situation was also not in India’s favour in marching against Pakistan at this stage. He then point balank asked the PM, ‘Are you yourself prepared Prime Minister?’ He finally concluded to PM, ‘My job is to win a war. And I want to do this in my opportune time when every thing would be in our favour. I give you hundred percent assurance of victory. He concluded by saying, ‘But I need unitary command.’ No body will interfere with your actions, assured Indira Gandhi. Thanking Indiara Sam said, ‘I give you hundred percent guarantee of our success.’ This was Sam Manekshaw. . . .

Field Marshal was suffering from lung problem and some old age complexity. A few days back he was taken to in Wellington Military hospital in Tamilnadu in a stage of coma, where he breathed his last on last Friday morning, June 27, 2008. He was 94.

General Manekshaw was the main architect of planning the India Pakistan war in western front and India-Bangladesh vs. Pakistan in eastern front i.e. in occupied Bangladesh. In this grand strategy theory of by passing strongholds of Pakistani and rushing fast to Dacca’s fall like a roped mango posts that will panic the Pakistani forces and would have no option but to surrender Manekshaw was the chief architect in which PM of India and PM of Bangladesh and military strategist led by Air Vice Marshall AK Khandakar all contributed. Manekshaw clearly stated the PM Indira Gandhi, PM Tajuddin and military leadership of Bangladesh that if we want to win the war against Pakistan the military force of Indian army in eastern command under Lt Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora and Bangladesh army including the guerillas must be brought under a unified joint command. The joint will force a defeat on the demoralized and already harassed Pakistani occupation force by the guerillas. The defeat in East Pakistan would a sure victory in western front too. How prophetic he was. With the surrender of Pakistanis in eastern front the Indian government declared unilateral ceasefire in western front. And defeated Pakistanis readily accepted it without murmuring that `we will fight for thousand years, even if have to chew grass. The end of war came within 13 days and Bangladesh emerged as a free independent state. What a glorious victory for all of us, the Bengalis, the Indians and the people of the world who morally and materially supported the cause of Bangladesh. Sam Manekshaw must have been the happiest man in the world. He shared the glory of liberating a country with his proud Indian army colleagues particularly hose who were involved in the eastern front including the chief of joint command Lt. Gen. Jagjit Sing Aurora. Jagjit and Sam both our great friends in our crisis are no more with us, but their memory will remain ever green in our memory century after century.

Brief sketch of the Field Marshal

Manekshaw was awarded the highest military title of Indian army, the Field Marshall in 1973. He was also decorated with civil award `Padma Bibhusan’ He was popularly known as Sam Bahadur, who joined Indian army in 1934. His bravery was mythical in war fields. During his long military career he showed infinite courage in five wars. He also took part in the Second World War as a member of the British Army in Burma front. He was decorated with military cross for his glorious role in Burma front. He became army chief of Indian army in 1969. He retired from Indian Army as field Marshall in January 15, 1973. Manekshaw was born in 1914 in Amritsar in Punjab. His full name was Sam Hormushji Fremji Jamshedji Manekshaw.

Personal remembrance

I saw the general perhaps some time in end of July, 1971 in Fort William, the military head quarter of the eastern front, Calcutta. He held a press conference with the foreign and Indian journalists. Some Bangladeshi journalists were also invited. A few Bangladeshi intellectuals among whom myself, as secretary of Bangladesh Teachers Assocation and Dr, Belayet Hosain, joint secretary of Liberation Council of Bangladesh Intelligentsia and Dr. Mozaharul Haque, Professor of Bengali, Rajshahi University and few others, I don’t remember now. were also invited at the press conference as the general wanted exchange views on Bangladesh problems with some Bangladesh intellectuals after the press conference. The invitation was sent through the office of the Vice Chancellor, Calcutta University, who was the president CU Bangladesh Sahayak Samity, a sister organization of ours, as Bangladesh Teachers Association’s office was at the Dwarbhanga Building. Prof. Dilip Chakaravorty, secretary of CU Bangladesh Sahayak Samity accompanied us to Fort William. We were intercepted at the entrance of the conference room for pass, which we didn’t have. We identified ourselves that General intends to meet us after the conference. We were politely asked to wait, and five minutes later the same man in uniform took us to a specified area in the second row where I found Dr. Mazharul Haque and some others. The conference has already started a few minutes back. I saw many high military officials were sitting in the first row, among whom Lt. Gen. Aurora was also there, a tall slim hand some man in uniform. I saw Lt. Gen Aurora too when Prof Chakravorty showed me. He was tall and slim having impressive appearance. The room was crowded with hosts of journalists. Most questions were of military nature and Indian army’s plan and what would be its military strategy in case Bangladesh’s liberation war turned into India’s war against Pakistanr. I found the general most intelligent and pragmatic man. He ruled out the possibility of Indo Pakistan war on Bangladesh issue. He point blank said that `I don't think Pakistani military would be that foolish to force war on us. Then it would be a disastrous for Pakistan, but Indian people would have to be prepared for extreme sacrifice. He added to a Bangladesh journalist, that ‘it is your war; you have to fight it out. Under the circumstances we could help you only as your friend and well wisher. The policy our government adopts we, would follow to materialize.’ Regarding a question of recognition to Bangladesh government by India he plainly said, as far as I remember, it is a political matter and Indian military has nothing to do it. The long press conference when ended, a man in uniform announced that because of general’s time constrain he could not meet the Bangladesh intellectuals for which he apologized. We stood up in disappointment. The general waved his hand towards us saying `my apology. We will meet some time later.’ That some time later never came. Alas !.

Published at Muktomona

Pakistanis were misled into thinking that Bangladeshis were Hindus

2008-07-10T22:53:00.000+06:00

DU Correspondent

Noted Pakistani writer Ahmad Salim has said that before the independence of Bangladesh the Pakistan government told the people of the then West Pakistan that the then East Pakistanis were Hindu due to their multi-dimensional culture.

Salim, a former professor of the Karachi University, said that in 1971 the people of West Pakistan were in the dark totally about what was really going on in the eastern part due to the false and malicious propaganda of the then military rulers of Pakistan.

Ahmad Salim, honorary coordinator of the South Asian Research and Resource Centre under the SAARC secretariat who is visiting Bangladesh, was giving a lecture on "Creative Responses in West Pakistan Regarding the Tragedy of 1971" on Saturday.

The lecture at the RC Majumdar Arts Auditorium of Dhaka University was organised by Unnayan Onneshan, a centre for development research and action.

Presided over by Zaheda Ahmed, professor of history department of DU, the discussion meeting was attended, among others, by the chairman of Unnayan Onneshan, Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir.

Ahmad Selim, who suffered jail terms for writing against military atrocity in Bangladesh in 1971, also said that there were a good number of poems and other writings in different languages by renowned Pakistani writers protesting against the West Pakistani attack on East Pakistan. "But most of them were banned by the military rulers," he said.

A book containing the writings of Pakistani wordsmiths about the West Pakistani oppression of East Pakistan in 1971 will be published simultaneously in Pakistan and Bangladesh within a few months, said Salim.

He said the book, titled "Another Side of a Medal", would be a compilation of writings that will explain a lot about the thoughts of the Pakistani people who did not agree with the atrocities of the then Pakistani government on the Bangladeshi people.

Source: New Age

বীভৎস যৌন নির্যাতন, কিন্তু এড়িয়ে গেছেন সবাই

2008-07-09T18:17:00.001+06:00

শেরিফ আল সায়ার

একাত্তরে আমাদের নারীদের ওপর পরিচালিত পাকিস্তানি সৈন্যদের যৌন নির্যাতনের ধরন কতোটা ভয়াবহ, কতোটা বীভৎস ছিল- যুদ্ধ চলাকালে এদেশ থেকে প্রকাশিত কোনো দৈনিকে তা প্রকাশিত হয় নি। প্রকাশিত হয়নি বিদেশী সংবাদ মাধ্যমে পরিবেশিত বাংলাদেশের যুদ্ধ সংবাদেও।

১৬ ডিসেম্বর বিজয় অর্জনের পর থেকে জাতীয় দৈনিকগুলোতে পাকিস্তানিদের নারী নির্যাতনের বেশ কিছু সংবাদ প্রকাশিত হলেও ধর্ষণ ও অন্যান্য যৌন নির্যাতনের ধরন, প্রকৃতি, শারীরিক, মানসিক প্রতিক্রিয়াগুলো নিয়ে খুব কমই গবেষণা হয়েছে। “স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধের ইতিহাস লিখন ও দলিল প্রামাণ্যকরন” প্রকল্পের তৎকালীন গবেষক, বর্তমানে ইংরেজী দৈনিক ডেইলি ষ্টারের সিনিয়র সহকারী সম্পাদক আফসান চৌধুরী এজন্য ইতিহাস রচনার সনাতনি দৃষ্টিভঙ্গিকে দায়ী করে বলেছেন, দেশের মুক্তিযুদ্ধের ইতিহাস লিখনে বরাবরই সশস্ত্র লড়াই, ক্ষমতাসীন পুরুষদের কৃতিত্ব গ্রন্থিত করার উদ্যোগ চলছে, কিন্তু তৃণমূল পর্যায়ে লাখ লাখ নারী অস্ত্র হাতে যুদ্ধ না করেও যেভাবে যুদ্ধের ভয়াবহতার শিকার হয়েছে, সনাতনি মানুসিকতার কারণে কখনই তা নিয়ে গবেষণার উদ্যোগ নেওয়া হয়নি।

মুক্তিযুদ্ধে পাকিস্তানি সৈন্যদের যৌন সন্ত্রাসের ধরন সম্পর্কে প্রথম তথ্য পাওয়া যায় ১৯৭৫ সালে প্রকাশিত আমেরিকান সাংবাদিক সুসান ব্রাউন মিলার রচিত “এগেইনেস্ট আওয়ার উইল: ম্যান, উইম্যান এন্ড রেপ” গ্রন্থে। দেশে এ বিষয়ক গবেষণাকর্ম প্রকাশিত হয় খুব কম এবং যা হয়েছে ৮০ সালের পর থেকে। যুদ্ধের পর ৭৬-৭৭ সাল পর্যন্ত গ্রহণ করা এ বিষয়ে ক্ষতিগ্রস্তদের সাক্ষাৎকার একমাত্র প্রকাশিত হয় প্রামাণ্যকরণ প্রকল্পের অষ্টম খন্ডে। কিন্তু এই খন্ড যাচাই করে দেখা গেছে, এতে মোট গৃহীত ২৬২টি সাক্ষাৎকারের মধ্যে নির্যাতনের সাক্ষাৎকার মাত্র ২২টি।

প্রকল্পের তৎকালীন গবেষকদের সঙ্গে যোগাযোগ করে জানা গেছে, প্রামাণ্যকরণ কমিটি তাদের কার্যালয়ে প্রায় সাড়ে ৩ লাখের বেশি পৃষ্ঠার তথ্য সংগ্রহ করেছে। এরমধ্যে মাত্র ১৫ হাজার পৃষ্ঠা গ্রন্থিত আছে। বাকি লাখ লাখ পৃষ্ঠার তথ্যের মধ্যে নারী নির্যাতন বিষয়ক বেশকিছু ঘটনা আছে। প্রকল্পের সাবেক পরিচালক অধ্যাপক কে এম মহসীন বলেন, ‘ডকুমেন্টগুলো এখন জাতীয় ও মুক্তিযুদ্ধ বিষয়ক মন্ত্রনালয়ের দায়িত্ব গ্র্রহনের পারস্পরিক টানাহেচড়ায় অরক্ষিত অবস্থায় আছে। যতোদূর জানি, বেশ কিছু ডকুমেন্ট চুরিও হয়ে গেছে।’

মুক্তিযুদ্ধ সংক্রান্ত লিখিত সূত্র, সমাজকর্মীদের সঙ্গে কথা বলে জানা গেছে, ২৫ মার্চ থেকে পাকিস্তানিদের ধারাবাহিক ধর্ষণ উন্মত্ততার সঙ্গে মধ্য এপ্রিল থেকে যুক্ত হতে শুরু করে এদেশীয় দোসর রাজাকার, শান্তি কমিটি, আল বদর ও আল শামস্ বাহিনীর সদস্যরা। এরা বিভিন্ন স্থান থেকে নারীদের ধরে আনার পাশাপাশি ধর্ষকে অংশ নিয়েছে। প্রত্যেকটি ক্যান্টনমেন্ট, পুলিশ ব্যারাক, স্থায়ী সেনা বাঙ্কার ছাড়াও বিভিন্ন স্কুল কলেজ, সরকারি ভবন ধর্ষণের কেন্দ্র হিসেবে ব্যবহৃত হয়েছে।

জানা যায়, একাত্তরে পুরো ৯ মাস পাকিস্তানি সৈন্যরা অতর্কিত হামলা চালিয়ে ঘটনাস্থলে, কনসেনট্রেশন ক্যাম্পে বাঙালি নারীদের ধরে নিয়ে গিয়ে দিনের পর দিন আটকে রেখে ধর্ষণের যে ঘটনা ঘটিয়েছে অধিকাংশ ক্ষেত্রেই তা গণধর্ষণ। বেশীর ভাগ ক্ষেত্রে বাড়ির পুরুষ সদস্য, স্বামীদের হত্যা করার পর নারীদের উপর ধর্ষণ নির্যাতন চালাতো পাকিস্তানী সৈন্যরা। ৯ থেকে শুরু করে ৭৫ বছরের বৃদ্ধা কেউই পাকিস্তানী সৈন্য বা তাদের দোসরদের হাত থেকে রক্ষা পায়নি। সুসান ব্রাউনি মিলার তার গ্রন্থের ৮৩ পাতায় উল্লেখ করেছেন, কোনো কোনো মেয়েকে পাকসেনারা এক রাতে ৮০ বারও ধর্ষণ করেছে। ওয়ার ক্রাইমস ফ্যাক্টস ফাইন্ডিং কমিটির “যুদ্ধ ও নারী” গ্রন্থ থেকে জানা যায়, এক একটি গণধর্ষণে ৮/১০ থেকে শুরু করে ১০০ জন পাকসেনাও অংশ নিয়েছে। একাত্তরের ভয়াবহ ধর্ষণ সম্পর্কে একমাত্র জবানবন্দিদানকারী সাহসিক ফেরদৌসী প্রিয়ভাষিণী তার সাক্ষাৎকারে (একাত্তরের দুঃসহ স্মৃতি, সম্পাদনা শাহরিয়ার কবির) জানান, “রাতে ফিদাইর (উচ্চ পদস্থ পাকিস্তানি সেনা কর্মকর্তা) চিঠি নিয়ে ক্যাপ্টেন সুলতান, লে. কোরবান আর বেঙ্গল ট্রেডার্সও অবাঙালি মালিক ইউসুফ এরা আমাকে যশোরে নিয়ে যেত। যাওয়ার পথে গাড়ির ভেতরে তারা আমাকে ধর্ষণ করেছে। নির্মম, নৃশংস নির্যাতনের পর এক পর্যায়ে আমার বোধশক্তি লোপ পায়। ২৮ ঘন্টা সঙ্গাহীন ছিলাম”।

পাকিস্তানি সৈন্যদের ধর্ষণের বীভৎসতার ধরন সম্পর্কে পুনর্বাসন সংস্থায় ধর্ষিতাদের নিবন্ধীকরণ ও দেখাশোনার সঙ্গে যুক্ত সমাজকর্মী মালেকা খান জানান, সংস্থায় আসা ধর্ষিত নারীদের প্রায় সবারই ছিল ক্ষত-বিক্ষত যৌনাঙ্গ। বেয়োনেট দিয়ে খুঁচিয়ে খুঁচিয়ে ছিড়ে ফেলা রক্তাক্ত যোনিপথ, দাঁত দিয়ে ছিড়ে ফেলা স্তন, বেয়োনেট দিয়ে কেটে ফেলা স্তন-উরু এবং পশ্চাৎদেশে ছুরির আঘাত নিয়ে নারীরা পুনর্বাসন কেন্দ্রে আসতো।

পাকিস্তানি সৈন্যরা আমাদের নারীদের একাত্তরে কতো বীভৎসভাবে ধর্ষণসহ যৌন নির্যাতন করেছে তার ভয়াবহতা সবচেয়ে বেশী ধরা পড়ে ১৮ ফেব্র“য়ারীর ৭৪ সালে গৃহীত রাজারবাগ পুলিশ লাইনে একাত্তরে সুইপার হিসেবে কাজ করা রাবেয়া খাতুনের বর্ণনা থেকে। প্রামান্যকরন প্রকল্পের অষ্টম খন্ডে গ্রন্থিত ঐ বর্ণনায় কয়েকটি অংশ: রাবেয়া খাতুন জানান, ‘উন্মত্ত পান্জাবি সেনারা নিরীহ বাঙালী মেয়েদের শুধুমাত্র ধর্ষণ করেই ছেড়ে দেয় নাই অনেক পশু ছোট ছোট বালিকাদের ওপর পাশবিক অত্যাচার করে ওদের অসার রক্তাক্ত দেহ বাইরে এনে দুজনে দুপা দুদিকে টেনে ধরে চড়াচড়িয়ে ছিড়ে ফেলে ছিল। পদস্থ সামরিক অফিসাররা সেই সকল মেয়েদের ওপর সম্মিলিত ধর্ষণ করতে করতে হঠাৎ একদিন তাকে ধরে ছুরি দিয়ে তার স্তন কেটে, পাছার মাংস কেটে, যোনি ও গুহ্যদ্বারের মধ্যে সম্পূর্ণ ছুরি চালিয়ে দিয়ে অট্টহাসিতে ফেটে পড়ে ওরা আদন্দ উপভোগ করতো । ’ রাবেয়া খাতুনের আরেকটি বর্ণনায় জানা যায়, ‘ প্রতিদিন রাজারবাগ পুলিশলাইনের ব্যারাক থেকে এবং হেডকোয়ার্টার অফিসে ওপর তলা থেকে বহু ধর্ষিত মেয়ের ক্ষত-বিক্ষত বিকৃত লাশ ওরা পায়ে রশি বেধে নিয়ে যায় এবং সেই জায়গায় রাজধানী থেকে ধরে আনা নতুন মেয়েদের চুলের সঙ্গে বেধে ধর্ষণ আরম্ভ করে দেয়। ’

১৬ই ডিসেম্বর বিজয় অর্জনের পরও পাকিস্তানি সৈন্যরা বাঙ্কারে আটকে রেখে নির্বিচারে ধর্ষণ করেছে বাঙালী নারীদের। বিচারপতি কে এম সোবহান প্রত্যক্ষ দর্শনের অভিজ্ঞতা থেকে বলেন, ‘ ১৮ ডিসেম্বর মিরপুরে নিখোঁজ হয়ে যাওয়া একজনকে খুঁজতে গিয়ে দেখি মাটির নিচে বাঙ্কার থেকে ২৩জুন সম্পূর্ণ উলঙ্গ, মাথা কামানো নারীকে ট্রাকে করে নিয়ে যাচ্ছে পাক আর্মিরা। ’

বিভিন্ন সূত্রে প্রাপ্ত তথ্য থেকে জানা যায়, পুরোপুরি পরিকল্পিতভাবে পরিচালিত পাক আর্মিদের ধর্ষণ-উত্তর অন্যান্য শারীরিক নির্যাতনের ফলে বেশ কিছু মেয়ে আত্মহত্যা করেছে, কাউকে কাউকে পাকসেনারা নিজেরাই হত্যা করেছে; আবার অনেকেই নিরুদ্দিষ্ট হয়ে গেছে। ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের ইতিহাস বিভাগে অধ্যাপক ড. রতন লাল চক্রবর্তী ৭২- এর প্রত্যক্ষদর্শনের অভিজ্ঞতা থেকে জানান, ‘ যুদ্ধের পর পর ডিসেম্বর থেকে জানুয়ারী, ফেব্রুয়ারি পর্যন্ত শহরের বিভিন্ন স্থানে উদ্বাস্তুর মতো ঘুরে বেড়াতে দেখা গেছে বেশ কিছু নারীকে। তাদের ড্রেসআপ এবং চলাফেরা থেকে আমরা অনেকেই নিশ্চিত জানতাম ওরা যুদ্ধের শিকার এবং ওদের যাওয়ার কোনো জায়গা নেই। ’

তথ্যসূত্র: উক্ত লিখাটি ভোরের কাগজ, ১৮ মে ২০০২ ইং এ প্রকাশিত

শেষ কথা: এতো বিভৎস নির্যাতনের কোনো বিচার আজও হয়নি। বিশ্বের কাছে এসকল তথ্য অজানা। বিদেশ কেনো আমাদের নতুন প্রজন্ম যুদ্ধের ভয়াবহতা সম্পর্কে কতোটুকু জানে তা নিয়ে প্রশ্ন আছে। এবং এই পাকিস্তানি সৈন্যদের সহায়তা দানকারী আলবদর আলশামস এখনও বীরের মত ঘুরে বেড়ায়। এই কি ছিল আমাদের নিয়তি?

আপনাদের সবাইকে ধন্যবাদ। একটি কথা উল্লেখ করেছি - উক্ত লিখাটি ভোরের কাগজ, ১৮ মে ২০০২ ইং এ প্রকাশিত। উল্লেখ করা উচিত ছিল লেখাটি সংগ্রহিত। আমি শুধু টাইপ করেছি মাত্র।

কথাগুলো এইজন্য বলা কারন, অনেকে ভাবছেন পোষ্টটি আমার লেখা তাই উল্লেখ করলাম লেখাটি সংগ্রহিত।

আপনাদের ধন্যবাদ।

Family secrets, state secrets

2008-06-02T21:00:00.000+06:00

Rahnuma Ahmed

History is never more compelling than when it gives us insights into oneself and the ways in which one’s own experience is constituted.

Amitav Ghosh, in a letter to Dipesh Chakrabarty

I do not see my life as separate from history. In my mind my family secrets mingle with the secrets of statesmen and bombers. Nor is my life divided from the lives of others.

Susan Griffin, A Chorus of Stones

‘We hated it if anyone asked us about her’

‘MANY widowed mothers were forced to re-marry, some for reasons of social security,’ these were Amena’s opening words when I went to interview her. Amena Khatun works as a conservator and archivist for the Liberation War Museum. She was speaking of their family life after 1971.

Things did not always transpire as intended, she added. Her mother’s second marriage had been short-lived.

My father? He is Shahid Abdul Kader, he had a furniture business, it was new. But by then the war had started, and his friends and workmen had left to fight for liberation. I was a few months old, my other brother, the one younger to me, was not yet born. My elder brother was two and a half years old. I think my father was planning to go away, to join the struggle, but it happened before he could make arrangements for us. They took him away. We lived in Mymensingh, our area was full of Biharis, I think they could sense what was happening, and they targeted my father. Actually, it was a Bengali woman, a razakar, who came and called him. She came and said, so-and-so wants to talk to you. My father stepped out and found a group of Bihari men and women waiting for him. It was May 28, 1971.

My grandmother, it was her, my nanu who raised us. Her struggle was much greater. My mother? Oh, she was very young, only seventeen or eighteen, she hardly understood anything. She was forced to re-marry, this was later, in 1977 or 1978. She had no other choice.

For us kids it was a new experience, we had not seen a man before. My mama was five years older to me, he and my older brother, they were the only men in the house. My uncles came later but nanu didn’t like them, she was worried that they would take us away, put us to work on the farm, that we would have to give up our studies. My younger chacha had wanted to marry my mother but she didn’t agree to the proposal. She said, he was like a brother.

And in the middle of all this, here was this new man, we could tell that he was intimate with her. When he appeared, she was a different mother. Sometimes I think, did we deserve this? If my father had lived, life would have been very different.

By the time my mother gave birth to a daughter, that phase [her married life] was over. That little sister of ours was the most exciting thing that could have happened in our lives, she lit up our home, all our dreams centred around her. We couldn’t think of anything else. We didn’t want to.

But whenever we went to the village, people would say, she was born of your mother’s second marriage, wasn’t she? We hated the sound of those words. Of course, what they said was true, for them it was not unusual. They were just curious, they would keep asking us and I don’t blame them. But I hated it, bhaiya didn’t like it either. My sister? She was too young to understand. But how can you stop people talking, and so we stopped going to the village. We wouldn’t go, hardly ever.

Much later, right before my sister took her matric exams, we were forced to tell her. In a sense, she found out for herself. You see, her friends kept asking her, ‘But if you were born in 1971, how can you be this young?’

I guess we needed to grow older to come to terms with the truth.

‘A dirty nigger’. Racial prejudice and humiliation in the British Indian army
‘As a child, I remember hearing only idyllic stories of my father’s life in the British Indian army,’ writes novelist Amitav Ghosh, in a letter to historian Dipesh Chakrabarty.

But towards the end of his life, before he died in 1998, my father told me a very different story. During the siege of Imphal, he had turned away from the main battle to confront a South African officer who called him a ‘dirty nigger’. After this, other stories poured out, stories of deep-seated racism within the army, very different to the idyllic picture that Amitav had grown up with. He writes, why did my father (and, in some sense, all our fathers) avoid telling us these stories? Speaking of such things must have been difficult, he muses, especially because they were at odds with their vision of themselves as ‘high-caste, bhadra patriarchs’. He adds, what may seem to be mere instances of racism were not so, they represented the system itself. Western liberal thought, whether that of JS Mill, or Bentham, or any other nineteenth century British writer, is built on racism, writes Amitav.

His question is: if we reproduce these silences of history, are we denying or abetting in structures of exclusion and oppression?
Post-independence armies of South Asia

Did racism survive the departure of the white colonisers in 1947? Are post-independence armies of South Asia non-racial and hence, non-racist? Is it meaningful to talk of race and racial differences in our cultures?

East Pakistani (later Bangladeshi) scholars spoke of ethnic differences in racial terms. They said, Pakistan’s military commanders perpetuated the recruitment policies of their colonial masters. ‘Martial races’ – meaning Punjabis and Pathans – were over-represented in the national armed forces, whereas the majority Bengali population, and smaller minorities like the Baluchis and Sindhis, were largely excluded. Indian historians maintain, imperial institutions like the army and the civil service allowed particular forms of racist practices, because of their proximity to the ruling race. They also say, racism survived independence. The north-eastern provinces, known as the seven sisters, have been subjected to decades of racist oppression by successive Indian governments.

Is ethnic discrimination in Bangladesh racist? Educated paharis, who have suffered militarily, tell me that ‘ethnic discrimination’ as a term does not do justice to the horror of their experiences. I was speaking to a young woman whose father was hung upside down for days, and later died a broken man. And to a young pahari man who was detained for several weeks, and was severely traumatised because of what he was made to witness.

Family secrets can be state secrets. Our mothers and fathers need to tell us stories. We need to discover ways of talking about silenced histories. And about the silenced present.

First published in New Age 26th May 2008

Matiur Rahman Nizami

2008-05-30T10:10:00.005+06:00

MATIUR RAHMAN NIZAMI of Pabna district in the north-west of Bangladesh, is currently the secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami.

Nizami carried out a wide range of activities against the war of independence in 1971. At the time he was president of Jamaat’s youth front, the Islami Chattra Sangha (ICS, or Islamic Student’s Organisation). Under his direct supervision, and leadership, the Al-Badr force was set-up to eliminate freedom fighters. Nizami was the commander-in-chief of the Al-Badrs.

The principal aim of the Al-Badr, as a para-military force auxiliary to the Pakistan army, was to turn the Bangalee people into a populace, which would believe in Pakistan and the Islamic philosophy of life from a cultural and political viewpoint.

Leaders of the Al-Badr drew-up the blue-print for the murder of hundreds of Bangalee intellectuals across the country. On their orders, hundreds of such prominent men and women of letter and crafts were murdered throughout Bangladesh including Dhaka. Horrifying tales of these killings by the Al-Badr under Nizami’ s command have been published in many newspapers and journals at home and abroad.

Nizami exhorted his followers through speeches as well as articles in newspapers. In one such article in the party mouth-piece daily Sangram, he wrote, “The day is not far away when the young men of Al-Badr, side by side with the armed forces, will defeat the Hindu force (enemies) and raise the victorious banner of Islam all over the world, after the destroying the existence of India” (source: Daily Sangram,Nov. 14, 1971).

On April 12, 1971, Nizami joined Azam and other leading collaborators such as Khan A Sabur etc., to lead a procession in Dhaka to declare support for Pakistan. The procession, under the banner of the “Peace Committee”, ended with a special prayer for the survival of Pakistan (Daily Sangram, April 13, 1971).

In Jessore south-west of Dhaka, Nizami addressed para-military troops at the district headquarters of the Razakar force, and said, “In this hour of national crisis, it is the duty of every Razakar to carry out his national duty to eliminate those who are engaged in war against Pakistan and Islam” (Daily Sangram, Sept 15, 1971).

People in Nizami’s home district of Pabna have brought allegations of direct and indirect involvement in killings, rape, arson, looting etc.
One such person is Aminul Islam Dablu of Brishlika village under the Bera police station (in Bangladesh, all administrative units below the level of districts are organised under a police station, hence all sub-districts are called Thana, or PS). Dablu told the Commission that his father M Sohrab Ali was killed on the orders of Nizami. Dablu further said other people of the area, including Profulla Pramanik, Bhadu Pramanik, Manu Pramanik and Shashthi Pramanik were killed on Nizami’ s orders. He said there were several eyewitnesses to those killings.

Abdul Quddus, a freedom fighter from Madhabpur village in Pabna, once spent two weeks in an Al-Badr camp after being arrested. He witnessed plans being discussed and drawn-up by the Al-Badr men under supervision of Nizami, to carry out killings, arson, rape etc.
On Nov 26, a Razakar commander named Sattar guided Pakistani troops to the Dhulaupara village where 30 freedom fighters were subsequently killed. According to Quddus, Sattar carried out his activities under Nizami’s orders.

Quddus told the Commission he was able to attend a secret gathering of Al-Badr, which was also attended by Nizami who gave instructions about elimination of freedom fighters. In that meeting, houses of Awami League supporters and possible bases and safe-houses being used by freedom fighters were identified. Quddus said, Nizami gave orders to finish off Awami League supporters and destroy bases of the freedom fighters.

The day after the meeting, Al-Badr forces in cooperation with Razakars, surrounded the village of Brishlika and burnt it to the ground. Quddus said Nizami himself bayoneted to death one Bateswar Shaha in Madhabpur village, situated under Sathia PS, which is now part of the parliamentary constituency where Nizami won a seat in 1991 with a slender majority.

Similar allegations against Nizami was brought by M Shahjahan Ali of Madhabpur village. Ali was captured by Razakars along with several other freedom fighters. The Razakars then proceeded to torture the prisoners with bayonets, finally using long knives to slit their throats. Twelve freedom fighters were slaughtered in that manner, but Ali miraculously survived, although he has a deep scar along his throat and is permanently paralysed.

Ali said one prisoner was burnt alive after being doused with petrol. He said all these killings of prisoners were carried out on Nizami’s order.

REPORT ON THE FINDINGS OF
THE PEOPLE’S INQUIRY COMMISSION ON
THE ACTIVITIES OF THE WAR CRIMiNALS AND COLLABORATORS
Presented by Forum for Secular Bangladesh
-------------
Source: tritiomatra.wordpress.com

INDIAN MEDIA HIDE IT

2008-05-22T09:01:00.002+06:00

YEAR	Hindu Population of East Pak/BD Actual (9) (millions)	Expected Hindu Population in Absence of Strife (millions)	Refugees from E. Pakistan to India(8) (millions)	Hindus Missing (millions)
1941	11.766	-	-	-
1961	9.41	14.24	4.12(1947-58)	0.711
1974	9.65	13.23	1.11(1964-70)	2.477

Thus if 1947 partition had not resulted, the Hindu population of East Pakistan area should by 1961 have increased proportionally from 11.76 millions in 1941, to 14.24 millions (11.76 * 50.84 / 42 = 14.24). The official Indian Government records indicate that between 1947 and 1958, 4.12 million (Hindu) refugees crossed into India from East Bengal(3). This means the Hindu population in East Pakistan in 1961 should have been 10.12 million (14.24 - 4.12) compared to the actual 9.41 million. The missing 0.7 million Hindu population can be accounted by several hundred thousands killed in the riots in 1947 on the Bengal border, plus the refugee influx from 1958 to 1961. 1961.

Let us now look at Hindu population in East pakistan from 1961 to 1974. With proportional increase the Hindu population of 9.41 million in 1961 should have increased to 13.23 million ( 9.41 * 71.48 / 50.84 = 13.23 ) by 1974. However the actual Hindu population as per Bangla Desh Census data for 1974 was 9.65 million. Of the 3.58 million shortfall only 1.11 million can be accounted for since Government of India's record indicate that 1.11 million (Hindu) refugees crossed into India between 1964 and 1970 (3) i.e.PRIOR to the 1971 crisis.
THUS 2.47 MILLION (13.23 - 9.65 - 1.11 = 2.47) HINDUS FROM EAST PAKISTAN ARE UNACCOUNTED FOR FROM THE 1971 PAK ARMY REPRESSION.

OTHER PROOF FOR 2.4 MILLION HINDUS KILLED IN EAST PAKISTAN
Since the 80 percent of the refugees in 1971 were Hindus,a similar proportion of the dead are likely to be Hindus also. The official Bangla Desh government estimate puts the number of Bengalis killed at 3 million. 80 percent of 3 million put THE NUMBER OF HINDUS KILLED AT 2.4 MILLION which is close to the number of Hindus missing calculated comes above.
SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS

Independent accounts indicate that Hindus from East Pakistan were special target during the 1971 army repression. HINDU HOUSES WERE PAINTED WITH YELLOW "H"s, THEY WERE ROBBED OF THEIR LANDS AND SHOPS, AND THEY WERE SYSTEMATICALLY SLAUGHTERED.
80 percent of the refugees to India in 1971 were Hindus, THUS IT WAS A HINDU REFUGEE PROBLEM.
NEARLY 2.5 MILLION HINDUS WERE KILLED DURING THE 9 MONTHS OF PAKISTANI ARMY REPRESSION OF EAST PAKISTAN IN 1971. THUS IT WAS A HINDU SLAUGHTER IN 1971.
ALL THE ABOVE BEAR AN UNCANNY RESEMBLANCE TO THE PERSECUTION & HOLOCAUST OF JEWS BY THE NAZIS.
INDIAN GOVERNMENT CONTROLLED 'SECULAR' MEDIA DELIBERATELY HID THE SINISTER TRUTH OF HINDU GENOCIDE IN EAST PAKISTAN.
In any internal political problem of an Islamic country, Hindus (or minorities of other religions) become the scapegoats and will be liquidated at the first chance the Islamic Government gets.
WE HAVE LEARNT NOTHING FROM THE HISTORY AND WITH THE 'PSECULAR' MEDIA WE WILL LEARN NOTHING.

A GENOCIDE HIDDEN BY INDIAN MEDIA

2008-05-22T08:59:00.002+06:00

MOST OF THE REFUGEES FROM BANGLA DESH WERE HINDUS

Senator Edward Kennedy in his report gives following details about the the refugees from Bangla Desh in 1971. As of October 25, 1971, 9.54 million refugees from East Pakistan had crossed over to India. The average influx as of October 1971 was 10,645 refugees a day (3). Hence the total refugee population at the start of Bangla Desh war on December 3, 1971 was about 10 million (5).
Sen. Kennedy further mentions that Government of India had set up separate refugee camps for Hindus and Muslims where possible, i.e. refugee camps of Hindus were located in Hindu majority areas and similarly Muslim camps were located in Muslim majority areas. THE COMMUNAL REPRESENTATION OF REFUGEES WAS 80 PERCENT HINDU, 15 PERCENT MUSLIM AND 5 PERCENT CHRISTIAN AND OTHER (8).
This means that
8 MILLION OF THE 10 MILLION REFUGEES WERE HINDUS (8)
. Other fact that corroborates this is that when Sen. Kennedy had asked several Chief Relief officers in charge of refugee camps what was needed most urgently, their reply was "crematoriums".

THE MISSING 2 .5 MILLION HINDUS
Several agencies indicate that the brutal Pakistani army repression killed 3 million Bengalis. This estimate is even given by the Government of Bangla Desh (5). However no religious mix of the dead is easily available.
Let us therefore look at the population demographics for Bangla Desh which is given in Table I.
TABLE I
Source : Based on Information from Bangladesh Ministry of planning, Bureau of Statistics (9)

YEAR	Total Population in Millions	Hindu Population as % of Total	Hindu Population in Millions
1941	42.00	28.0	11.76
1961	50.84	18.5	9.41
1974	71.48	13.5^*	9.655
1981	87.13	12.2	10.633

* Encyclopedia Britannica (10) gives 13.5% figure for 1974, where as Government of Bangla Desh gives 13.5% for 1971 and total population of 71.48 million for 1974 (9).

Since Hindus and Muslims in Bangladesh have similar socio- economic and educational backgrounds, the birth and death rates for these two groups must be very similar. This means that the Hindu population must grow at the same pace as the total population growth rate. Hence any unusual drop must be accounted for by influx of Hindu refugees and mortality rate from non natural causes. The expected Hindu population, the emigration to India from E. Pakistan and actual populations are listed in Table II.

1971 Hindu Genocide in East Pakistan

2008-05-22T08:53:00.004+06:00

Hindu Genocide in East Pakistan

This article by Srinandan Vyas is deals with slaughter of about 2.5 million Hindus in East Pakistan in 1971. This article refers to information provided by Dept. of Planning of Government of Bangla Desh, Encyclopedia Britannica, Senator Edward Kennedy's report to the U.S Senate Judiciary Committee, Newsweek, New York Times,etc. This information and elementary math are used to show that indeed millions of Hindus were killed in East Pakistan in 1971.

ABSTRACT

It is well known that the 1971 army repression in Bangla Desh (former East Pakistan) resulted in an influx of 10 million refugees into India. Most world renowned relief and news agencies put the number of dead at 3 million. However the fact that is glossed over in these statistics is that THE ENTIRE HINDU POPULATION OF EAST PAKISTAN WAS THE PRIMARY TARGET OF PAKISTANI ARMY DURING THE 9 MONTHS OF REPRESSION IN 1971. Using the population statistics from Bangla Desh Government and US Government publications this article PROVES that 80 percent of the refugees from Bangla Desh were Hindus and that 80 percent of the 3 million killed were Hindus. THUS IT WAS A HINDU REFUGEE PROBLEM and IT WAS A HINDU GENOCIDE THAT TOOK PLACE IN EAST PAKISTAN IN 1971.

10 References - Encyclopedia Britannica, Bangla Desh Government - Ministry of Planning (for statistics), Newsweek, New York Times, Senator Edward Kennedy's report to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

INTRODUCTION

In the December 1970 general election in Pakistan, Awami League won 167 of 169 seats and over 80 % of popular votes in East Pakistan. Numerically Awami League had an absolute majority of seats in the Pakistan National Assembly (167 of the total 313 seats)(1). Historically, East Pakistan was allocated only 36 % of the total resources and East Pakistanis occupied only 20 % of the positions in the federal government in the United Pakistan (2). The Pakistani government's apathy towards East Pakistan after a terrible cyclone in November 1970 in which over 250,000 people died, had alienated East Pakistani people. The solid outcome of the 1970 elections for Awami League created an alternative power center for an already alienated people. The differences between the East and West Pakistani politicians snowballed into a major international crisis. On March 25, 1971 Pakistani army on President Yahya Khan's orders initiated a campaign of terror which was to last till its final surrender to the Indian army on December 17, 1971. This terror campaign by Pak army resulted in 10 million Bangla Deshi refugees crossing over to India (per Senator Edward Kennedy's report to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee (3)) and 3 million killed (4,5) based on reports from most relief agencies and official Bangla Desh government estimate. However the religious mix of both the refugees and the dead is nowhere emphasized anywhere. This significant information has particularly been absent in the reports from Indian News Media. This selective news dissemination has kept a more sinister truth of Hindu genocide in East Pakistan hidden from the world in general and Indians in particular.

HINDUS IN EAST PAKISTAN WERE SPECIAL TARGET OF PAK ARMY

In the summary of his report dated November 1, 1971 Senator Edward Kennedy writes (6): 'Field reports to the U.S. Government, countless eye-witness journalistic accounts, reports of International agencies such as World Bank and additional information available to the subcommittee document the reign of terror which grips East Bengal (East Pakistan). HARDEST HIT HAVE BEEN MEMBERS OF THE HINDU COMMUNITY WHO HAVE BEEN ROBBED OF THEIR LANDS AND SHOPS, SYSTEMATICALLY SLAUGHTERED, AND IN SOME PLACES, PAINTED WITH YELLOW PATCHES MARKED "H". All of this has been officially sanctioned, ordered and implemented under martial law from Islamabad. ..' (emphasis added by author of this article). Sydney Schanberg, pulitzer prize winning journalist (of 'Killing Fields') was New York Times correspondent in Dhaka in 1971 at the time of army repression and during the 1971 Bangla Desh war. In his syndicated column 'The Pakistani Slaughter That Nixon Ignored' Mr.Schanberg writes:

"I covered the war and witnessed first the population's joyous welcome of the Indian soldiers as liberators .. Later I toured the country by road to see the Pakistani legacy firsthand. In town after town there was an execution area where people had been killed by bayonet, bullet and bludgeon. In some towns, executions were held on a daily basis."

This was a month after the war's end (i.e. January 1972), ... human bones were still scattered along many roadsides. Blood stained clothing and tufts of human hair clung to the brush at these killing grounds. Children too young to understand were playing grotesque games with skulls. OTHER REMINDERS WERE THE YELLOW "H"s THE PAKISTANIS HAD PAINTED ON THE HOMES OF HINDUS, PARTICULAR TARGETS OF THE MUSLIM ARMY." (7) (emphasis added by the author of this article).

Thus two independent observations one dated prior to November 1, 1971 and other in January 1972 confirm that Hindu houses in East Pakistan were marked with yellow "H"s and that Hindus were particular targets of the Pakistani army. The situation thus bears an uncanny resemblance to the predicament of Jews targeted by Nazis from 1939 to 1944, with similar out come.

Thus two independent observations one dated prior to November 1, 1971 and other in January 1972 confirm that Hindu houses in East Pakistan were marked with yellow "H"s and that Hindus were particular targets of the Pakistani army. The situation thus bears an uncanny resemblance to the predicament of Jews targeted by Nazis from 1939 to 1944, with similar out come.

Books on 1971

2008-04-15T13:51:00.000+06:00

Download Now

Some Historic Photo

2008-03-25T23:18:00.005+06:00

The Bangladesh war of independence in 1971 was one of the bloodiest conflicts in living memory. In an attempt to crush forces seeking independence for what was then East Pakistan, the West Pakistani military regime unleashed a systematic campaign of violence that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Bangalis.
In 266 days Bangali, hill people and Adivasi resistance fighters and their allies defeated the military forces of Pakistan. The result was the birth of a new nation - Bangladesh - and the dismemberment of Pakistan.
It was only after the 16th of December 1971 when Pakistani troops surrendered in East Pakistan, that Bangladeshis began to realise the scale of the atrocities committed during the previous nine months.
1971 was a year of national and international crisis in South Asia. The history of Bangladesh is implicitly tied to the partition of India in 1947 and therefore the tragic events of 1971 are linked to Britain’s colonial past. For Bangladesh, ravaged by the war and subsequent political turmoil, it has been a difficult task to reconstruct its own history.

Women marching in the streets of Dhaka. 1971. © Rashid Talukder/Drik/Majority World

Dismembered head at the Rayerbajar Killing Fields where intellectuals were slaughtered on the 14th December 1971 © Rashid Talukder/Drik/Majority World

Pakistani soldiers surrendering on the 16th December 1971. © Aftab Ahmed/Drik/Majority World
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on his return to Bangladesh from Pakistan. 10th January 1972 © Rashid Talukder/Drik/Majority World

Children amidst shells. © Abdul Hamid Raihan/Drik/Majority World

Victorious Mukti Bahini returning home at the end of the war. © Jalaluddin Haider/Drik/Majority World
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Collected from: Shahidul News

Lance Naik Nur Mohammad Sheikh

2008-03-25T23:13:00.003+06:00

Martyr (Shaheed) Lance Naik Nur Mohammad Sheikh, BS

Born: 26 February 1936 in Moheskhali village under Jessore district. Enlisted in the East Pakistan Rifiles on 14 March 1959. Embraced martyrdom while engaging the enemy with fire for covering the extrication of fellow soldiers at Goalhati in Jessore district on September 5 1971. Nur Mohammad died fighting along but not before his compatriots were safe and he had inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy.

( 7 Bir Sreshtho, Hero)

Source: bd71.com

Flight Lieutenant M Matiur Rahman

2008-03-25T23:07:00.002+06:00

Martyr (Shaheed) Flight Lieutenant M Matiur Rahman, BS

Born: 21 February 1945 at Dhaka. Joined the Pakistan Air Force in August 1961 and commissioned in the GD(P) branch on 23 June 1963. Embraced martyrdom on August 20, 1971 in an attempt to join the Liberation War with a T-33 aircraft from Karachi Air Base which ultimately crashed.

( 7 Bir Sreshtho, Hero)

Source: bd71.com

Naik Munshi Abdur Rouf

2008-03-25T23:05:00.002+06:00

Martyr (Shaheed) Naik Munshi Abdur Rouf, BS

Born: May 1943 at village Salmat of Boalmari upazila under Faridpur district. Enlisted in ther East Bengal Regiment on 8 May 1963. Was attached with a regular infantry unit during War of Liberation. Embraced martyrdoms on 8 April 1971 at Burighat in Chittagong Hill Tracts after causing extensive damage to enemy's men and materials with his MG and forcing them to retreat.

( 7 Bir Sreshtho, Hero)

Source: bd71.com

Md. Ruhul Amin

2008-03-25T23:04:00.002+06:00

Martyr (Shaheed) Md. Ruhul Amin, BS

Born: At Bagpachra in the district of Noakhali in 1934. After completing his secondary education from Sunaimuri High School in 1949, he joined erstwhile Pakistan navy in 1951. During the Liberation Movement in 1971, he was serving as engineer officer in the appointment of ERA-1 in PNS comilla Gunboat under Chittagong Naval base. On 25th March 1971 , he left the pak navy and joined the Liberation war. Later on he joined the naval ship Poash A few days before the country was liberated his ship came under air strike on 10 December 1971 near Khulna shipyard. He foughr bravely to save his ship but was wounded severely and later on the embraced martyrdom. He was honoured with the highest gallantry award “Bir Srestha” for hiw courage, valour and dedication to the nation.

( 7 Bir Sreshtho, Hero)

Source: bd71.com

Sepoy Hamidur Rahman

2008-03-25T23:01:00.001+06:00

Martyr (Shaheed) Sepoy Hamidur Rahman, BS

Born: 2 February 1953 in Khardo Khalishpur village under jessore district. Joined the Army on 2nd February 1971 and enrolled in the corps of Infantry. Embraced martyrodom on 28 October 1971 at Dhalai in an attempt to capture the enemy position which finally fell to our advancing column.

( 7 Bir Sreshtho, Hero)

Source: bd71.com

Sepoy Mostafa Kamal

2008-03-25T22:58:00.004+06:00

Martyr (Shaheed) Sepoy Mostafa Kamal, BS

Born: 16 December 1947 in Hajipur village of Daulatikhan upazilla under Bhola district. Proud son of retired Havilder Habibur Rahman, Sepoy Mostafa embraced martyrdom on 18 April 1971 in a defensive battle against the enemy in Daruin village of Comilla. With unflinching courage and steadfastness, he inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy.

( 7 Bir Sreshtho, Hero)

Source: bd71.com

7 Hero - Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir

2008-03-25T22:52:00.002+06:00

Martyr (Shaheed) Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir, BS

Born: 1948 in the village of Rahimgonj under Babugonj upazilla of Barisal district. Commissioned in the corps of Engineers on June 1968 from Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul. Embraced martyrdom while breaking through enemy defence on the bank of river Mahananda. His bold initiative and aggressive leadership helped wipe out the last vestiges of enemy resistance and the position finally fell to our forces.

( 7 Bir Sreshtho, Hero)

Source: bd71.com

Nights and Days of Pakistani Butchers

2008-03-22T21:09:00.001+06:00

Reminiscing this bloody day after three decades!

By Abul Kasem

In 1971, I was a final year civil engineering student at EPUET (now BUET). We were about to graduate when the political turmoil in East Pakistan just got started. As we were preparing for our final examination, when suddenly, the university was closed due to the unrest all around us. This recount I am about to tell, would bring into the fore one more time the inhuman butchery and atrocities committed by the Pakistan army as I witnessed with my own eyes. This had been the most horrific experiences of my life and to put it mildly this had a profound impact on my views on religion and politics.

On the eve of 25th March, 1971, I was staying at Shere-e- Bangla Hall of EPUET. Just a few days before that the political problems engulfed East Pakistan as General Yahya steadfastly refused to accept the mandate of the people of East Pakistan for full autonomy. The students were on strike. Actually, it was the exam time and I was preparing for my final year examination as I said it before. However, due to the political unrest, the examination was withheld and many students had left the residential halls and went back home. I was, though, actively involved in student politics. Therefore, I decided to stay put in the hall so that should a need arises I shall be available to join the movement. A few days before the 25th March there were persistent rumours in the air that the talk between Mujib and General Yahya was not progressing well and that there was that possibility of a military crackdown looming over the horizon. However, the government media cleverly played down this rumour by insisting that the talks were fruitful. Some newspapers even suggested that General Yahya was prepared to hand over the power to a civilian government where both Bhutto and Mujib will have major roles. With those types of misleading information many people thought that at last the Bangalees will have a chance to taste their freedom after a sojourn of about thirteen years. But that did not happen. On the fateful night of 25th March,1971, the Pakistan army came out from the cantonment with fury to teach the Bangalees a lesson of their lifetime that they will never forget. And surely they did.

This is my very personal recount of the nights and days on and immediately after March 25, 1971.

I went to bed a bit early at around 9.00 at night. I was quite tired for the whole day and quickly I fell into my sleep. Suddenly at around 11.00 P.M, my deep slumber was disturbed by a the noise of a constant barrage of gunfire. At first, I thought that it must be the firecracker's by Bangalees to celebrate the victory. But soon I realised my mistake. I opened the window. It was very dark. Not even the dim streetlights were burning. But there I could barely see numerous military vehicles moving around with soldiers with theirs automatic rifles. Occasionally, I could see very bright searchlights mounted on some of the military trucks and jeeps. Many soldiers were running and shooting in the street. I saw a large convoy of military vehicles had surrounded the whole of the EPUET area. As far as my eyes could go, I could see military men all around the campus. I could even hear the army people talking loud in Urdu downstairs in our hall. I immediately knew what was going on. I thanked my lucky star that I switched off the room light before I went to bed. There was deafening noise from the machine gun and automatic rifles, which were not too far from where I stood. I just could not believe what was going on. I was alone in the room; there was nobody to comfort me on that fateful night. Being panic-struck, I started trembling and fell down on my bed.

Then, all on a sudden a hail of bullet shattered the nearby window. The bullets hit the ceiling and walls and then hit the floor. A thought passed through my mind. I knew I was going to die. Without thinking much I went under my bed as a protection against hitting by stray bullets. I lied on my chest and grabbed the floor as if that was my life. The firing continued incessantly for almost the whole night. Then suddenly there was a lull. No machine gun or rifle sound. I thought it was over. So I slowly came out from my hiding place and sat on my bed. I looked at my wristwatch. I could not see very well. It was 3.00 A.M or so, I guessed. Suddenly, there was an extremely loud noise and the whole area was brightly lit. I could not resist the curiosity. Through the shattered window pane what I saw was utterly unbelievable. I saw a military tank throwing fire on the slums (Bastee). The slum was just next to our halls and along the old railway track. I saw people running out of their hovels. As the slum dwellers came out to escape the fire, the Pakistani soldiers started to shoot them with a machine-gun that was mounted on a military truck. I could see only one truck with the machine gun near our hall. But I am sure there were many more on other sides as I could see the fires from these machine-guns dropping like August showers in the darkness of the spring night. It was a seen I have watched only in TV and movies on Vietnam wars. I could hear the desperate cry for help from those hapless victims. I closed the window as I thought that one of those bullets would be enough for me. I sat on the floor and suddenly realised that this is it. There was no escape for me.

Time passed and slowly the morning broke the silence of the eerie night. I could still see the military people from my window. I switched on my transistor radio on a very low volume to hear what was going on. The Dhaka Radio Station was dead. I switched to Calcutta . There was no mention of East Pakistan except that General Yahya Khan had left Dhaka after the final talks with Mujib. So I switched to Karachi. Now I got the news that I wanted to hear so desperately. There was a special announcement that General Yahya was going to speak to the nation. I heard him speaking. It was the voice of a heavily drunken person that one can tell. I cannot recall all that he said. But there were few words that I still remember to the letters. These words were "Mujib's act is an act of treason. He will not go unpunished." Yahya Khan ended by saying that Mujib will be tried by a special military tribunal. The news announced that Sheik Mujibur Rahman along with Dr. Kamal Hussain had been arrested and taken to West Pakistan for the trial. I also heard Bhutto saying that "Thank God. Pakistan was saved."

In the meanwhile the fire in the slum continued and I noticed a strange odor in the air. It took me sometime to figure out that it was indeed the smell of burning flesh. I did not hear any fire brigade siren or anything like that although there was a fire brigade office just next to our hall in Palashi. It was almost 8 o’clock in the morning and the fire slowly started to diminish after devouring the nearby shantytown. From my window I could see the tank moving out from our area. I again lied on my bed and started to search other radio stations for news. Suddenly, I heard mild knocking on my door. I froze. I felt that my blood circulation had suddenly stopped. In front of my eyes I saw nothing but white colour. I could not move from my bed. I just lay still. After a while there was another knock. Now it stroke my mind that if it was the army they will not wait for my response. They would simply burst open my door and start shooting. There must be some one else, I guessed. So, I went near the window close to the door and looked. I saw Monju, my next door neighbour crawling on his chest near my door. I gingerly opened a little of the door and asked him what was wrong. He whispered to me that something was wrong with his roommate, Ashraf. Monju asked me to follow him to his room. I opened the door silently and slowly crawled on my chest to Monju's room. I found Ashraf lying on the floor with eyes wide open but his mouth shut and he was vigorously shivering. There was water all over. I asked Monju why was there so much of water on the floor. Monju replied that it was not water. It was Ashraf's urine. He told me that Ashraf had urinated several times and now he (Ashraf) cannot talk. I called Ashraf very softly. He just stared at me but could not say anything. I knew what had happened. Ashraf had a nervous breakdown. I told Monju that we keep whispering to him that the military is gone and we are safe. Surprisingly, after whispering for about 15 to 20 minutes Ashraf started to murmur a few words. After a while he simply whispered, "Please, please, do not leave me." I told Ashraf that what ever happens the three of us will remain together. If we die we shall die together. This assurance from us made Ashraf slowly come back to normal. All of us were very hungry and thirsty. So we ate the stale bread and some water. Then we talked how each of us passed the dreaded night.

It was around midday and we found that all the military personnel had left our area. There was no sound of gunfire, no sound of military trucks or vehicles. In fact, there was an eerie unbearable silence all around the campus. No bus, no rickshaw, no car, hardly any people on the streets. We thought that it was our best opportunity to escape from the hall. We tuned to AIR and heard about the indefinite curfew in Dhaka. But we decided to escape no matter what happens even if that meant breaking the curfew and being shot at by the military. We decided that I shall go to Monju’s apartment at Azimpur Government quarters. Both Monju and Ashraf used to live at Azimpur quarters. I crawled back to my room, put on my shoes and grab my transistor radio. The three of us then slowly started to climb down the stairs hiding ourselves as much as we could.

We went to the ground floor. To our disappointment we found the entry/exit gate was locked. The guards had locked the gate and fled. Later on, we realised that that action by the hall guards actually had saved our lives. In frustration, we came back to our room on the second floor. Then we decided to go to 1st floor and jump from the balcony/verandah. At first, we thought of leaving the radios behind. Then we realised that the radio was the only means by which we could know what was going on in East Pakistan. The three of us then jumped in the garden. Luckily, the jump was a success. Then we quickly ran. While running across the hall compound we saw the gruesome scenes of killing by the Pakistani army. In Liaquat Hall (I suppose it is Titumeer Hall now, but I’m not sure) we saw plenty of blood and a dead body possibly the guard's. (Later, I learnt that four students were killed at Liaquat Hall.) We quickly ran to the Fire Brigade Centre in Palashi. The Centre was very close to our residential Hall. We thought of taking temporary refuge in Fire Brigade building before proceeding to Azimpur colony. There was a small mosque inside the Fire Brigade compound. I saw four dead bodies there. All were riddled with numerous bullet holes. The floor of the mosque was flooded with blood. I thought that some Fire Brigade people tried to take shelter in the mosque hoping that Pakistanis will not commit murder in a place of worship. But how wrong they were! We saw many other dead bodies on the compound of the Fire Brigade. Some dead bodies were inside the Fire Brigade trucks and ambulance. They took shelter inside these vehicles hoping to escape the onslaught. Most likely none of the Fire Brigade people survived. Then we arrived at the road that separates the Azimpur Colony from the Palashi. On the road we found many dead bodies scattered everywhere mainly of rickshaw pullers.

There was a high wall at the entry of the Azimpur Colony. We did not know what to do at that point. The curfew was on and if any army people saw us they surely will kill us. We had no choice but to jump over the wall. To our utter surprise we could jump over the wall and fell on the other side of the wall. I still do not know how I did that. May be our adrenaline was running high after all that happened to us. I am sure that if I have to jump that wall again, I shall surely fail.

After jumping inside the Azimpur colony we felt a little safer and we all heaved a great sigh of relief. Monju suggested that I go and stay with him. Ashraf was too nervous to say anything. So, firstly we escorted Ashraf to his quarter and then Monju and I headed towards Monju's quarter. When Monju’s father and mother saw us they simply hold us tight and started crying. We quickly went inside the bedroom and told our story. Monju’s father said that they were certain that Pakistani army had killed us as he had witnessed the army operation from the window. We realised how lucky we really were to be alive that fateful night. Monju’s mother prepared some food for us. We were extremely hungry. I finished all the food served to me. During this time we did not hear much gun shots in the local area of Azimpur. But we could hear the non-stop machine gun firing in the distance. We carefully opened a little bit of the window. All we saw was smoke and fire all around, a little away from Azimpur. We guessed that it was old Dhaka area possibly near the Buriganga river and Sadarghat. After the liberation, it was found that the killing and destruction done by the Pak military was one of the worst in the old Dhaka area. They have killed virtually each and every person in the Hindu dominated Shankari Patti in the Old Dhaka. The fire and smoke was so terrible that at night the whole sky was red. In the evening we ate some food and we tried to sleep. But none of us could hardly shut our eyelids. The whole night we searched the world on radio. At last we got the news from BBC of what was going on in East Pakistan. The Dhaka radio station was working again only playing mainly Urdu patriotic songs and Islamic verses. We were now sure that our dream of a free nation had suddenly vanished. The Pakistani army had captured us as slaves. The whole night we mostly talked about what would happen to the Bangalees since all our struggle was in vain. Finally, the morning came. At around 9 o’clock we heard in Dhaka radio that the curfew had been relaxed for six hours only. We found many people on the street. I suggested to Monju that I better go home and see if my family members were alive. As our house was in Nakhalpara (very close to cantonment and the airport), Monju, his father and mother were very reluctant that I should take the risk. However, after my constant insistence they let me go, but reminded me to return immediately to them if I had problem. Until today, I can never repay their debt. You can tell they were really so concerned about me.

So, I came open in the street. I found people and people all around me. No bus, no truck. Hardly any rickshaw plying the street. There were occasional cars and military vehicles with fierce looking soldiers and machine gun mounted trucks and jeeps. I asked some people where were they headed to. Most of them replied that they did not know. They simply wanted to leave the city and go to villages where they felt they would be safe. Many of them headed towards Sadarghat hoping that they could catch a steamer or a launch to go to villages. I also did not know what to do. Since there were no transport it would be very difficult for me to walk all the way to Nakhalpara. I thought of going back to Monju's place. Then I changed my mind when I found that thousands of people are walking, many of them bare footed and with nothing but their clothes on. So, I also started walking. Whatever happens to these people will also happen to me, I thought. The first place I came was Iqbal Hall (now Sergeant Zahurul Hall?). The scene I saw in Iqbal Hall was beyond any description, I swear! The whole area was like a battlefield. I knew that DUCSU VP Tofail Ahmed used to live there. There were holes on the walls created by mortar shells. Those holes were visible from afar. When I arrived at the playground of the Hall, I saw about 30 dead bodies all lined up for display to the public. Many of the dead bodies were beyond any recognition due to innumerable bullet holes on their faces. That was a gruesome sight. Many people started crying. My friend Jafar used to live in Iqbal hall. I did not see his dead body. Later, I learnt that his dead body was found in his bed. Needless to say, the displayed corpses were merely a small fraction of the students that Pak army had murdered in Iqbal Hall on that dreadful night. They simply displayed a few corpses to frighten and to break the morale of all Bangalees.

Anyway, I had to hurry along. I started to walk again and came to the central Shaheed Minar. I saw the entire Shaheed Minar was nothing but a heap of rubble. Many people could not believe what they saw. The army had totally destroyed the Shaheed Minar by using powerful explosives, I guessed. Amongst all the cruelties inflicted on the Bangalees that night, I think the destruction of the central Shaheed Minar was the cruelest of all. I noticed some blood on the smooth and shiny floor of Shaheed Minar. But I did not see any dead body. May be the Pak army decided to remove the corpses from the street area so that their movement won’t be affected. I really cried when I saw the Shaheed Minar. Even the displayed corpses at Iqbal Hall could not bring tears to my eyes and make me cry. But I could not hold my tears when I saw the corpse of the Shaheed Minar. The shock was much too much for me.

I started to walk again and came to Jagannath Hall. The entire Jagannath Hall compound was like another battlefield. I saw the footprints of tractor vehicles. There were huge holes on the walls of the Jagannath Hall. I guessed that the army had used tanks in Jagannath Hall. In front of the Jagannath Hall lawn I saw a huge mass grave. The grave was so fresh and shallow that we could see some half buried corpse. Some hands and feet protruding from under the soil due to the consolidation of soil, I guess. It was a grotesque scene, to put it mildly. I do not know how many people were buried there. Judging from the size of the grave, my guess was at least a few hundreds. After the liberation of Bangladesh many of us have seen the video footage of this brutality of the Pak army. The video was taken secretly by a brave EPUET (now BUET) professor from the window of his apartment

By the side of Jagannath hall there was a small narrow road. On the side of this road and on behind the back of Rokeya Hall there were a large number of washermen (dhopa) who used to live in small quarters with their families. Their number could be around 50 or more. I found that Pak army had burnt down the entire area. I could see the charred bodies of children and adults still in the burnt bed. On the side of the dhopa quarter and by the side of the road, I saw another freshly dug shallow mass grave. I could see the feet and hands of children and adults sticking out from the grave trying to tell the entire world what did happen to them. All people who passed by saw this terrible sight and shook their heads in utter disbelief.

After a long and tiring walk, I came to Shahbag Hotel (now IPGMR). The building (hotel) was intact. I looked at Dhaka Radio Station. No sign of devastation. Although, there was heavy military guards including tanks and armoured vehicles around the radio station. There was no damage to Inter-Continental Hotel (now Sheraton Dhaka). Then I came to the office of the daily newspaper 'The People.’ My friend Obaid was a sub-editor with the 'People.’ Naturally I went to find his whereabouts. What I saw was disbelieving. The entire office of the 'People' along with a few more shop houses was burnt to ashes. The place was still smoldering. When I went a little closer. I saw many dead bodies burnt like charcoal. They were absolutely unrecognisable. Only the shape says that they were human. The area was filled with the smell of burnt flesh (like barbecue smell). I do not know the fate of Obaid. But until today I never heard anything about him. So I assume that he was burnt alive in that inferno.

I came out from the ruins of the 'People.’ As I was walking past the fashionable Sakura Restaurant (I am not sure if the restaurant is still in business or not) a car suddenly stopped near me. I was astonished to see my father, mother, and sisters all inside the car. My mother and sisters were weeping. My father asked me to get inside the car. My mother simply hugged me and started to cry loudly. I asked my father what had happened. My father said they were simply fortunate to be alive. Then he told me that we were all going to Dhanmondi to stay with our grandfather. My mother told me that she never expected to see me again as they heard that the army had killed each and every student in the residential halls.

Soon we arrived at my grand father's house. My grandfather was simply happy to see us alive. We ate some food. Then my mother narrated their fateful night of the 25th March.

So this was how it happened at our home on March 25, 1971. The recount was based on what I did hear from my mother.

Round about midnight everyone in our house woke up with noises of heavy vehicles, people marching on boots, loud shouting, bright lights and some more gunfire. At first they erroneously believed that it must be a victory celebration. That was because just before every one went to sleep, there were rumours that Yahya Khan had agreed to transfer power to Mujib. However, when my folks opened the window they couldn’t believe what they saw. It was shocking to see that the entire Nakhalpara area had been cordoned off by armoured military trucks. The soldiers with rifles and machine guns were running all over the place. Also, there were very bright searchlights all around. My family also noticed jeeps mounted with machine guns very close to our house. Naturally everyone was frightened. Being nervous my mother started praying without loosing any time. A few minutes later they heard a loud banging in our front door. They were at loss not knowing what to do. My father picked up the courage and opened the entrance door. Four soldiers with pointed rifle immediately entered our lounge. They asked everyone to line up in the lounge. So, my father, my younger brother, my brother in-law, my four sisters, nephew and niece and my mother all obliged by lining up in the crammed space. All of them were shivering in hot March night. Then one of the soldiers separated the males from the females. The males were ordered to remain in the lounge. All the females including my mother were ordered in the bedroom nearby. At that stage my mother started crying and fell down on the knees of the soldiers for their mercy. The soldiers simply dragged her to the bedroom. One soldier guarded the males while the other guarded the female quarter. The two other soldiers then started ransacking each and every item in every room including the food in the kitchen. They even examined the newspapers and other documents even though they did not understand a single word of Bangla.

One of the soldiers then found the shotgun that my father had always had with him. I have seen that shot gun since my birth. It was licensed and completely legal. I have seen my father going for hunting with his favourite shotgun every once in a while when time permits. The soldier who found the shotgun came immediately to the male captives. He demanded to know whose shotgun was that. My father calmly replied in broken Urdu that he was the lawful owner of the gun. The soldier then pointed his automatic rifle at my father and ordered him to follow him downstairs. My father knew that he had only a few minutes to live. At that stage my younger brother stood between the rifle and my father and requested the soldier that he wants to accompany my father. The soldier became furious at the insolence shown by my brother. The soldier threw my brother on the floor and started pushing my father with his rifle towards the exit door. My father then requested the soldier to look at the license of the shotgun. But alas, the soldier could neither read nor understand the English language. So the soldier said that he had to call his officer. Another army man was called to guard while he went outside looking the for the officer.

After about fifteen minutes the soldier returned with the officer. My father was not sure what was the rank of the officer. Thank God! The officer was not as brute as the lower ranking jawan. The officer showed little bit of courtesy for my elderly father. He asked my father to take a seat so that he could examine the document. After a thorough examination the officer then asked my father why he had not surrendered his weapon to police station. My father replied that there was no directive to that effect. The officer then rebuked my father for being so stupid to keep the weapon in the house when there were so many miscreants in the area. My father agreed with him and asked for his forgiveness. The officer then said that my father's life will be spared but they will have to confiscate the shotgun. Then he started interrogating every one on various matters including our religion and political affiliation. My father became the spokesman. He answered what the army men wanted to hear. That we are all Muslims and we have no connection with the Awami League or any pro-freedom party etc., etc.

The officer then asked my father how many sons he had. My father replied two. He inquired about the whereabouts of his sons. My younger brother identified himself. He told the officer that he had finished his HSC and waiting to go to EPUET (now BUET). The officer then asked my father about me. My father replied that I was about to graduate from EPUET. The army officer then demanded to know why I was not at home. At that point my father could guess the real reason these army people are barging into our home. He carefully said that I was very studious and I preferred to study with my friends. So I did not come home for a few days. The army officer then started to note down all the details about me and told my father that as soon as I returned home he (my father) must contact him through telephone. I was simply lucky that my father did not disclose the University residential hall that I was staying. The officer then warned my father not to leave our house as they may come to investigate again. My father said no problem. Throughout this ordeal, my brother-in-law did not talk much because he was actively involved in NAP politics!

When the interrogation of the male members was complete the officer then entered the bedroom to view his female captives. Needless to say, my mother feared what might happen to her daughters. My eldest sister was a schoolteacher. My next two sisters were college going and only my youngest sister was still in her childhood. My mother was so hysterical that she kneeled down to the two soldiers and begged them that whatever they wanted to do let them take her daughters out of her sight. The soldiers were simply laughing and taunting my mother and sister with abusive language and accusing them of being pro Awami League. They told my sisters that very soon they would take them to cantonment. At that stage my eldest sister picked up some courage and told them in pidgin (in broken) Urdu that they cannot simply do that without a warrant of arrest.

The soldiers laughed heartily hearing the response from my sister and said that they were not police. They were army and they could do whatever they wanted. Luckily, at that point the army officer entered the bedroom. My sister asked the army officer why they were being harassed. The officer told my sister that he had information that there were many miscreants in our area. Their duty was to catch these miscreants and take them to cantonment for punishment. He then told my sister that he had found us very gentle, polite and cooperative and so he will let all of us go free this time. But he wanted to let everyone know that they will come again. At last he showed some respect to my mother by apologising to her and saying good bye to her in chost Urdu. But before the officer departed he whispered something to his recruits. The two soldiers then forced my elder sister to open the steel Almirah (Safety box) . They took all the money and the jewelry that were there for safekeeping. Thus, in a hurry we lost most of our valuables.

After almost 36 hours the curfew was lifted for 6 hours. My family members heard the wailing sound of bereavement all around the area. The Pakistan army had taken many people from Nakhalpara area to cantonment that night. Most of those taken were young students. It was a sheer miracle that my family members were spared. None were taken to the cantonment. It is not known how many of those unfortunate people lost their lives because until today their whereabouts are not known. Be that as it may, most of them never returned home. All the residents of Nakhalpara realised that the area was absolutely unsafe to stay. Therefore, most residents left Nakhalpara almost barefooted with only the clothes they were wearing. My family also followed the suit. They also left Nakhalpara immediately after the curfew was lifted. From grapevine we heard that Dhanmondi was a safe area. So we went to our grandpa's house over there in to seek refuge and secrecy. A few days later we heard the dreadful news from Chittagong. Two of my uncles were killed in Agrabad Railway colony in a military operation similar to the one the army did in Nakhalpara operation. The army call those "Mop Up Operation." To us, the Bangalees those operation was akin to serving the death notice or something similar to that.

After few weeks my younger brother secretly ventured to Nakhalpara to see in his own eyes the condition of our homestead. To his horror he found that everything including a bag of rice had been removed or stolen. So we became destitute right away. But that did hardly dampened our spirit. We knew we were not alone in this struggle. Life became Durbishoho (I can’t find an appropriate synonym in English). It was an struggle every day for the rest of the nine-month period.

For the last 29 years I have always wondered why the army had targeted our house and our family. It had always been a mystery to me. Now I have some clue to that question after such a long period of time. Ashrafuzzaman Khan (the then member of the central committee of the Islami Chatra Sangha ) used to live at Nakhalpara. This piece of information I got from the Internet.

As I write this re-count, I learnt that 100 new 'killing fields' have been discovered all around Bangladesh. Was I surprised? No, not at all! However, what surprised me the most was why did it take so long? Why did we have to wait almost 30 years to know that innocent folks were butchered just as cattle? Rest assured that many more killing fields will be found. The killing fields of Cambodia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan, etc., will be nothing when compared to the killing fields in Bangladesh. Let us not forget these killing fields. Let us not forget the sacrifice of 3 million people who shed enough blood to change the verdure of monsoon drenched land of Bengal. They certainly gave their lives so that we can enjoy the fruits of freedom. Freedom from the tyranny of Punjabi masters and Pakistani Oligarchy. I would ask every Bangalees not to forget the butchers of those nights and days when we remember the fallen angels of our land. The crime should never go unpunished.
------------------------------
Abul Kasem writes from Australia. Any comments should be directed at - abul88@hotmail.com
Source

More Picture

2008-03-22T21:02:00.002+06:00

An another poster on 1971

Dead body found on Jessore Road.

Torture Cells

2008-03-22T20:59:00.001+06:00

Sathkhira

No of torture cells: 1. Star Diamond Hotel torture cell 2. Mahmudpur at Alipur 3. Benerpota 4. Patkelghat at Tala 5. Bakal 6. Jhaudanga
Star Diamond Hotel torture cell (now the Pubali Bank building)
Key perpetrators:1. Major Abdullahel Baki 2. Major Khaled Mukit 3. major Khaleq 4.Zummon Shaokat 5. Gafur
People killed: 1. Roknuz Zaman 2. Kabir Ahmed Ansar 3. Khalilur Rahman 4. Nazrul Islam (Dhulihar)
Martyred Freedom Fighters: Nazrul Abedin Khoka, Samsuz Zoha Kajol, Sheikh Harunur rashid, Safed Ali

Tales of the tortured

Many women who participated actively in the 1971 war were arrested and kept in camps experiencing inhuman conditions. Rape, torture and in many cases death was common in those camps. We tell the stories of two women participants who were subjected extreme nature of abuse and brutality. To protect the privacy of these women, we have changed their identities.
Adila Begum
When the Pakistan army cracked down in Dhaka we were angry but not scared. We belonged to a family of politicians and our eldest brother was a Chhatra League leader in the Comilla city. He came home a few nights after that and told our family to prepare to fight in the resistance army. He said that the army had already moved close along the Gumti river. There were 19 of us from the same bari and we began to train to fight alongside our brothers. The first fight took place in Burichong thana and we suffered heavy casualties. Our weapons were not good enough to fight the Pakistan army guns. Some of us were cut off from the main group and we ran to hide through the swampy area. We found some derelict huts that night and stayed in them. Three days later we skirted the area and tried to return home but found that the army had attacked our home. I later learned that my brother and two of my cousins were killed. I finally made it after almost a month moving from place to place with my younger brother and cousin along with some other refugees. Till the middle of April, life was relatively simple, but things got worse when the local leaders began to talk about raising "village defenders." Actually the idea was not bad because the defenders -- who were later called razakars -- were local people and we knew them all. They were the poor villagers who had no work so this new job made them better off. They didn't bother us, but once the Pakistan army declared prizes for catching Muktis, these razakars became greedy and started to demand money from us, threatening to tell the Pakistan army if we did not pay.

After a month we became so scared that my father sent my sister and me to Comilla town. We were going towards a relative's house when the army began to stop all rickshaws and check them. Suddenly two men were running through the street and the army fired at them. Both were hit. We became so scared that we also started to run and there was complete chaos. I fell down and hit my head. When I regained my senses, I realised I was being slapped by a Khansena. They dragged me and two others into a truck and we were taken to the military camp. From the very first day they thought I was also a freedom fighter and beat me up. I don't know why they didn't kill me because they did everything else. There were several girls like me in the camp and we were regularly tortured. Then they thought that it was much better to let me cook and clean. I became their servant. They wouldn't let me wash or clean myself and I smelt foul. I cooked -- lal kumra and lau and bhat -- for other Bengalis. They ate chapati and I made tons of them. Even now, years later, I can't make chapatis, and seeing them makes me sick.

One day an officer came and without saying anything started to beat me up. Maybe being raped would have been better because hours later when I regained consciousness, I had found that I had lost so many of my teeth and my forehead was bleeding. The scars are still there. I later learnt his best friend had been killed in a fight. Next day I was dragged out and made to clean ditches and then prepare chapatis. I taught myself one thing -- that was not to think of my family or what would happen the next day. If I did I would have gone mad. So slowly the faces faded from memory. I think it helped me survive.

When winter came, a Pakistani soldier told me that war was imminent. He also said that they would be gone soon and I would be free. The he did something strange. He searched me including my private parts looking for hidden gold. He must have been mad to think I still had gold with me after all this time.

But war did come and one day we heard them leave. Before they left they killed a few prisoners, but expecting this some of us hid outside. It was almost a full day before the Indians came, but we were so scared and stupid we didn't go out. Even the Indians didn't know we were there, a few of us. They freed us and gave us food. I first took a bath, cleaned my body properly of blood and dirt, and went home. The nightmare of being a woman in a camp has imprisoned me ever since then.

Hanufa Khatun

We knew the Pakistan army would attack ordinary people. When the army crossed the river and slowly began to take over the towns, resistance began to give away and the partisans began to retreat. We were caught in a vicious circle. If we crossed the border, the Indian army might kill us for being Leftists, and if we stayed back the Pakistanis could kill us. But after a fight with the Pakistanis that we lost we
retreated into the remote areas and hills. There we tended the wounded including my husband who had taken a bullet in his arm. When several others also became very ill and no medical help was found, I with another woman decided to go to the city to find a doctor. Just as we were entering the city, we were recognised by a group of collaborators who hated us for being women activists and grabbed us. My friend managed to run but they caught my sari and I couldn't escape. Yet I was caught because these people hated my husband and his family. I was not political myself and I think I was caught because they couldn't get my husband. I had returned only to help heal my husband but they said I had fought in the resistance war.
The gang members, all of whom belonged to the Islamic parties, first raped me and then left me tied up. I thought I was going to die, but I didn't. It was so strange to feel that way, as if my body belonged to someone else, as if another person had been raped. I didn't feel a thing that day. It was next day that it began to hurt all over. Such pain that I screamed like a butchered animal and my captors came and beat be some more. I bled again and blanked out. After two days, I was taken to a Pakistan army camp. My captors told the army that I had fought against them, but I was bleeding and I fell to the ground and fainted. I think the Pakistani officers didn't believe them and I was later surprised to find one of them beaten up too. I got my first meal -- some bread and water -- after that I realised that I was a prisoner.

I was made to do a lot of menial work, but nobody questioned me. I saw many local boys in the camp including some that had fought in the resistance. Sometimes in the evening, shots were fired. They said we were being killed.

One of the women in the camp was the wife of a college teacher who had been killed and knew me. Her husband was a teacher of Islamic studies. She herself could speak Arabic and Urdu. The Pakistanis soon found that out and used her to talk to the prisoners to find out if India was helping us or not. One day she read the Quran to them and after that there was an argument about whether it was right to keep her inside. Finally they decided to let her go and she said that she wouldn't leave without me. These soldiers didn't know anything about my husband's politics and the captors had been discredited so her words helped me. I was released.

When I reached home I found that my husband had died soon after my capture and so I left with my brother-in-law for India. We stayed as refugees and then through the party channel reached Kolkata. When I returned in January, my brother-in-law got into trouble again, and our family had to flee once more.

Courtesy Afsan Chowdhury from his forthcoming
book on the Liberation War.
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Muktodhara

Who was responsible?

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"For month after month in all the regions of East Pakistan the massacres went on," writes Robert Payne. "They were not the small casual killings of young officers who wanted to demonstrate their efficiency, but organized massacres conducted by sophisticated staff officers, who knew exactly what they were doing. Muslim soldiers, sent out to kill Muslim peasants, went about their work mechanically and efficiently, until killing defenseless people became a habit like smoking cigarettes or drinking wine. ... Not since Hitler invaded Russia had there been so vast a massacre." (Payne, Massacre, p. 29.)
There is no doubt that the mass killing in Bangladesh was among the most carefully and centrally planned of modern genocides. A cabal of five Pakistani generals orchestrated the events: President Yahya Khan, General Tikka Khan, chief of staff General Pirzada, security chief General Umar Khan, and intelligence chief General Akbar Khan. The U.S. government, long supportive of military rule in Pakistan, supplied some \\$3.8 million in military equipment to the dictatorship after the onset of the genocide, "and after a government spokesman told Congress that all shipments to Yahya Khan's regime had ceased." (Payne, Massacre, p. 102.)

The genocide and gendercidal atrocities were also perpetrated by lower-ranking officers and ordinary soldiers. These "willing executioners" were fuelled by an abiding anti-Bengali racism, especially against the Hindu minority. "Bengalis were often compared with monkeys and chickens. Said Pakistan General Niazi, 'It was a low lying land of low lying people.' The Hindus among the Bengalis were as Jews to the Nazis: scum and vermin that [should] best be exterminated. As to the Moslem Bengalis, they were to live only on the sufferance of the soldiers: any infraction, any suspicion cast on them, any need for reprisal, could mean their death. And the soldiers were free to kill at will. The journalist Dan Coggin quoted one Punjabi captain as telling him, 'We can kill anyone for anything. We are accountable to no one.' This is the arrogance of Power." (Rummel, Death By Government, p. 335.)

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Source: gendercide.org

How many died?

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The number of dead in Bangladesh in 1971 was almost certainly well into seven figures. It was one of the worst genocides of the World War II era, outstripping Rwanda (800,000 killed) and probably surpassing even Indonesia (1 million to 1.5 million killed in 1965-66). As R.J. Rummel writes,

The human death toll over only 267 days was incredible. Just to give for five out of the eighteen districts some incomplete statistics published in Bangladesh newspapers or by an Inquiry Committee, the Pakistani army killed 100,000 Bengalis in Dacca, 150,000 in Khulna, 75,000 in Jessore, 95,000 in Comilla, and 100,000 in Chittagong. For eighteen districts the total is 1,247,000 killed. This was an incomplete toll, and to this day no one really knows the final toll. Some estimates of the democide [Rummel's "death by government"] are much lower -- one is of 300,000 dead -- but most range from 1 million to 3 million. ... The Pakistani army and allied paramilitary groups killed about one out of every sixty-one people in Pakistan overall; one out of every twenty-five Bengalis, Hindus, and others in East Pakistan. If the rate of killing for all of Pakistan is annualized over the years the Yahya martial law regime was in power (March 1969 to December 1971), then this one regime was more lethal than that of the Soviet Union, China under the communists, or Japan under the military (even through World War II). (Rummel, Death By Government, p. 331.)

The proportion of men versus women murdered is impossible to ascertain, but a speculation might be attempted. If we take the highest estimates for both women raped and Bengalis killed (400,000 and 3 million, respectively); if we accept that half as many women were killed as were raped; and if we double that number for murdered children of both sexes (total: 600,000), we are still left with a death-toll that is 80 percent adult male (2.4 million out of 3 million). Any such disproportion, which is almost certainly on the low side, would qualify Bangladesh as one of the worst gendercides against men in the last half-millennium.

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Source: gendercide.org

Atrocities against Bengali women

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As was also the case in Armenia and Nanjing, Bengali women were targeted for gender-selective atrocities and abuses, notably gang sexual assault and rape/murder, from the earliest days of the Pakistani genocide. Indeed, despite (and in part because of) the overwhelming targeting of males for mass murder, it is for the systematic brutalization of women that the "Rape of Bangladesh" is best known to western observers.

In her ground-breaking book, Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape, Susan Brownmiller likened the 1971 events in Bangladesh to the Japanese rapes in Nanjing and German rapes in Russia during World War II. "... 200,000, 300,000 or possibly 400,000 women (three sets of statistics have been variously quoted) were raped. Eighty percent of the raped women were Moslems, reflecting the population of Bangladesh, but Hindu and Christian women were not exempt. ... Hit-and-run rape of large numbers of Bengali women was brutally simple in terms of logistics as the Pakistani regulars swept through and occupied the tiny, populous land ..." (p. 81).

Typical was the description offered by reporter Aubrey Menen of one such assault, which targeted a recently-married woman:

Two [Pakistani soldiers] went into the room that had been built for the bridal couple. The others stayed behind with the family, one of them covering them with his gun. They heard a barked order, and the bridegroom's voice protesting. Then there was silence until the bride screamed. Then there was silence again, except for some muffled cries that soon subsided. In a few minutes one of the soldiers came out, his uniform in disarray. He grinned to his companions. Another soldier took his place in the extra room. And so on, until all the six had raped the belle of the village. Then all six left, hurriedly. The father found his daughter lying on the string cot unconscious and bleeding. Her husband was crouched on the floor, kneeling over his vomit. (Quoted in Brownmiller, Against Our Will, p. 82.)

"Rape in Bangladesh had hardly been restricted to beauty," Brownmiller writes. "Girls of eight and grandmothers of seventy-five had been sexually assaulted ... Pakistani soldiers had not only violated Bengali women on the spot; they abducted tens of hundreds and held them by force in their military barracks for nightly use." Some women may have been raped as many as eighty times in a night (Brownmiller, p. 83). How many died from this atrocious treatment, and how many more women were murdered as part of the generalized campaign of destruction and slaughter, can only be guessed at.

Despite government efforts at amelioration, the torment and persecution of the survivors continued long after Bangladesh had won its independence:

Rape, abduction and forcible prostitution during the nine-month war proved to be only the first round of humiliation for the Bengali women. Prime Minister Mujibur Rahman's declaration that victims of rape were national heroines was the opening shot of an ill-starred campaign to reintegrate them into society -- by smoothing the way for a return to their husbands or by finding bridegrooms for the unmarried [or widowed] ones from among his Mukti Bahini freedom fighters. Imaginative in concept for a country in which female chastity and purdah isolation are cardinal principles, the "marry them off" campaign never got off the ground. Few prospective bridegrooms stepped forward, and those who did made it plain that they expected the government, as father figure, to present them with handsome dowries. (Brownmiller, Against Our Will, p. 84.)
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Source: gendercide.org

Systematic mass slaughter

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Robert Payne describes scenes of systematic mass slaughter around Dacca that, while not explicitly "gendered" in his account, bear every hallmark of classic gender-selective roundups and gendercidal slaughters of non-combatant men:

Bengali intellectuals murdered and dumped at dockside in Dacca.In the dead region surrounding Dacca, the military authorities conducted experiments in mass extermination in places unlikely to be seen by journalists. At Hariharpara, a once thriving village on the banks of the Buriganga River near Dacca, they found the three elements necessary for killing people in large numbers: a prison in which to hold the victims, a place for executing the prisoners, and a method for disposing of the bodies. The prison was a large riverside warehouse, or godown, belonging to the Pakistan National Oil Company, the place of execution was the river edge, or the shallows near the shore, and the bodies were disposed of by the simple means of permitting them to float downstream. The killing took place night after night. Usually the prisoners were roped together and made to wade out into the river. They were in batches of six or eight, and in the light of a powerful electric arc lamp, they were easy targets, black against the silvery water. The executioners stood on the pier, shooting down at the compact bunches of prisoners wading in the water. There were screams in the hot night air, and then silence. The prisoners fell on their sides and their bodies lapped against the shore. Then a new bunch of prisoners was brought out, and the process was repeated. In the morning the village boatmen hauled the bodies into midstream and the ropes binding the bodies were cut so that each body drifted separately downstream. (Payne, Massacre [Macmillan, 1973], p. 55.)

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Source: gendercid.org

The gendercide against Bengali men

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The war against the Bengali population proceeded in classic gendercidal fashion. According to Anthony Mascarenhas, "There is no doubt whatsoever about the targets of the genocide":

They were: (1) The Bengali militarymen of the East Bengal Regiment, the East Pakistan Rifles, police and para-military Ansars and Mujahids. (2) The Hindus -- "We are only killing the men; the women and children go free. We are soldiers not cowards to kill them ..." I was to hear in Comilla [site of a major military base] [Comments R.J. Rummel: "One would think that murdering an unarmed man was a heroic act" (Death By Government, p. 323)] (3) The Awami Leaguers -- all office bearers and volunteers down to the lowest link in the chain of command. (4) The students -- college and university boys and some of the more militant girls. (5) Bengali intellectuals such as professors and teachers whenever damned by the army as "militant." (Anthony Mascarenhas, The Rape of Bangla Desh [Delhi: Vikas Publications, 1972(?)], pp. 116-17.)

Mascarenhas's summary makes clear the linkages between gender and social class (the "intellectuals," "professors," "teachers," "office bearers," and -- obviously -- "militarymen" can all be expected to be overwhelmingly if not exclusively male, although in many cases their families died or fell victim to other atrocities alongside them). In this respect, the Bangladesh events can be classed as a combined gendercide and elitocide, with both strategies overwhelmingly targeting males for the most annihilatory excesses.

Younger men and adolescent boys, of whatever social class, were equally targets. According to Rounaq Jahan, "All through the liberation war, able-bodied young men were suspected of being actual or potential freedom fighters. Thousands were arrested, tortured, and killed. Eventually cities and towns became bereft of young males who either took refuge in India or joined the liberation war." Especially "during the first phase" of the genocide, he writes, "young able-bodied males were the victims of indiscriminate killings." ("Genocide in Bangladesh," in Totten et al., Century of Genocide, p. 298.) R.J. Rummel likewise writes that "the Pakistan army [sought] out those especially likely to join the resistance -- young boys. Sweeps were conducted of young men who were never seen again. Bodies of youths would be found in fields, floating down rivers, or near army camps. As can be imagined, this terrorized all young men and their families within reach of the army. Most between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five began to flee from one village to another and toward India. Many of those reluctant to leave their homes were forced to flee by mothers and sisters concerned for their safety." (Death By Government, p. 329.) Rummel describes (p. 323) a chilling gendercidal ritual, reminiscent of Nazi procedure towards Jewish males: "In what became province-wide acts of genocide, Hindus were sought out and killed on the spot. As a matter of course, soldiers would check males for the obligated circumcision among Moslems. If circumcised, they might live; if not, sure death."

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Source: gendercid.org

Genocide in Bangladesh, 1971

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Summary

The mass killings in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) in 1971 vie with the annihilation of the Soviet POWs, the holocaust against the Jews, and the genocide in Rwanda as the most concentrated act of genocide in the twentieth century. In an attempt to crush forces seeking independence for East Pakistan, the West Pakistani military regime unleashed a systematic campaign of mass murder which aimed at killing millions of Bengalis, and likely succeeded in doing so.

The background

East and West Pakistan were forged in the cauldron of independence for the Indian sub-continent, ruled for two hundred years by the British. Despite the attempts of Mahatma Gandhi and others to prevent division along religious and ethnic lines, the departing British and various Indian politicians pressed for the creation of two states, one Hindu-dominated (India), the other Muslim-dominated (Pakistan). The partition of India in 1947 was one of the great tragedies of the century. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed in sectarian violence and military clashes, as Hindus fled to India and Muslims to Pakistan -- though large minorities remained in each country.

The arrangement proved highly unstable, leading to three major wars between India and Pakistan, and very nearly a fourth fullscale conflict in 1998-99. (Kashmir, divided by a ceasefire line after the first war in 1947, became one of the world's most intractable trouble-spots.) Not the least of the difficulties was the fact that the new state of Pakistan consisted of two "wings," divided by hundreds of miles of Indian territory and a gulf of ethnic identification. Over the decades, particularly after Pakistani democracy was stifled by a military dictatorship (1958), the relationship between East and West became progressively more corrupt and neo-colonial in character, and opposition to West Pakistani domination grew among the Bengali population.

Catastrophic floods struck Bangladesh in August 1970, and the regime was widely seen as having botched (or ignored) its relief duties. The disaster gave further impetus to the Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The League demanded regional autonomy for East Pakistan, and an end to military rule. In national elections held in December, the League won an overwhelming victory across Bengali territory.

On February 22, 1971 the generals in West Pakistan took a decision to crush the Awami League and its supporters. It was recognized from the first that a campaign of genocide would be necessary to eradicate the threat: "Kill three million of them," said President Yahya Khan at the February conference, "and the rest will eat out of our hands." (Robert Payne, Massacre [1972], p. 50.) On March 25 the genocide was launched. The university in Dacca was attacked and students exterminated in their hundreds. Death squads roamed the streets of Dacca, killing some 7,000 people in a single night. It was only the beginning. "Within a week, half the population of Dacca had fled, and at least 30,000 people had been killed. Chittagong, too, had lost half its population. All over East Pakistan people were taking flight, and it was estimated that in April some thirty million people [!] were wandering helplessly across East Pakistan to escape the grasp of the military." (Payne, Massacre, p. 48.) Ten million refugees fled to India, overwhelming that country's resources and spurring the eventual Indian military intervention. (The population of Bangladesh/East Pakistan at the outbreak of the genocide was about 75 million.)

On April 10, the surviving leadership of the Awami League declared Bangladesh independent. The Mukhta Bahini (liberation forces) were mobilized to confront the West Pakistani army. They did so with increasing skill and effectiveness, utilizing their knowledge of the terrain and ability to blend with the civilian population in classic guerrilla fashion. By the end of the war, the tide had turned, and vast areas of Bangladesh had been liberated by the popular resistance.

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Source: gendercide.org

Sites on Freedom Fight of Bangladesh 1971

2008-02-21T13:30:00.005+06:00

1971bd.org
1971 from the Indian perspective
America, Bangladesh, Pakistan & India Contacts
America-Bangladesh Contacts 1971
Ban Jamaate Islami
Bangladesh Genocide Archive
Bangladesh Genocide Study Group (BGSG)
Bangladesh Liberation War
Bangladesh Liberation War Museum
Bangladesh Live
Bharat-Rakshak.com
War Crimes Strategy Forum
Gendercide Watch
Genocide of Bangladesh
International Forum for Trial of War Criminals of Bangladesh
Jonmo Juddho
Kothon
Muktadhara
Muktijuddho Wikia
Mukto Mona Online Archive
Mukto Mona Online Archive (Bangla)
National Security Archive
Online Library - 1 (Ny Bangla)
Online Library - 2 (Ny Bangla)
Picture Gallery
pro.corbis.com (Search with keyword: Bangladesh 1971)
Profile of Bengal
Sector Commanders Forum
Suchinta Library
Swadhin Bangla Betar
Tui Razakar
Uttorshuri
Virtual Bangladesh
Wikipedia

Poster 02

2008-01-04T13:06:00.000+06:00

Killing of Bangabandhu

2008-01-04T12:42:00.000+06:00

We Always Mourn for you

Maulana Dawood

2007-12-18T00:46:00.000+06:00

"....Also intact: the alliance between Raza and Maulana Dawood, who had accompanied the Hyders to Karachi and who, once he was installed in the official residence of the new minister, at once distinguished himself by launching a vociferous public campaign against the consumption of prawns and blue-bellied crabs, which being scavengers, were as unclean as any pig, and which, although understandably unavailable in far-off Q., were both plentiful and popular in the capital by the sea. The Maulana was deeply affronted to find these armored monsters of the deep freely available in the fish markets, and succeeded in enlisting the support of urban divines who did not know how to object. The city's fishermen found that the sales of shellfish began to drop alarmingly, and were therefore obliged to rely more than ever on the income they gained from the smuggling of contraband goods. Illicit booze and cigarettes replaced blue crabs in the holds of many dhows. No booze or cigarettes found their into the Hyder residence, however. Dawood made unheralded raids on the servant's quarters to check that God was in charge.

Shame: Salman Rushdie

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Courtesy : Muktodhara

The list of top collaborators of 1971 & their present whereabouts

2007-12-18T00:31:00.000+06:00

A. Members of the Central Peace Committee

Khwaja Khairuddin, Leader of the Pakistan Muslim League.
AGM Shafiqul Islam Advocate, Lahore High Court. Runs business in Bangladesh.
Golam Azam Former Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami. Retired last year conferring party leadership to his worthy associate Nizami, head of death squad in 1971.
Moulana Syed Mohammad Leading member of the central Majlis of the Bangladesh Ittehadul Ummah.
Mahmud Ali state minister for social welfare, government of Pakistan.
MAK Rafiqul Islam No information.
Abdul Jabbar Khaddar Deceased.
Yusuf Ali Chowdhury (Mohan Miah) Had a natural death during the liberation war.
Abul Kashem Had a natural death after liberation.
Gulam Sarwar: Leader of the Jamaati organization in London, the Dawatul Islam; Director of the London based Islamic institute.
Syed Azizul Huq:(Nanna Miah)Leader of the Jatiyo Party, and member of Parliament.
ASM Solaiman: Chairman, Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Party.
Peer Mohsenuddin:(Dudu Miah)Vice Chairman, Bangladesh Democratic League.
Sharq Rahman: Chairman, Islamic Democratic League.
Major (Rtd) Afsaruddin:Convener, Bangladesh Ganatantra. Bastabayan Parishad; Chairman, National Democratic Party; former presidential candidate.
Syed Mohsin Ali:Industrialist; former Chairman Stock. Exchange; former Director, IFIC bank.
Fazlul Huq Chowdhury: Had a natural death after liberation.
Mohd. Sirajuddin: Industrialist; Chairman of the Dhaka City. Muslim League.
AT Sadi: Retired advocate of Bangladesh Supreme Court.
Ataul Huq Khan: Vice Chairman, Bangladesh MuslimLeague.
Maqbulur Rahman: Businessman.
Mohammad Aqil: Acting Chairman, Bangladesh Nezam e Islam.
Principal Ruhul Quddus: Member of the central working committee, Jamaat e Islam.
Nuruzzaman: Industrialist; Director Islamic Development bank.
Moulana Miah Mafizul Huq: Member, central Majlis, Bangladesh Ittehadul Ummah.
Abu Salek: Senior Advocate, Bangladesh Supreme Court.
Abdun Naim Had a natural death after liberation.
Moulana Siddique Ahmed:Member, central Majlis, Bangladesh Ittehadul Ummah.
Abdul Matin:Secretary general, Bangladesh Muslim League.
Barrister Akhtaruddin Ahmed Resident in Saudi Arabia. Adviser Saudi International Law
Toaha Bin Habib Industrialist; member, Central Majlis e Shura, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan.
Irtezaur Rahman Akhunzada: Deceased
Raja Tridev Roy A Pakistani citizen. Runs business at Karachi.
Faiz Bakhsh Chairman, Bangladesh Muslim League.

B. Leaders of the Central Peace and Welfare Council

Moulana Farid Ahmed Disappeared immediately after liberation.
Nuruzzaman Former director Imam Training Course, Islamic Foundation.
Moulana Abdul Mahnan Former Minister for Religious Affairs.
Julmat Ali Khan Vice Chairman, BNP
AKM Mujibul Huq Industrialist.
Firoz Ahmed No information.

C. Members of the Malek Cabinet

Abul Kashem Deceased
Nawazish Ahmed Chairman, Bangladesh Muslim League.

D. The Central Committee of the Islami Chhatra Sangha (The Al-Badr High Command)

Matiur Rahman Nizami, (All-Pakistan Chief) Assistant General Secretary, Jamaat-e-Islami.
Ali Ahsan Mohd Mujahid(East Pakistan Chief); Ameer of Dhaka City, Jamat-e-Islami; Manager of the Weekly Sonar Bangla.
Mir Kasem Ali: (He was at first head of the Chittagong district, then was ranked third in the line of command of Al-Badr); Deputy Amecr of Dhaka City Jamaat-e-Islami; Manager, Rabet-e-Alam (Bangladesh); Member (Administration) Ibn-e-Sina Trust.
Mohd Yunus: Member of the Central Jamaat-e-Islami, Director-General, Majlis-e-Shura, Bangladesh Islami Bank; Director, Islami Social Welfare Association; Chairman, Muslim Business Society.
Mohd Kamruzzaman: Chief organizer of AI-Badr; Press Secretary, Jamaat-elslami; Editor,Sonar Bangla.
Ashraf Hussain: (Founder of the AI-Badr and head of the Mymensingh District Al-Badr, runs business in Dhaka.
Mohd Shamsul Huq, Member of the Central Majlis-e-Shura, (head of the Dhaka City AI-Badr), Jamaat-e-Islami.
Mustafa Showkat Imran, Disappeared immediately after liberation. One of the leaders of Dhaka City AI-Badr
Ashrafuzzaman Khan: Member of the Dhaka City AI-Badr High Command, and "Chief Executor" of the intellectuals; serving in Saudi Arabia.
A. S. M. Ruhul Quddus: One of the leaders of the Dhaka City AI-Badr; Member of the Majlis-e-Shura, Jamaat-e-Islami
Sardar Abdus Salam: Head of the Dhaka District AI-Badr, Secretary, Training, Jamaat-e-Islami.
Khurram Jha Murad: Resident in London; Jamaat leader; active in organizing Jamaatis internationally.
Abdul Bari: Chief of the Jamalpur AI-Badr; Serving in Dhaka.
Abdul Hye Farooki: Chief of the Rajshahi District AI-Badr; runs business in Dubai.
Abdul Zahir Mohd Abu Neser: Chief of the Chittagong District AI-Badr; Personal Assistant at the Saudi Embassy in Dhaka and Librarian.
Matiur Rahman Khan: Chief of the Khulna District AI-Badr, Serving in Jeddah.
Chowdhury Moinuddin: Operation in-charge in killing of the intellectuals; Special Editor of the London based weekly, Dawat; leader of the London-based Jamaat organisation, Dawatul Islam.
Nur Mohd Malik: One of the leaders of the Dhaka City AI-Badr; whereabouts unknown.
A. K. Mohd Ali: One of the leaders of the Dhaka City AI-Badr, whereabouts unknown.
Mazharul Islam; Head of the Rajshahi District Al-Badr; Whereabouts unknown.

E. Collaborating Academics:

a. The Education Reform Committee Formed by Tikka Khan

Dr. Syed Sajjad Hussain (Vice-Chancellor Rajshahi University) Former Professor, King Abdul Aziz University, Saudi Arabia; At present residing in Bangladesh.
Dr. Hasan Zaman, Dept of Political Science, DU, Died in Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Mohar Ali, Dept of History, DU, Serving in Saudi Arabia.
A. K. M. Abdur Rahman, Professor, Dept of Mathematics, DU.
Abdul Bari, Vice-Chancellor, RU; Chairman, University Grants Commission; Member, Governing Body of the Islamic Foundation.
Dr. Safiuddin Joardar: Deceased.
Dr. Makbul Hussain: Living a retired life.

b. Other Teachers of Dhaka University who were given compulsory leave after being charged with collaboration.

Begum Akhtar Imam, Provost, Rokeya Hall. Bengali Dept. Living a retired life in Dhaka.
Dr. Qazi Din Mohd: Dept of Arabic
Dr. Mohammad Mustafizur Rahman: Serving at Dhaka University.
Dr. Fatima Sadeque, Dept of Political Science
Dr. Golam Wahid Chowdhury: Owns a Garment Industry in Dhaka.
Dr. Rashiduzzaman: Employed in the U. S. A. (**)
Dr. AKM Shahidullah, Serving at Dhaka University.
AKM Jamaluddin Mustafa. Dept of Sociology, runs business in Dhaka.
Md. Afsaruddin, Dept of Psychology (DU)
Dr. Mir Fakhruzzaman, Dept of Physics Deceased.
Dr. Md. Shamsul Islam, Dept of Pharmacy (DU)
Dr. Abdul Jabbar, Dept of Statistics (DU)
Dr. Mahbubuddin Ahmed, doing business in London
Md. Obaidullah, Playwright; writes for Bangladesh Radio TV.

c Institute of Educational Research

Md. Habibullah, resident in Pakistan.
Abdul Kadir Miah, Employed at Dhaka University.
Dr. Shafia Khatun: Former minister and member Public service commission; employed at Dhaka University

d. Physical Education Center

Lt Col (Retd) Matiur Rahman, Dept of Journalism
Atiquzzaman Khan, Dept of Urdu and Persian, deceased.
Dr. Aftab Ahmed Siddqui, resident in Pakistan.
Dr. Fazlul Kader, Dept of Law, no information.
Nurul Momen, Dept of Islamic History, living in Dhaka.
Dr. SM Imamuddin, Dhaka University Caretaker, resident in Pakistan
SD Daliluddin, Dept of Botany (DU), deceased.
Mohd Mahbubul Alam Jalaluddin, Serving in Pakistan.

Several of those collaborating teachers were involved in the killing of the intellectuals. Many of their names were found in the diary of Ashrafuzzaman Khan, the Chief Executioner of the Al-Badr forces.

e. Institute of Educational Research

Nasir Ahmed, Upper Division Assistant, Chief Engineer Office
Painter Zahir Khan, Engineering Office
Peon Shahjahan, Salimullah Hall
Peon Mohammad Mustafa.

f. Teachers of Rajshahi University who were given compulsory leave after being charged with collaboration.

Dr. Abdul Bari, Vice-Chancellor, Chairman, University Grants Commission.
Dr. Golam Saqlain, Reader Professor, Dept of Bengali, Rajshahi University.
Azizul Huq, Associate Professor, Dept of Bengali, Rajshahi University.
Shaikh Ataur Rahman, Associate Professor, Dept of Bengali, Rajshahi University.
Abdur Rahim Joardar, University Registrar, retired

g. Teachers of Rajshahi University who were arrested on charges of collaboration.

Mukbul Hussain, Professor, Dept of Commerce (RU)
Ahmed Muhammad Patel, Chairman, Dept of Geography. Resident in Pakistan.
Solaiman Mondol, Chairman & Professor, Dept of Economics (RU).
Unman Bari Baghi, Associate Professor, Dept of Psychology. Resident in Pakistan
Zillur Rahman, Reader, Dept of Law, Law Faculty, RU.
Kalim A Sasrami, Associate Professor, Dept of Languages. (RU).

h. Those who were charged with collaboration and fled away after independence.

Ahmed Ullah Khan, Associate, Professor English Dept (RU).
Ebne Ahmed One of the deputy registrars, former registrar, Islami University, Kushtia.

(Dainik Bangla, October 3, 1973)

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Courtesy : Muktodhara

Dr Syed Sazzad Hossain

2007-12-18T00:27:00.000+06:00

Prof Syed Sazzad Hossain was the vice chancellor (VC) of Rajshahi University earlier in 1971 and was appointed the VC of Dhaka University in May 1971. His role during the war was to hail the Pak occupation army for the great job they were doing for the country such as cleansing the country of the infidel (Hindus). His other role was to inform the army intelligence about the whereabouts of his secular minded colleagues. Dr Sazzad was such a smug that he, as the chairman, forced the students of English dept of Dhaka university to wear formal dress (full sleeves shirts and jackets in hot summer days) and promoted bureaucratic attitude in the name of scholarship which was in reality nothing but an intellectual pretension based on mimicked linguistic difference.

The Dainik Bangla reported on 10 January 1972: Dr Sazzad made a trip to overseas to propagate against the indepence of Bangladesh within a few days following Yahya’s attack on the people of Bangladesh. One of his letters hailing the Pak army act ivies in Bangladesh was published in London times. The letter goes like this: It was not right what is being told to have happened in Bangladesh. Sazzad took the side of the Pakis by saying that Paki troops were not responsible for the massacre in the Dhaka university campus on 25 March 1971. Sazzad said the students and teachers were killed because they were fighting with each other. Sazzad was such a son of a bitch that he did not mind licking the damn asses of the Pakis while his colleagues and even classmates were killed in the massacre.

A letter with his signature published in the Dainik Bangla on 10 January 1972 is still being considered as one of the evidences of Sazzad’s collaboration with the Pakis. Sazzad wrote: according to the office order of the Pakistani embassy in London, I should be paid at the following rate: a. 50% DA from June 24 to July 1 £25.25 per day b. £150 cash. My hotel fare should be paid latter.

Dr Sazzad was the leading signatory of a statement by 55 academics, writers and journalists denouncing the liberation war. The joint statement was published on 17 May 1971 and it condemned the liberation war which they argued is an Indian mission to break up the Muslim state, Pakistan. Sazzad also criticized the activists of Swami league branding them “extremists” who have turned the movement for autonomy into a war of independence: we are frustrated with the demand…….we had been expressing our grievances within the one state structure…….we never wanted such happening, as a result we become very sorry and frustrated with the developments.

Ironic, but true, Dr Sazzad was the chair of the PEN (Poets, Essayists and Novelists) chapter in Bangladesh.
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Courtesy : Muktodhara

Ashrafuzzaman Khan

2007-12-18T00:23:00.000+06:00

One of the chief al-Badr (Jamai Death squad in 1971) executioners. It has been clearly proved that he himself shot to death 7 teachers of Dhaka university in the killing zones at Mirpur. A certain Mofizzuddin, who drove the vehicle that carried those hapless victims to Mirpur, has clearly identified Ashrafuzzaman as the "chief killer" of the intellectuals.

After Liberation, Ashrafuzzaman's personal diary was recovered from his residence, 350 Nakhal Para. Two pages of his diary registered names and residential addresses of 19 teachers as well as the name of the medical officer of Dhaka University. Of those 20 persons, 8 were missing on December 14: Munier Chowdhury (Bengali), Dr. Abul Khair (History), Ghiasuddin Ahmed (History), Rashidul Hasan (English), Dr. Faizul Mohi (IE R) and Dr. Murtaza (Medical Officer).

Mofizuddin confessed that Ashrafuzzaman himself shot all of them. As per Mofizuddin's description, the decomposed bodies of those unfortunate teachers were recovered from the swamps of Rayer Bazar and the mass grave at Shiyal Bari at Mirpur. There were also other names in the diary including Dr. Wakil Ahmed (Bengali), Dr. Nilima Ibrahim (Bengali), Dr. Latif (IE R), Dr. Maniruzzaman (Geography), K M Saaduddin (Sociology), AMM Shahidullah (Math), Dr. Sirajul Islam (Islamic History), Dr. Akhtar Ahmed (Education), Zahirul Huq (Psychology), Ahsanul Huq (English), Serajul Islam Chowdbury (English), and Kabir Chowdhury (English).

Another page of his diary recorded the names of 16 collaborating teachers of Dhaka university. Apart from that there were also names of Chowdbury Moinuddin, the chief of operation for elimination of the intelligentsia, and Shawkat Imran, a member of the central Al-Badr command, and the head of Dhaka Al-Badr forces.

The diary also contained names and addresses of several other prominent Bengalis. All of them lost their lives at the hands of Al-Badr forces. On a small piece of paper the name of the member finance of the Pakistan Jute Board, Abdul Khalek, was written down. On December 9, 1971, the Al-Badr forces kidnapped Mr. Khalek from his office. They demanded Taka 10,000 as ransom. They saw Mrs. Khalek for ransom money. But at that time she was unable to pay the kidnappers more than 450 taka. She promised that she would give them the rest of the money later, and begged them her husband's life. But Mr. Khalek never came back.

Ashrafuzzaman has also been implicated in the murder of some journalists. It was Ashrafuzzaman who kidnapped the shift-in- charge of the Purbadesh, and the literary editor, Mr. Golam Mustafa.

Ashrafuzzaman Khan, was a member of the Central Committee of the Islami Chhatra Sangha. After liberation he went to Pakistan and worked for Radio Pakistan. Recently Ashrafuzzaman has moved to New York and presently heads the Queens branch of Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)

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Courtesy : Muktodhara

Moinuddin Chowdhury

2007-12-18T00:22:00.001+06:00

The chief executioner of the Al-Badr and Al-Sams forces. The key person behind the brutal murder of hundreds of progressive Bengali intellectuals in 1971. Moinuddin and his cohorts picked the enlisted intellectuals from their residences between 12-14 December,1971 and killed them at Rayer bazaar and Mirpur. It is said that those who were still alive after being shot by Moinuddin's henchmen, Moinuddin himself used to slit their throats in his own hand like slaughtering bulls for Korbani.

Moinuddin was the mastermind among his criminal peers as nothing much has been found against him. One of his razakar mate said he saw Moinuddin taking away all the money and important documents from the Al-Badr head office in Dhaka after the victory of Bangladesh. Presently Moinuddin is a British citizen and the special editor of the Jamat publication- the weekly Dawat. He is expatriate Bangladeshi elite and travels to Bangladesh frequently.

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Courtesy : Muktodhara

Charmonai Piir (Divine): Maulana SM Fazlul Karim

2007-12-17T23:55:00.000+06:00

Maulana Fazlul Karim runs a residential madrasa (A Jesuite style institute) in Charmonai, southern part of Bangladesh. During the war hundreds of Bengali women went for shelter to his madrasa to escape the mass rape and murder by the Pakistani troops. They thought as a holy man the maulana would save them from the bestiality unleashed by the occupation forces.

But the so-called maulana and his colleagues declared those hapless girls as commodities of war (and hence as per Islamic law consumable by the Muslim soldiers) and as such supplied them to the Pakistani soldiers. The dead bodies of those raped girls were flung into the nearby river or buried in the mass grave behind the madrasa. The maulana is also alleged to have slain many Hindus and freedom fighters in his own hand (like the head Imam of Mymensingh did as described by Taslima Nasrin in Nirbachita Columns) and threw the dead bodies to the river after slitting their bellies so that they don't float.

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ABM Khalek Majumder

2007-12-17T23:14:00.000+06:00

Son of Abdul Majid Majumder, Village: Dohatta, thana : Haziganj, District: Comilla. He was office secretary of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, Dhaka city unit, during the 1971 liberation war. Now he is not so active in politics. He helped the Pakistani forces as per his party belief during the war and he also killed many a people by his own hands. He had served as a commander of the Al Badar Bahini of the Jamaat during the war. He is charged with the intellectuals’ murders.

On December 14 evening, he along with his associates forcibly picked up the then joint-editor of daily ‘Sangbad’ and noted litterateur Shahidullah Kaiser from 29 Kayet Tuli. Kaiser did not returned, even his body was yet to be recovered. Shahidullah’s wife Saifunnahar alias Panna Kaiser, Nasir Ahmed, husband of Shahidullah’s youngest sister, younger brother Zakaria Habib and his wife Neela Jakaria witnessed the incident.

According to their witnesses account, due to the war a number of Kaiser’s relatives took shelter at his home. On the December 14 evening, Zakaria along with some others had been trying to listen to the ‘Sawdhin Bangla Betar Kendro’ (A radio station operated by the freedom fighters) programme. The entire area darkened due to blackout. At that time someone knocked loudly the outside door. Zakaria rushed to first floor. Shahidullah Kaiser was taking tea at the drawing room at that time, Neela was accompanying him. Informing that someone came at the door, Zakaria came down. Gripped by fear, Kaiser’s sisters and other switched on all the lights on the ground and first floor. Kaiser was trying to make a phone call, but the intruders entered breaking the door inside. They first knocked Obaidullah (younger brother of Shahidullah) down by the rifle butt. The masked-men went up to Shahidullah’s bedroom. Identifying himself, Shahidullah wanted to know the reason for their coming.

Getting Shahidullah’s identity, one of the masked-men exclaimed saying “Mil gaya” (we got him) in Urdu and hold him by his hair. The others caught him by shirt, by hand and dragged him out. At that time wife Panna Kaiser, sister Shahana Begum and brother-in-law Nasir tried to rescue him from the cluster of the abductors. At one stage, Shahana tore one of the mask-men and everybody known him. Later, during identification of Khalek Majumder in the court they said this man had gone to abduct Shahidullah Kaiser on the evening of December 14.
As the abductor was identified on the spot, he kicked Shahana and forcibly dragged out Shahidullah and Jakaria Habib. Shahidullah tried his best to resist the abductors, but failed. Finally, the abductors released Zakaria on the road but took away Sahaidullah by a waiting jeep. Khalek Majumder was also the inhabitant of the area. He used to live at 47, Agamosi Lane.

Imam of the Kaet Tuli Mosque Ashrafullah who now works for the Banani graveyard said, on December 14, 1971 afternoon Khalek Majumder wanted to know when Shahidullah Kaiser was available at his home. In response, Ashrafullah told him that he did not know. He even did not know that Majumder was looking for Kaiser to kill him. On that night, the Imam had been watching that Kaiser was trying hard to resist the abductors and was screaming ‘help, save me’. And a number of people were picking up in a jeep. On December 17, Ashrafullah informed it to Nasir Ahmed and Zakaria Habib.

On December 14 night, Nasir Ahmed informed about the abduction to Kotowali police station, but no service could be provided due to a lack of police administration at that time. After the country was freed from the occupation forces on December 16, Nasir Ahmed was looking for Khalek Majumder and filed a case with Kotowali thana.

Khalek Majumder fled from his home fearing reprisal for his activities. Nasir Ahmed, Zakaria Habib and others went to his home. But he was not there. They found a revolver loaded with bullets, plenty of important documents with names of military officers and members of the Al Badar forces. These evidences were handed to the investigation commission formed to find out the culprits of intellectuals’ killing. In fact: Nasir Ahmed along with a number of freedom fighters from Sector-2 had been looking for Khalek Majumder to get Shahidullah Kaiser back. Finally, Majumder was arrested from one of his relative’s home in Malibagh. The case proved that he abducted Shahidullah Kaiser to kill him and the court in its verdict on July 17 (1972) awarded Khalek Majumder seven years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of taka 10,000. As Khalek was convicted based on specific charges, he was out of the purview of the general amnesty announced by the then Prime Minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

But with the changed political scenario, Khalek Majumder got acquitted from the case on appeal to the High Court on April 29, 1976 during the Ziaur Rahman’s regime.

In his book “shikol Pora Dingulo’ Khalek himself admitted that he was the secretary of Jamaat office of Siddique Bazar. His party was against the independent war in 1971. They had been assisting the Pakistani forces by mobilising Razakar and Albadar forces and directly involved themselves in genocide, rape, arson, torching etc. He admitted that due to his loyalty to the party he had to implement those things. He also admitted that he was well know with the other war criminal Matiur Rahman Nizami and operation in charge of intellectuals’ killing Chowdhury Moinuddin. It was also learnt from his book that he maintained very good relations with the Pakistan army. In his book that came out 14 years after the independence, he expressed his hatred to the Bangladesh’s freedom. When seventy million people were expressing their joys with the victory on December 16, 1971, the writer of the book was feeling frustrated saying “Alas! Everybody was surprised ….on that very morning one Jamaat leader sent me to the Jamaat office in a hurry… my mind was disappeared with disappointment listening to the news. …” (Shikol Pora Dinguli, page 10). He continued writing “I was not certain about my future. But I did not feel well. The day was ended with a long breath of frustration. The night fell down with all its darkness. The fortunate star bade good-bye from our sky etc.”

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Courtesy : Muktodhara

Mohammad Ayen ud Din

2007-12-17T23:12:00.000+06:00

ADVOCATE MOHAMMAD AYEN UD DIN, Son of Late Md. Moinuddin, Village & Post Office: Shaympur, Thana: Motihar, District: Rajshahi. He serves the Muslim League as Secretary General and work as an advocate in the Dhaka High Court. The Muslim League leader resorted to do whatever needed to oppose the creation of Bangladesh. He was the chairman of the then Peace Committee (PC) Rajshahi region and he contested by-election to the then provincial assembly from Rajshahi-13 constituency. Under his direct supervision the Peace Committee, Razakar Force and Al Badar Force were constituted in Rajshahi at that time. He and his associates led all the killings outside the battlefields in the northern Rajshahi area.

“They have been able to face the enemy with unlimited tolerance. Normalcy restored all over Rajshahi. Peace Committee was formed at every sub-division, thana and union levels,” he told the Daily Azad in an interview on May 31, 1971, after the formation of the PC. On August 4, 71 the Daily Sangram reported – “The closing session of the first batch training of Razakar Bahini held at Jinnah Islamic Institution. The trainees took oath on the Koran. In his speech, Ayenuddin advised the Razakar Bahini to do their duties sincerely for an integrated Pakistan. Local personalities and military officers attended the function.”

His kin and kith and locals alleged that Ayenuddin indulged him in killing, torching, looting, repressing the women, forced joining to the Razakar forces and appointing of some persons against their willingness for bridge vigilance. He was also charged with looting assets and property of innocent people who were handed over to Pakistani military by him.

Freedom fighter Advocate Abdullah-hil-Baki and Professor Zinnatunnesa told the Inquiry commission that Ayenuddin started announcing by microphone in the city that if anyone catches Baki, live or dead then he will be awarded Taka 10,000. Ayenuddin, in a letter (D-44 CPC Date 13-09-71) to the then army captain, Mohammad Ilius Khan provided a list of 10 people from the city with a request for immediate arrest. Baki was one among the ten.

Baki said one Abdur Rahman (son of Solaiman, village- Ramchandarpur, thana-Paba), listed in the letter, was arrested from Parila village in September. During a army raid in that area Pakistani forces killed some 30 people at the village and torched some 150 homesteads.

Zinnatunnesa said Ayenuddin killed one Harunur Rashid of Chandua village in Tanore thana because of rivalry over property in April. Then he took away Harun’s nine-year old girl and 13-year old daughter-in-law and then handed over to the Pakistani soldiers, according to an eyewitness of Harun killing.

Awami League district unit vice president and central member of Bangladesh Krishak League Abdus Sobhan told the investigation team that Ayenuddin helped arrest of nine people, including Rahimuddin Sarker, his son Pintu. These nine was later killed at a killing field behind the Joha hall of Rajshahi University.

In late November, he said, Ayenuddin in association with the army picked up Aminul Haq Chowdhury, a hotel owner, Mokbul Chowdhury, Advocate Taslim Uddin, Contractor Altaf Hossain, Nowrozuddula Khan, Advocate Abul Hossain and many others. On December 18, after two day of the victory, the bodies of most of them were recovered from a sandy shoal in the Padma. There were no injury mark on the bodies and it was assumed that all of them were buried alive in the sand.

Sobhan said that Ayenuddin had grown up at their home and studied from there. “But he killed my father in 1955 when he was hardly a student of intermediate. He was implicated in the murder case, but he was spared because two of the juries, from the then Muslim League, helped him to escape.

Preferring anonymity, one local said that the Pakistan army raided a village and arrested several hundred people from there. Ayenuddin came to the scene and separated five of them and asked the army personnel to kill them. Two of them were killed in the hand of Pakistanis, the rest three were released. These five had been campaigning against him during the provincial election held under Pakistani army junta.

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Maulana AKM Yousuf

2007-12-17T23:07:00.000+06:00

MAULANA A K M YOUSUF, village-Rajoir, Thana-Saran Khola, District-Bagerhat. Presently he is the Naeb-e- Ameer of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh. He was one of the leading anti-liberation organizers during the 1971 war. As part of his role in the anti-liberation activities he became a member of Malek cabinet during the war. He first formed ‘Razakar Bahini’ comprising 96 members of Jamaat-e-Islami in Khulna district. He became the leader of the Jamaat well before the freedom War started. He started his anti-Bangladesh role and cooperating the Pakistani forces as soon as the war began on March 25. His responsibilities were to issue statement, organize the anti-liberation forces and lead attacks, killing, looting and arson by his groups. He also helped the members of the Pakistani forces to do the same.

His statements published in the newspapers where he opposed the liberation war and urged the collaborators to resist the pro-liberation forces. On October 10, 1971, this anti-liberation leader praised activities of the Razakars in a public rally and said, “we will have to make the people understand that the so-called Bangladesh concept is created by Indian authorities is valueless. Naxalaits, separatists and criminals are trying to create anarchy in this part of the country. They should be ousted by root.” (Genocide ’71, Muktijuddha Chetana Bikash Kendra, Dhaka, February 1987).

On October 26, at a gathering in Sylhet, he said, “a section of ignorant youths inspired by Indian propaganda has been unleashing separatist activities on our land. You spread over every nook and corner of the country to resist this movement and uproot the concept of so-called Bengali nationalism”. He warned the allied forces saying, “Had there been any war imposed on them, then heroes of Razakar and soldiers would face with all courage.” On November 12, 1971, he praised the Razakar activities while visiting Razakar camps in Shatkhira. He commented, “the Razakars have been doing their best to resist the spies and intruders of India”. He also assured the Razakars that he would provide them with government jobs.

On November 28, while he was discussing with newsmen in Karachi, Yousuf said that the Razakar have been working hand in hand with the soldiers. He demanded supply of modern arms to the hands of razakars to eliminate freedom fighters. “now the number of Razakar and Al-shams stood to some 1 lakh. Apart from them, there were Mujahid bahini also. They all are in guarding the borders along with the soldiers. The razakars have been operating successfully resulting in reduce of criminal activities”. (Ibid)

Guljan Bibi, a mother of martyr Shahid Seikh, informed that one Razakar Khalek Member asked her son to join in the Razakar Bahini during the monsoon of freedom War. As Shahid rejected his proposal, the member called him out a month after. On the same day she learnt that her son was handed to the Pakistani forces. Later she rushed to the founder of the Razakar force, Maolana A K M Yousuf and requested him to free his son. At that time Khalek Member was also with Yousuf who turned down her request. Guljan Bibi did not get her son back, later she came to learn that Pakistanis killed her son. Guljan demanded trial of her son’s killing.

Yousuf along with his associates Khalekue and Adam Ali had killed number of males and females during the war. They raped many women. These information were disclosed by the citizens of Khulna, but still after 24 years of independence they are tight lipped for the sake of their own security. One of them told the commission that Yousuf forced many people from his own area Morelganj to join in the Razakar force. He forced them to work against the liberation war. Yousuf’s headquarters was the then ‘Ghost House’ which is now being used as district Anasr camp. This camp was the prime torture centre. Apart from this they used to torture the freedom-loving people at Khulna Shipyard, Bhashani Biddalaya and many other camps. They also killed people at such places wherever they felt comfortable. They handed over the innocent Bengalis to Pakistani Army stationed at the prime camp Circuit House, and other makeshift camps at Helipad, Naval base, hotel Shahin, Asiana Hotel etc. The Razakar and other fundamentalist forces maintained regular connection with the camps. They used to kill the people at Gallamari, forest Ghat, Station road and some other places.

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Courtesy : Muktodhara

Maulana Abdus Sobhan

2007-12-17T23:05:00.000+06:00

Son of late Noimuddin, Pathartala, Pabna, is the member of the fundamentalist Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s central Shura (committee) and Member of Parliament elected from Pabna Sadar in 1991, and deputy leader of the Jamaat’s parliamentary group.

Sobhan had been serving the Jamaat-e-Islami as acting Ameer (chief) of Pabna during the liberation war and he nominated for the so-called by-election in 1971. He was the vice president of Pabna unit of Peace Committee, an organisation of Pakistani collaborators. Field level investigation revealed that Sobhan organised the Al-Badar, Razakar and formed the PC and had been involved in a number of criminal activities. As he was fluent in spoken Urdu, he easily managed to come close to the Pakistanis and become a policy maker of anti-liberation forces. He supervised almost every activities of the Razakers and Al Badars.

Sobhan was implicated in a special tribunal case for his activities against the freedom struggle and killing of the freedom fighters, innocent people and assisting in killing 3 million people, assaulting and repressing women and other heinous activities. He was asked to attend before the Sub-divisional magistrate court on February 29, 1972. But he fled to Pakistan with Gulam Azam at that time (Source : ‘Ekattorer Dalalra’ by Shafiq Ahmed and Advocate Shafiqul Islam Shibly, Patahrtala Pabna).

Like Dhaka, Pakistani forces also unleashed attack on innocent people of Pabna on the very night of March 25, 1971. But the situation in Pabna was a bit different. An aged woman told the investigation commission that the Pakistani forces caught Pabna’s eminent personalities searching their homes and brought to their camps on the night. On March 26, she said that she had been seeing an army lorry stopped on the road at Rayer Bazar area. More or less 100 people were tied with rope behind the van. They were being dragged. Their clothes have been tore, blood letting from injury marks. She witnessed Mowlana Sobhan along with three Pakistani soldiers in the van. Among the dragged people, the woman could recognised Pabna’s eminent businessmen Syed Talukder, Professor Harun of Edward College, dentist Amulendu Dakshi and Awami League Leader Advocate Aminuddin. The soldiers came down from the lorry and burnt some national flags hoisting on the building tops. The woman preferring anonymity said the soldiers killed all the people they dragged to various points within March 29. She farther said that, on 27 March she went to visit Amalendu Dakshi’s residence. Dakshi’s wife informed her, it was Maolana Sobhan who came to pick her husband.

Senior Advocate of Pabna Judge Court and former Public Prosecutor Awami League leader Golam Hasnaen said, “Sobhan took the Pakistan Army to the residence of Awami League leader Aminuddin.” Sobhan organised all the Al Badar, Razakar and Peace Committee members. Daily Ittefaq’s Pabna correspondent Anwarul Haq and Advocate Shafiqul Haq Shibly said that Sobhan inspired the Pakistan army to kill Pabna Zilla School teacher Kochimuddin. He also directed killing of freedom fighter and musician Shadhon, informed Shadhon’s mother Sufia Begum.

Retired principal Md. Abdul Ghani of Kalachand Para, Pabna, said Sobhan along with the Pakistani soldiers raided hindu-dominated Kuchiapara and Shankharipara on April 17. Eight people including Sudhir Chandra Chowdhury, Ashok Kumar Shaha, Gopal Chandra Chowdhury were killed during the operation. The army torched as many as 25 homesteads, looted valuables and assaulted the Hindu women.

He said a strong group of collaborators led by Sobhan, Ishaq, Tegar and many others killed over 1000 people and torches homes in Faridpur thana in Pabna district in the month of May. The second largest mass killing in Pabna took place in Sujanagar. It was one of the dawn of the first week of May, the Pakistanis’ killed some 400 people at Nazirganj in Satbaria, according to freedom fighter Zahirul Islam Bishu. He said his Mujib Bahini had arrested one of the gang leader Moulavi Modhu in late May and later killed him. Modhu during the interrogation admitted that before they go for attack they had a meeting ahead of the attack at Sobhan’s residence. He said before any attack the collaborators used to had meeting at Sobhan’s residence.

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Courtesy : Muktodhara

A S M Solaiman

2007-12-17T23:03:00.000+06:00

Son of Md. Jonab Ali, Village – Boydder Bazar, Post Office – Boidder Bazar, Thana – Soanargaon, Dist – Narayanganj. At present : 20/1, Pallabi, Thana – Pallabi, District – Dhaka. He is the president of Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Party now.

Solaiman as the minister of Malek cabinet of with the portfolio of Labour, Social welfare and Family Planning and as chief of the district coordination committee presided over a meeting with DC office, police officers and other communities on December 8, 1971. The meeting expressed firm determination to maintain law and order and took some decision.

From the very beginning of the war, Solaiman was very active. In a statement on April 8, 1971 he called upon the then armed forces for ‘bringing back normalcy in the country by fighting the anti-social and anti-state elements’. On May 7, he also called upon the members of the Peace Committee at a meeting to ‘check all common people and anti-state elements’ in a bid to catch the freedom fighters. On November 15, 1971, he told newsmen in Karachi, “Razarkers were doing praise-worthy and they should be called the national heroes.” (Genocide ’71 : An Account of the Killers and Collaborators, Edited by Dr. Ahmad Sharif, Qazi Nur-uz-Zaman, Dr. Serajul Islam Chowdhury & Shahriar Kabir, published by Muktijuddha Chetona Bikash Kendra, Dhaka, February 1987).

Inhabitants in Sonargaon brought allegation against Soliman of direct or indirect involvement in killing, looting, torching, raping and various forms of atrocities. President of Aminpur Union Awami League and an elected Union Parishad Member, Mohammad Tayebur Rahman, narrated formation of Razaker Bahini by ASM Solaiman in 11 unions of Sonargaon thana.

Tayebur informed Solaiman had appointed every chairman of the then Union Parisads as chairman of the ‘Peace Committee’. Among them (1) Raja Moulavi of Aminpur (2) Shamsul Haq Khan of Perojpur (3) Alauddin of Boiddyer Bazar (4) Gafur Sarker of Sammandi (5) Abdul Mannaf Bhuiyan of Jampur UP (6) Hossain Khan of Kanchpur (7) Bakhar Ali of Sathipur (8) Nasiruddin of Noaga (9) Abdur Rob Milkey of Barodi (10) Rafiqul Islam of Mograpara and (11) M A Jaher of Shomvupura Union Pariashad were appointed as chairmen of the Peace Committee. Soanrgaon Peace Committee chairman ASM Solaiman led them as their leader. M A Zaher was also appointed the General Secretary and Raja Moulavi as Organising Secretary of Sonargaon unit of Peace Committee (PC). Alauddin and Mohiuddin Mollah, a brother of Solaiman, acted in absence of Solaiman.

Tayebur Rahman also informed that Jamir Ali Kerani, an associate of Solaiman, handed over a Hindu girl named Bibha Rani to the Pakistani occupation forces in mid-May .The military-men released her in a critical condition after raping overnight. Bibha is now in India. Ali also led an attack on the home of one Narendra Patel in Boiddyer Bazar. Tayebur at that time risking his life reached at the scene and rescued five girl from the scene and taken to a nearby village for their safety, he said.

Tayebur said that the Soliaman-gang had attacked on a freedom fighters’ meeting on May 24 at Boiddyer Bazar. Tayebur was caught by the PC members twice and was released on request from a non-bengali postmaster at the area. The gang, he said, set on fire homes, more than hundred in Sammanadi, ten in Companiganj, five in Shatipur and the entire homes of Pirojpur village. Jamir and Allauddin executed the plan of Solaiman from women supply to torching.

Moshammat Azimon Nahar of Haria Gopindi village told the commission that her husband Siddiq Mia was killed on December 14 near Adamjee area. She alleged Soliamn’s gang and local razakars were involved in her husband’s killing. She demanded trial of her husband’s killing.

An Awami League worker, Sumon, of Hatkopa village when appeared to the commission said, the Pakistani forces attacked his home with the help of Tekka Shamsu, a trust-worthy associate of ASM Solaiman, in a bid to catch the young women of his home. He said the women saved them hiding in a nearby jute plantation.

Freedom fighter Nurul Islam of Basan Daradi village said, geographically Sonargaon was ab important area and all goods were being transported through the Sonargaon river port. At the very beginning of the war Solaiman and his associates, especially the Razaker Bahini, used to loot the goods like rice, sugar, flour, oil, fertiliser, tea etc. from various vehicles. Traders lodged a number of complaints at freedom fighter’s camp in Sammanadi village, according to Islam.

He said being informed by the Razakars, Pakistani forces unleashed attack on the training camp of the freedom fighters at that village. During the attack the Razakars on their way took away two young girls from the village. But none of the girls returned. He said many such incidents were suppressed social humiliation apprehending.

According to eyewitnesses account, Razakars set their eyes on the Hindu dominated Shahapur, Baninathpur, Joyrampur, Vattapur, Barirghubhanga, Baghmucha, Panamnagar, Boiddyer Bazar, Satbhayapara, Ramganj and Panchabati for the Hindu girls. As per the directions from Solaiman, Jamir Kerani and Shamsu led the Razakers to supply women to the Pakistani camp at Boiddyer Bazar.
Apart from this, the commission learnt that a number of incidents of firing, looting and killing took place in the area perpetrated by the Razakars led by Solaiman and his associates.

Abdul Kader Mollah

2007-12-17T22:59:00.000+06:00

Abdul Kader Molla was known as a "butcher" to the Bengalis in Mirpur area (outskirts of Dhaka city) during 1971. Mirpur at the time was mainly populated by Behari (non Bengali) Muslim migrants from India, who were among the most ardent supporters of the Pakistani occupation of Bangladesh.

One of the largest mass graves of people butchered by Pakistani troops and their allies was discovered in the Shialbari area of Mirpur after independence. According to the locals of Mirpur area Molla was instrumental to the the killing of thousands of Bengalis in Shialbari and Rupnagar areas of Mirpur during the war. Many of them confirmed that Molla began his killing spree even before the army had began its operation.

On March 6, a public meeting was arranged in front of the gate of Ceramic Industry at Section 6 in Mirpur, to press for demands of the Bengali people. As the people raised the nationalist slogan Joy Bangla (Victory to Bengal), narrated M Shahidur Rahman who was present at the meeting, Kader Molla and his gang attacked the meeting with swords, machetes and other sharp weapons, injuring many.

According to M Firoze Ali, a resident of Block B at Section I in Mirpur, Kader Mollah was behind the killing of his brother Pallab Tuntuni, an 18-year old student. Young Tuntuni was an active supporter of the nationalist leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and that was why his name was penciled into Molla's hit list. On March 29, Molla's hit men kidnapped Tuntuni from another part of the city and took him to Mirpur. The boy was then dragged from one part of Mirpur to another, and back again, with his hands tied behind his back. At a big play ground used usually for major religious congregations, Tuntuni was tied to a tree and left for two days. Later, Molla's men returned and chopped off the boy's fingers. On April 5, a week after being kidnapped, Molla ordered his men to shoot Tuntuni dead. The boy's dead body was left dangling from the tree for another two days as a warning to others in the area, before being thrown in a mass grave with seven other bodies, Feroze Ali said.

Another eyewitness to Molla's criminal activities in 1971 was M Shahidur Rahman Chowdhury. He said that Razakarmen under the command of Kader Molla brutally murdered woman poet Meherunnessa in October at Section 6 of Mirpur. He said one Shiraj, who lived in the poet's home, lost mental balance at the sight of the murder. Shiraj still suffers from psychological disorder, Chowdhury said.

There are also allegations from the inhabitants' of Mirpur area that Molla organized local non-Bengali people of Manipur, Sheorapara, Kazipara areas of Mirpur into armed groups under his own command. With those (Behari) armed bands, Molla organized killings of thousands of Bengalis at various killing fields of Mirpur.

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Courtesy : Muktodhara

Abdul Alim

2007-12-17T22:43:00.000+06:00

A former minister in the cabinet of late president Gen Ziaur Rahman (1977-81), Abdul Alim served as the chairman of the "Peace Committee" in Joypurhat in 1971.

1. The first piece of evidence against Alim is given on page 38- 39 of the The Killers and Collaborators of 1971: An Account of Their Whereabouts. It says, "Abdul Alim himself carried out execution of Bengalis by lining them up in rows and then shooting them. Besides, there are many allegations of Alim killing Bengalees by bayonet charges".

2. The same book carries a photograph from a newspaper of the period, which shows a beaming Alim standing beside one Major Afzal of the Pakistan army. Sitting on the ground were a number of freedom fighters, blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their backs. "Those freedom fighters were paraded through the town and later shot dead."

3. According to Dr Kazi Nazrul Islam of Joypurhat, son of late Dr Abul Kashem, on July 24, 197 1, Razakar forces in association with the Pakistani troops raided his father's home and took the latter away. This was done on the orders of Abdul Alim, he said. After torturing Kashem throughout the night, the Razakars took him to Alim at the "Peace Committee" office. Kashem was then sent to Joypurhat police station, and finally to Pakistan army camp at nearby Khanchanpur. On July 26, Kashem was murdered on the order of Alim. Kashem's decomposed body was discovered in a sugarcane field a month later. The killing of Abul Kashem on the orders of Abdul Alim was confirmed by many others in the area, including elected village council chairman of Bomboo Union Molla Shamsul Alam.

4. Molla Shamsul Alam, an eyewitness to the activities of Alim, narrated the tale of one freedom fighter, Fazlu who was captured by Pakistani troops after a fire-fight. He said the Pakistanis took Fazlu and two other prisoners to Abdul Alim at the C&B Colony hall room. Outside, Alim stood on truck and said to supporters gathered there, "Fazlu's father is a friend of mine. I had repeatedly asked him to dissuade his son from this path, but he didn't. Today he has to be to given his punishment, and that is death. I ask you all to find out those who still talk of Joy Bangla (Victory to Bengal, war-cry of the freedom fighters), in your neighbourhoods and beat them to death". Fazlu and others were then taken to Alim's house where they were put through inhuman torture. Later they were taken to the killing grounds in Khanchanpur and murdered.

5. Molla Shamsul Alam also alleged in his testimony that Alim carried out killings of poor members of the Garoal community. In April 1971, Pakistani troops arrested 26 Garoals and took them to Alim's house. They were kept there for three days, then taken to Khanchanpur and killed. Alam further said that Alim used his house as a recruitment camp for Razakars during 197 1. Recruitment of Razakars was one of Alim's duties.

6. Alam also said that in April, Pakistani troops surrounded the Hindu area of Koraikadipur village in Joypurhat and massacred 165 men and women. This raid was carried out on the orders of Alim and Jamaat leader Abbas Ali Khan, he said.

7. In addition to allegations of murder and torture, there are accusations of rape against Alim. Shamsul Huq, an elected village council chairman, said that Alim always justified acts of murder, rape etc., by Pakistani troops and Razakars. According to Huq, Alim used to say that "troops do these sort of things at war time. This is not a fault. We have to accept it in the interest of the country".

8. Shamsul Alam, an associate professor at Joypurhat College, said that Alim and his cohorts once paraded 26 captured freedom fighters around the town on trucks before the prisoners were put to death. Before killing them, Alim put the prisoners on display in the play ground of Joypurhat College, where he told the students, "You can all understand the fate of these prisoners. They are all going to die. If you students join the Mukti Bahini (freedom fighters), then your fate will be the same".

9. ldris Ali, another resident of Joypurhat, said he entered his home-town on December 5 along with other freedom fighters. They captured the "Peace Committee" headquarters the same day, and discovered various documents, including lists of intellectuals earmarked for elimination. Among the documents was minutes of a meeting held on Dec 4 and presided over by Abbas Ali Khan. The minutes bore Alim's signature. There were many other eyewitness reports by local inhabitants of the killings, torture and repression carried out in the area by Alim.

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Courtesy : Muktodhara

Mohammad Kamruzzaman

2007-12-17T22:42:00.001+06:00

Mohd Kamruzzaman was the former executive editor of the Jamati mouthpiece Daily Sangram, and presently editor of the weekly Sonar Bangla. In 1971, Kamruzzaman was the leader of the Islami Chattra Sangha (Islamic students organization) in Mymensingh. He was also the principal organizer of the Al-Badr force. An article in the Daily Sangram on August 16,197 1, said, "A rally and symposium were organized in Mymensingh by the Al- Badr to celebrate the 25th independence day of Pakistan. The chief organizer of the Al-Badr, Mouhammed Kamruzzaman presided over the symposium held at the local Muslim Institute."

Kamaruzzaman's war crimes

1. According to one Fazlul Huq of Sherpur area, father of a martyr, an 11 member Al-Badr squad led by Kamruzzarnan took away his son Badiuzzaman sometime in June or July in 1971. Huq said his son was taken to the Pakistan army camp in nearby Ahmednagar and murdered. After independence, the late Badiuzzaman's brother Hasanuzzaman filed a case at the Nalitabari police station, with Kamruzzaman as the principal among the 18 accused in the murder of Badiuzzaman.

2. In the same Sherpur area, one Shahjahan Talukdar told that cadres of the Al-Badr kidnapped his cousin Golam Mostafa on August 24, 197 1, in broad daylight. Mostafa was then taken to the local Al-Badr camp which was set up in a house on Surendra Mohan Road of Sherpur town. After brutally torturing Mostafa at the camp, Al-Badr forces took him to the nearby Sherry Bridge and shot him dead. Kamruzzarnan was known to have ordered the killing. Many others in Sherpur confirmed that the killing of Golam Mostafa was carried out on Kaniruzzaman's direct order.

3. Allegations of torture at the Al-Badr camp in Sherpur were also made by Tapas Shaha, a former student leader of the area. He said men, women and youth of the area used to be taken forcibly to the camp where Al-Badr cadres under direct supervision of Kamruzzaman used to carry out gruesome acts of torture. For instance, one Majid, at the time an elected office-bearer of the town council, was taken to the camp and kept inside a darkened hole for a whole day.

4. In the middle of May, the then head of the Dept of Islamic History and Culture at Sherpur College, Syed Abdul Hannan was paraded through the streets of the town, totally naked, with his head shaven and a "garland" of shoes around his neck. Kamruzzaman and his cohorts dragged the professor around the town in mid-day, beating him with leather whips as he was dragged, Tapas Shaha told the Commission.

5. Ziaul Huq, a former leader of Awami League, said he was taken by three Al-Badr men on August 22 at around 5pm. He was then kept at the camp for two days, in the darkened hole. He said Kamruzzaman run the torture center. He was released after being told to leave the area, otherwise he was told he would be killed,

6. Emdadul Huq Hira, a former freedom fighter and currently a leader of the Jatiya Party, said his home was burnt down by Pakistani troops who were being guided by Kamruzzaman. He told the Commission that the troops set up five bunkers in the premises of his home, and used a big tree in the courtyard to tie up prisoners before shooting them dead.

7. Another eye-witness Musfiquzzaman, currently a teacher at the Haji Jai Mamud College in Sherpur, said that homes and business establishments at Tin Ani Bazar were looted in the middle of August in the presence of and under the leadership of Kamruzzaman.

8. One eyewitness, who worked as a driver of trucks which were used to carry troops as well as prisoners and dead bodies, said that Kamruzzaman guided Pakistani troops to the house of a freedom fighter identified only as Honta. The troops burned the house down, the driver said.
There were also allegations that Kamruzzarnan organized and led robbery gangs in the area.

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Courtesy : Muktodhara

Abbas Ali Khan

2007-12-17T22:37:00.001+06:00

Abbas Ali Khan was the second in command in Jamat. Until Golam Azan was officially declared to be the Ameer (or Leader) of the party, Khan acted as the chief. Khan's role in 1971 was against the independence of Bangladesh, and against the spirit of Bengali nationalism. In 1971, he was the deputy chief of Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami. Khan gave leadership to para-military forces such as the Razakars, Al-Badrs and Al-Shams, all formed by the Jamaat and like- minded parties in cooperation with the Pakistan army. The principal aim behind formation of these three forces was to provide battle-field support to the military, gather intelligence about local resistance groups, identify and eliminate Bengali nationalist elements, and carry out raids on villages involving mass killngs, rape, arson and lootings. The Pakistan army enjoyed direct assistance from these paramilitary forces in its campaign of genocide which resulted in the death of three million unarmed people of Bangladesh. Abbas Ali Khan abetted and encouraged Pakistan army's genocide through speeches at countless rallies, statements to and, articles in newspapers etc. Khan also played a leading role in the central "Peace Committee", which was set up to directly and indirectly assist the Pakistan army's campaign in Bangladesh. The "Peace Committee" formed branches all over the country, manned by local leaders of Jamaat and camp-followers. These committees acted as the political wing of the three paramilitary forces and played an active role in assisting Pakistan army's attempt to brutally suppress the Bengali's struggle for freedom in 1971.

According to reports in the press during 197 1, Khan became a minister in the cabinet of governor M A Malek, after taking part in a series of stage-managed parliamentary by- elections. The seats put up for by-elections were all held by members of the Awami League. The seats were declared vacant by the Pakistan military junta after the Awami League was banned on Mar 26, 197 1. Khan assumed the office of the minister for education in Malek's puppet government on Sept 17, 1971.

On Nov 25, Abbas Ali Khan said in a statement, "I have no doubt that the Indian army has began a shameless aggression in several fronts under the guise of the Mukti Bahini with the despicable aim of swallowing East Pakistan. Our armed forces alone cannot carry on this war. It is the duty of every citizen to strengthen the hands of our soldiers and help save the dignity of our dear Pakistan". In the same statement, with an oblique reference to Bengali intellectuals and freedom fighters, he called on people to "stay alert against people engaged in anti-state and destructive activities. Help the armed forces and the Peace Committees to eliminate these elements".

On Dec 10, just four days before the killings of intellectuals reached its peak, he said in another speech, "In the Battle of Badr, only 313 Muslim troops faced over 1,000 Kuraish, and were victorious. Today, 130 million people (the then population of West Pakistan and Bangladesh combined) are fully prepared to defend this sacred land. Our enemies are the rumor mongers, the agent provocateurs and those who propagate in favor of India or that imaginary country Bangladesh. You have to be ware of these enemies. Smash their poisonous fangs at the first opportunity. Join hands with our Razakar, Al-Badr and Al- Shams forces and dedicate yourself to the task of saving the country."

Governor Malek formed several sub-committees in December to strengthen the attack of Pak army. Khan was put in charge of the information sub-committee, along with A S M Solaiman. Khan continued to propagate against Bangladesh even after 197 1. In 1980, while addressing his first post- 1971 press conference, Khan showed no remorse for what he or his party had done. Instead, he said, "We did the right thing in 1971." Even today, Khan continues to conspire against the independence of Bangladesh and against the Bengali national identity of the people. He continues his efforts to turn Bangladesh into a second Pakistan.

Courtesy : Muktodhara

Atrocities of the Razakars

2007-12-17T22:35:00.001+06:00

The atrocities of the razakars in killing the Bengalis equaled those of their Pakistani peers. An excerpt from an article written in the Azad, dated January 15, 1972, underscores the inhuman atrocities of the Pakistani troops and their associates, the razakar and al-badr forces:

'....The people of Narail can bear witness to the reign of terror, the inhuman atrocities, inflicted on them after (General) Yahya let loose his troops to do what they would. After March 25, many people fled Jessore in fear of their lives, and took refuge in Narail and its neighboring localities. Many of them were severely bashed by the soldiers of Yahya and lost their lives. Very few people ever returned. Bhayna is a flourishing village near Narail. Ali Akbar is a well-known figure there. On April 8, the Pakistani troops surrounded the village on the pretext that it was a sanctuary for freedom fighters. Just as fish are caught in a net so too were the people of this village all assembled, in an open field. Then everyone- men, women, and children--were all forced to line up. Young men between the ages of 25 and 30 were lined up separately. 45 people were shot to death on the spot. Three of Ali Akbar's brothers were killed there. Ali Akbar was able to save himself by lying on the ground. But no one else of that group was as fortunate. Nadanor was the Killing field. Every day 20 to 30 people were taken there with their hands tied behind their backs, and killed. The dead bodies would be flung into the river. Apart from this, a slaughter house was also readied for Bengalis. Manik, Omar, and Ashraf were sent to Jessore Cantonment for training and then brought to this slaughter house. Every day they would slaughter 9 to 12 persons here. The rate per person was Taka ten. On one particular day, 45 persons were slaughtered here. From April 15 to December 10, the butchery continued. It is gathered that 2,723 people lost their lives here. People were brought here and bashed, then their ears were cut off, and their eyes gouged out. Finally they were slaughtered... : The Chairman of the Peace Committee was Moulana Solaiman. With Dr. Abul Hussain and Abdul Rashid Mukhtar, he assisted in the genocide. Omar would proudly say, "During the day I am Omar, at night I am Shimar( legendary executioner famous for extreme cruelty). Don't you see my dagger? There are countless Kafirs (heretics) on it."

Ms Hamida Rahman "Narail: Hattyajanger Arekti Baddhabhwni" (Narail: Another Golgotha)

Courtesy : Muktodhara