History of Our Liberation War

Part-3

On March 19, the Bengalis rebelled at Joydebpur. Countless people died in the fight that ensued when forces were sent from Dhaka to stop them. March 23 was Pakistan Day, but except at the cantonment and Government House, not a single Pakistani flag could not be seen flying anywhere in East Pakistan. At Bangabandhu’s house in Dhanmondi that day, the free Bangladesh flag was raised while ‘Amaar Sonar Bangla’ was played.
The next day, March 24, there was an ominous feel in the country – it was as if the whole country’s earth, sky, and air knew what was about to happen and was holding its breath. On March 25, General Yahya Khan gave the order for one of the worst genocides in history. The massacre had been planned for a long time, and its blueprint was called ‘Operation Searchlight’, where it was clearly stated how pretences of a discussion would be used to stall for time, how the Bengali forces would be wiped out, how Dhaka University would be attacked _ simply put, how a nation would be destroyed.
There were barricades on every street. Since it would take a long time to get where they needed to go, the Pakistan army started Operation Searchlight slightly ahead of schedule, at 1 1.30 pm. To ensure that there would be no witnesses, all foreign journalists had been sent out of the country. But one extremely brave journalist, Simon Dring, risked his life to hide in Dhaka and send news to the rest of the world of what was happening in East Pakistan.  
Before attacking the innocent people in Dhaka, the Pakistan military had either killed or arrested all the Bengali officers in the army and disarmed the rest. The EPR (East Pakistan Rifles) at Pilkhana had been disarmed, but they still fought all night with whatever they had. The military had been unable to disarm the Rajarbagh police unit, and they were the first to engage in actual battle. After suffering a lot of damage, the Pakistan army retreated to bring in tanks, mortars, heavy arms and machine guns, with which they managed to overpower the Bengali policemen at Rajarbagh.
There was no end to the terror of the night of March 25. The Pakistan army went to Iqbal Hall (now Sergeant Johurul Haq Hall) and Jagannath Hall and murdered all the students there. Nurul Ula, a professor at BUET, managed to film the massacre from the window of his house. Not only the students, but the staff and teachers of the university were killed, too. The nearby slums were set on fire and the people living there were brutally killed. The army then attacked Old Dhaka, destroying temples and burning down houses of Hindu families. Anyone who tried to escape was shot.
The main objective of Operation Searchlight was to arrest Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. A commando team of the Pakistan Army went to his house and detained him. He had heard of what was happening and warned all the leaders of his party to stay away, then waited in his house.
Before the commando team took him away, Bangabandhu had declared that Bangladesh was independent and called together the people to free the country from the hands of the Pakistan army. His declaration was transmitted with the EPR’s transmitter from Dhaka to Chittagong, from where it was broadcast over the radio to the rest of the country.
When the announcement was made, it was after midnight, so the 26th of March is our Independence Day. The country called East Pakistan was erased from the map of the world forever, and in its place came Bangladesh. But that new country was still battered and full of pain; the monsters of the Pakistani army were still on her land.

To be continued.

Source: ‘Children’s History of the Liberation War’ by Muhammed Zafar Iqbal
(Translated by Yeshim Iqbal).

 

History of Our Liberation War

Part-3

On March 19, the Bengalis rebelled at Joydebpur. Countless people died in the fight that ensued when forces were sent from Dhaka to stop them. March 23 was Pakistan Day, but except at the cantonment and Government House, not a single Pakistani flag could not be seen flying anywhere in East Pakistan. At Bangabandhus house in Dhanmondi that day, the free Bangladesh flag was raised while Amaar Sonar Bangla was played. The next day, March 24, there was an ominous feel in the country it was as if the whole countrys earth, sky, and air knew what was about to happen and was holding its breath. On March 25, General Yahya Khan gave the order for one of the worst genocides in history. The massacre had been planned for a long time, and its blueprint was called Operation Searchlight, where it was clearly stated how pretences of a discussion would be used to stall for time, how the Bengali forces would be wiped out, how Dhaka University would be attacked _ simply put, how a nation would be destroyed. There were barricades on every street. Since it would take a long time to get where they needed to go, the Pakistan army started Operation Searchlight slightly ahead of schedule, at 1 1.30 pm. To ensure that there would be no witnesses, all foreign journalists had been sent out of the country. But one extremely brave journalist, Simon Dring, risked his life to hide in Dhaka and send news to the rest of the world of what was happening in East Pakistan. Before attacking the innocent people in Dhaka, the Pakistan military had either killed or arrested all the Bengali officers in the army and disarmed the rest. The EPR (East Pakistan Rifles) at Pilkhana had been disarmed, but they still fought all night with whatever they had. The military had been unable to disarm the Rajarbagh police unit, and they were the first to engage in actual battle. After suffering a lot of damage, the Pakistan army retreated to bring in tanks, mortars, heavy arms and machine guns, with which they managed to overpower the Bengali policemen at Rajarbagh. There was no end to the terror of the night of March 25. The Pakistan army went to Iqbal Hall (now Sergeant Johurul Haq Hall) and Jagannath Hall and murdered all the students there. Nurul Ula, a professor at BUET, managed to film the massacre from the window of his house. Not only the students, but the staff and teachers of the university were killed, too. The nearby slums were set on fire and the people living there were brutally killed. The army then attacked Old Dhaka, destroying temples and burning down houses of Hindu families. Anyone who tried to escape was shot. The main objective of Operation Searchlight was to arrest Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. A commando team of the Pakistan Army went to his house and detained him. He had heard of what was happening and warned all the leaders of his party to stay away, then waited in his house. Before the commando team took him away, Bangabandhu had declared that Bangladesh was independent and called together the people to free the country from the hands of the Pakistan army. His declaration was transmitted with the EPRs transmitter from Dhaka to Chittagong, from where it was broadcast over the radio to the rest of the country. When the announcement was made, it was after midnight, so the 26th of March is our Independence Day. The country called East Pakistan was erased from the map of the world forever, and in its place came Bangladesh. But that new country was still battered and full of pain; the monsters of the Pakistani army were still on her land. To be continued. Source: Childrens History of the Liberation War by Muhammed Zafar Iqbal (Translated by Yeshim Iqbal).