Liberation War Memorials
Sheikh Iraj
Our journey to sovereignty is paved with blood, sweat and tears. Our independence is the outcome of the utmost sacrifice and the struggle of all patriotic citizens of our country. As Bangladeshis, we are proud of our Liberation War. Ahead of our Independence Day on March 26, the day we declared our independence from Pakistan in 1971, YI visited some war memorials and historical places that tell the story of our struggle for freedom.
The sprawling campus of Dhaka University is one such place that is witness to the despicable killing of our people by the Pakistan army, particularly on the black night of March 25, 1971, just ahead of our declaration of independence. Many students, teachers, employees and general people who lived at the university were some of the first victims of the genocide carried out by Pakistani soldiers and their local collaborators.
To teach the new generation about the genocide that took place during our Liberation War, Dhaka Universitys Centre for Genocide Studies (CGS) recently launched a walking museum on the campus. The Centre has marked several spots on the campus where the killings took place, including the historic Bot Tola premises, martyred intellectuals memorial beside the Arts Building, Shahid Sergeant Jahurul Haque Hall, Jagannath Hall, Central Shaheed Minar, Suhrawardy Udyan, Ramna Kali Mandir and Madhur Canteen.
At the moment, only Dhaka University students are able to take part in tours of the walking museum. That being said, we want students of other educational institutions to visit the open museum. Hopefully, we will come to a decision regarding this issue soon. Every Friday and Saturday, we organise two tours of the museum, from 10 am to 12 pm and from 3 pm to 5 pm, said GM Arifuzzaman, research associate, CGS. The Centre is now offering a three-month diploma course for students.
Jalladkhana Killing Field Memorial, located on the site of an old pump house at Mirpur-10, is another place where the Pakistani army and their collaborators used to slaughter innocent people during the nine-month war. Promila Biswas, supervisor of Jalladkhana Memorial, said: More than 25,000 people were killed in this place. They used to cut off the heads of the people and throw the severed heads into one well and hurl the headless body in another. This place was a once a pond (for drainage) connected to the Turag river. That is why many dead bodies floated away into the river and could not be recovered. After the war, with the help of Bangladesh Army, 70 skulls were unearthed here, along with thousands of bones, from which we can estimate that about 25,000 people were killed here. The skulls and other bones that were found after the first and second phases of digging are now preserved under the supervision of the Liberation War Museum. Every month, we arrange a programme where local schoolchildren can come and meet family members of the martyrs. Through such programmes, we are able to inform our new generation that the freedom we now enjoy came for a heavy price.
Nasrin Akhtar Choudhury, daughter of martyr Golam Kibria Chowdhury, told YI over telephone: I was only one when my father was killed by the Pakistani Army and their collaborators. Before the war, my family lived in Mirpur and when the war broke out in March, my father sent us to our ancestral home in Bhola. There, we received the news that he was captured and eventually killed. It was January 30 (1972) when my father, along with some of his fellow freedom fighters, ventured inside Mirpur-14.
According to eyewitnesses, my father and other freedom fighters came under heavy attack and after a fierce battle, my father ran out of ammo and he was captured. Today, I do not see the same level of respect or enthusiasm among the youths for our martyrs. I do not want anything from anyone. All I ask is that my father and those who sacrificed their lives should be remembered with dignity. Besides this Jalladkhana killing field, there are other places in Mirpur where killing took place, like Mirpur Bangla College, Mirpur Siyal Bari area, etc. We have failed to preserve some of those places, she added.
The Liberation War Museum is now at a new location in Agargaon, where it moved from Segun Bagicha last year. Visiting the new museum premises can be a delight as it is not only a larger venue, it also has more wonderful collection of our Liberation War on display. There are four galleries at the museum. The first gallery depicts prehistoric Bengal up to British colonial rule that ended in 1947, as well as the general election of 1970. Fossils, clay plots, old terracotta tiles, etc, that portray our culture and history are on display in this gallery.
The second gallery is decorated fabulously with artifacts from 1970 onwards. This particular gallery has various types of war collections, including audiovisuals and a wide selection of photographs of the March 7 speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. A portion of the gallery is illuminated with dim lights. There is a military vehicle here with its headlights on. This car was used during the war. Besides the car, there are many other mementos of the war. There are also several electronic screens that display different information about the genocide of 1971.
Anwar Haque, a student of Dhaka Residential Model College, who was visiting the museum with his friends, said: One part of this gallery really describes the war and the brutality carried out by the Pakistani Army and their collaborators. I have come here for the first time, and I will visit again with my parents.
The third gallery is filled with photographs of people who were forced to leave their homes during the fighting. Enlarged photos of 1971 war news that were published in different foreign newspapers and videos of people protesting around the world against the mass killings are also on display in the gallery.
The fourth gallery of the museum is filled with different photographs of our freedom fighters fighting the Pakistani Army and souvenirs of the naval war. There are also a number of other fascinating collections that can educate our youths about our Liberation War.
We have different programmes through which many school students are able to visit the museum, said Ziauddin Tariq Ali, a trustee and member secretary of the museum.
Mossamat Umme Siddika, a teacher at a UCEP (Underprivileged Childrens Educational Programme) school, was visiting the museum with her students. She told this reporter: We arrange study tours for our students on a regular basis. The Liberation War Museum sends us buses and we really appreciate that gesture. I have come to this museum before, but every time I come I learn something new.
Abdullah Al Mamun, a class-7 student at the UCEP school, said: Before coming here, I didnt think this study tour would be so exciting. This museum is quite big and there are many things to see and learn here.
Shahid Buddhijibi Graveyard (Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard) in Mirpur-1 bears witness to the horrific killings of our intellectuals and general people. Many Bangladeshi intellectuals were murdered by Pakistani soldiers and their local collaborators and their bodies dumped here in 1971.
Salim Khan was only seven years old during the Liberation War. I believe it was March 27 (1971) when the war broke out in Mirpur. My father, along with some of his friends, started fighting with a rifle and a pistol. One of them would reload the guns and two of them would aim and shoot. They killed seven to eight Pakistani soldiers and some of their non-Bengali associates. When we came back after the war, we saw countless dead bodies, he said.
The Shahid Buddhijibi Graveyard at Mirpur-1 was opened by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Our ancestral house was in this field then, after the Liberation War, the government acquired this place. In the centre of the graveyard that you see now, we had two houses and two water wells. The Pakistani Army and their collaborators would kill people and throw their bodies in the wells. One of the last eyewitnesses to the killings, Abdus Salam, died a couple of years ago. During the war, he was captured by the Pakistani Army. They cut open his belly and threw him in one of the wells. Somehow, by the grace of the Almighty, he was able to climb back out. Then he slowly moved towards the Turag River, where he was later rescued. Every time I visit this place I feel a pang of pain. I think our next generation should know how their forefathers sacrificed themselves for an independent Bangladesh, Khan added.
Martyred Intellectuals Memorial at Rayerbazar in Mohammadpur marks the spot where the bodies of many of our martyred intellectuals, who were tortured and killed as we were nearing victory in December 1971, were found after the war.
Fazlay Rabby, a student of United University Bangladesh, who was visiting the memorial with his classmates, said: Our class was postponed this morning, and we had been thinking of visiting this place for some time, thats why we are here. But we do not know much about this place. When this reporter tried to contact the supervisor in charge of the memorial, he was not present at his office and he could not be reached on his mobile phone could.
All the Liberation War memorials are under the supervision of the Public Works Department (PWD). For example, the National Martyrs Memorial at Savar is supervised by Savar PWD. However, when YI contacted PWD and the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs to know about the total number of Liberation War memorials in our country, they did not provide any information.
Photos: File, internet.
