Dead Letter

video courtesy: YouTube

The video above is extracted from a war documantary named as Muktir Gaan (Song of Freedom). It shows us some of the guerrillas having themselves trained before going to accomplish their missions.

As I was going to a friend’s place today, with my windows rolled down, I was reading a book my dad presented me. It is named as Ekattorer Chithi, meaning the Letters from 1971. One of the letters catched my eye, even if all of them were very touchy. It was written by Shafi Imam Rumi, the guerrilla I mentioned earlier in one of my posts. Here I mention this below.

The Interview- Part:1

As I have mentioned earlier about how much I am fascinated about the liberation war, I have taken an interview of my dad about his experience in 1971 war. A part of it is mentioned below.

“This was an incident which always reverberates my memory when I pause and try to recapitulate the events of liberation war. This incident took place in the month of April, when I went back to my village home about 25 km from Sylhet town, following air strikes killing by the Pakistan Armed Forces in Sylhet town. Few days back on 25 March, 1971, my father had undergone an operation at the Sylhet Medical College Hospital by a reknown surgeon Prof. Dr. Shamsuddin Ahmed, who was later on brutally killed by the Pakistan millitarry. The Army entered the hospital premises and shoot him, he was then burried in the hospital campus.

What haunts me is the traumatic days in Sylhet town……”  -To be continued.

Witness to Surrender

   25 March, 1971. Major Siddique Salik witnessed the invasion of Pakistan Army in Dhaka that night. He was working with Lt. Gen. Tikka Khan during that period, and later wrote a book named Witness To Surrender based on his experience during that time.

   “Before the sun rose in the morning of 26 March, the soldiers submitted their final report of successful massacre ‘Operation Searchlight’. At noon Bhutto was taken out and escorted towards the Airport. Before leaving, he gave a short speech appreciating the work of Pakistan Army, thanking God that they could save Pakistan. When Bhutto gave such a positive remark I went to catch a glimpse of Dhaka University area and witnessed the mass graves made to bury hundreds of dead bodies. None of the officers agreed to reveal the exact death statistics…….”

A Guerrilla’s Tale

   Rumi was born on 29 March 1952 in the higher middle class family of Jahanara and Sharif Imam. A smart kid of a smart mother, who was a Headmistress of a reknown girls’ school in Dhaka, he obtained a good result in his Matriculation and stood 3rd in the entire Pakistan Education Board. By March 1971, he completed his HSC, and got admitted in Engineering College(currently BUET), and was also enrolled into Illinois Institute of Technology.

   Eventually the night of 25th March crept along, and Pakistan Army initiated their massive genocide in the name of “Operation Searchlight”. The whole country got devastated, thousands of young guys ran away from home in the middle of the night leaving a note behind, assuring that they left to join Mukti-bahini in order to fight back the massacre. Rumi was not one of them. He constantly attempted to convince his mother to give him the permission to attend the war. When she finally agreed on 19 April 1971, he crossed the border to receive guerrilla trainings in Melaghar, Agartala under sector-2, whose incharge was Khaled Mosharraf and Rashid Haider.

The Warrior

photo source: Internet

General Muhammad Ataul Gani Osmani, born on 1st September 1918 in Sunamganj, Sylhet, British India(present Bangladesh), and died on 16th February 1984, was a true hero of our Liberation War. He presided over Bangladesh Sector Commanders Conference during 1971 to authorise and create the entire Bangladesh Force. A brave General who contributed in our Liberation War, whose strong voice and determination inspired millions to chose the path of a freedom fighter in order to free this nation.

His picture has always flashed in my mind whenever I think of a true leader who is also a warrior during the Liberation War. The picture above shows M.A.G. Osmani receiving Guard of Honour from some fellow soldiers.

Declaration of Sovereignty

video courtesy: probashibarta (You Tube)

This is the video clip of the legendary speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman which I have been watching in television since childhood. It was held on 7Th March, 1971. It shows the final declaration of Liberation War by him when he announced his requisition of fighting back the military rulers when they attack.

In his words, it was to earn the civil rights of Bangalees including democracy. Thousands of people were gathered on that day  in Race-course Maidan to hear this speech, and they were all asked by him to fight back using whatever they have. This was a bold decision that had been taken according to me, as the poverty-struck Bangalees did not have any weapons to face the highly equipped Pakistani Military.

Playing with Fire

video courtesy: Baundulle (YouTube)

This video shows an interview of  Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the man who is behind the inspirational speeches and directing the Bangalees towards freedom via the Liberation War. I believe the informations given in the video are pretty important for today’s young generation to know.

The people of Bangladesh denied to follow military rulers from West Pakistan wing. They elected a leader for themselves from within their own wing, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This was not acceptable by the West-Pakistan military personnel. They had been enforcing martial law on public since many years…but it was the time for a change in 1971. A change for democracy. A change for people’s rights. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a leader for all the Bangalees at that time, although at present times his name is being used in the slogan of a political party.

BDR Mutiny: Panic, Uncertainty and Tragedy

   That morning started like every other morning. I woke up, brushed my teeth, got ready for class, and started off to attend my MAT211 class. 20 minutes had passed, no sign of our miss. A classmate was chatting with a nearby girl about some kind of crossfire taking place in Dhanmondi roads next to the BDR HQ. At first I thought it was another of our political riots, but when I joined them, I learned that it was a conflict between some BDR soldiers and their Army officers. The news made me anxious and I started wondering about some of my friends who lived in that area. The whole class was busy discussing this breaking news, and most of them was probably not aware of the seriousness of the situation. Finally our teacher came, totally distressed and looking pale. She lives in Dhanmondi, so she cared. At that point, a boy in class told that during their annual “Darbar”, some soldiers complained the higher officials with some issues and put their demands, which included raising their salaries, giving more facilities,etc. During the negotiation they exchanged some angry words and the soldiers opened fire inside the ‘Darbar Hall’ where the meeting was being conducted. In that boy’s words, the mutineers killed 22 army officials in the opening fire.

Blood Shedding Politics

photo by: Miftahul Jannat

After the language movement in 1952, the political affluence between the two wings were like a glowing splint. The dissatisfaction between the political parties were sky-high. In this turmoil, many protestation of the Bangalees occurred due to many unsolved issues of that time which were education, independence of the judiciary, etc. 

The Concert for Bangladesh

Video courtesy: bluearmyfr

The video shows the legendary song “Bangladesh” sang by George Harrison in his charity concert “The Concert for Bangladesh”. This was the first concert for world humanity, which raised more than $25000 to help the Bangalee refugees who took shelter in India during the Liberation War, 1971.