The 1971 Liberation Warfare of Bangladesh was once raging and curfew was once imposed by way of the Pakistan Military throughout Dhaka. As soon as the curfew was once comfy for some hours, Dr Alim Chowdhury would go away his circle of relatives – his spouse and two daughters, Neepa (5) and Nuzhat (3) — at house in Paltan house and perform ‘humanitarian’ paintings risking his existence.
Dr Chowdhury, a visionary and ophthalmologist, used to gather drugs from quite a lot of pharmacies and drug corporations. He then concealed the drugs within the bonnet of his automotive and delivered them at the name of the game base of the liberty opponents. He visited the name of the game sanatorium, which was once there to regard the wounded freedom opponents. Dr Chowdhury would give remedy to the injured. Many freedom opponents recovered and returned to the “battlefield”.
Nuzhat Chowdhury Shampa’s eyes overflow with love for her father as she speaks about him. She will’t recollect a lot of the time she spent with him. When her father was once martyred, she was once best 3. She says, “Pakistanis’ pals — Razakars, Albadars, probably the most Alshams forces — took my father from our space in Paltan on December 15 round 4.30pm in entrance of our eyes. 3 days later, on December 18, our members of the family discovered the mutilated frame of my father and a few others within the slaughterhouse of Rayer Bazar. My father’s chest was once discovered pierced with many bullets. There have been marks of torture all over the place his frame; deep bayonet wounds at the left aspect of brow and stomach. My father’s eyes had been gouged out by way of the beasts. The primary executioner was once Ashrafuzzaman Khan. My father’s best fault was once providing remedy to the liberty opponents.”
Because the struggle was once at its fag finish, Pakistan’s invading forces systematically began killing famous Bengali personalities. Many had been kidnapped from their properties; whilst some had been brutally murdered proper in entrance in their circle of relatives. The record of the martyrs is never-ending. There have been 991 academicians, 13 newshounds, 49 medical doctors, 42 attorneys and artists and 16 engineers amongst them. In all, 1, 111 such other folks had been murdered.
A recent curfew was once clamped in Dhaka from December 4, 1971. On December 10, plan to bloodbath intellectuals and key personalities started. The nefarious plan was once done on December 14. Distinguished other folks had been picked by way of the Pakistan Military and their henchmen. About 200 intellectuals had been kidnapped from their properties that day. They had been blindfolded and brought to torture centres positioned in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Nakhalpara, Rajar Bagh and lots of different puts. After being tortured, they had been brutally killed in Rayer Bazar and Mirpur slaughterhouses. Even after the give up and reliable finish of the struggle, there have been allegations of firing by way of the Pakistani Military and its allies. In a single such incident, famend film-maker Zahir Raihan misplaced his existence on January 30, 1972.
Essentially the most heinous crimes had been dedicated by way of the Pakistani career forces and their native allies Al Shams, Al Badar and Razakars. Those had been deliberate, calculated and cold-blooded killings aimed toward breaking the spine of a country suffering to disencumber itself from the clutches of Pakistani troops. The perpetrators centered the most efficient Bengali minds and ability, together with literary giants, philosophers, scientists, painters, lecturers, researchers, newshounds, attorneys, medical doctors, engineers, architects, sculptors, govt and personal workers, politicians, philanthropists, tradition fans, artists related to movie, drama and tune, who had been contributing considerably to the advance of Bangladesh. After killing them, their our bodies had been dumped within the swamps of Rayer Bazar and Mirpur. Later, mutilated our bodies of the martyrs had been recovered from those swamps.
An identical atrocities had been dedicated somewhere else out of doors Dhaka. These kind of martyrs represented the principle driver of the country and acted as a beacon for the exploited other folks. They had been ardent patriots who believed that at some point the country would change into impartial.
Main Normal Rao Farman Ali was once the principle planner of those killings, who acted at the orders of the Pakistan Military. And the notorious Al Badr Military, at first shaped by way of Jamaat-e-Islami, helped get ready the hit record and the execution of the murders. The primary perpetrators had been Chowdhury Moinuddin (Operation In-Price) and Ashrafuzzaman Khan (Leader Executioner) of Badar Military. After December 16, 1971, a non-public diary of Ashrafuzzaman Khan was once recovered from his space in Nakhalpara place of dwelling, two pages of which had names of about 20 intellectuals and their residential cope with.
Consistent with the testimony given by way of his automotive motive force Mofizuddin, the charred our bodies of a number of intellectuals, whom he shot along with his personal palms, had been present in swamps of Rayer Bazar and Sialbari slaughterhouses in Mirpur. Chowdhury Moinuddin was once a member of the central committee of Jamaat-e-Islami in 1971. He used to put across the names and addresses of the intellectuals to Normal Rao Farman Ali and Brigadier Bashir Ahmed from the ‘Day-to-day Observer’ development. But even so, there have been ABM Khalek Majumdar (killer of Shahidullah Qaiser), Maulana Abdul Mannan (killer of Dr Alim Chowdhury), Abdul Quader Molla (killer of poet Mehrunnesa) and others. The primary killers in Chittagong had been Fazlul Quader Chowdhury and his two sons Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Gias Quader Chowdhury.
Famend creator and researcher Mohiuddin Ahmed says it’s not positive how they deliberate it. Alternatively, from the night time of March 25 to December 14, 1971, intellectuals, together with lecturers, newshounds and artists, had been killed in cities and villages around the nation. However the unhappy reality is that it has no longer been delved into correctly and there are lots of unanswered questions. Historian Muntasir Mamun mentioned that the killing of intellectuals began prior to Jamaat-e-Islami’s pupil union was once utterly remodeled into Al-Badar. Alternatively, after the formation of Al-Badar Military, the accountability of killing intellectuals was once particularly given to them. Al-Badar drive (Bahini) picked many from their properties and killed them in micro housing in Dhaka.
Historians say the names of many useless and lacking intellectuals had been written in Rao Farman Ali’s diary, which was once discovered within the then Governor’s Area (now Banga Bhaban) in Dhaka. Mamun and Mohiuddin Ahmed collectively visited Pakistan and interviewed Rao Farman Ali in 1989. It’s printed within the ebook titled ‘Sey Sab Pakistani’.
Mamun says that Rao Farman Ali was once concerned within the homicide of intellectuals at once or not directly, which was once due to this fact proved in some paperwork. Alternatively, all of the army junta was once concerned. Mamun additionally believes that the then army commander of East Pakistan, Lieutenant Normal Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, additionally had the blueprint.
He says that Niazi had recommended to not position any Bengali reliable in any submit. The entire best officers of the Pakistani Military had been concerned within the making plans of killing of intellectuals.
The famous intellectuals killed come with Prof Munir Chowdhury, Dr Alim Chowdhury, Professor Muniruzzaman, Dr Fazle Rabbi, Siraj Uddin Hossain, Shahidullah Kaiser, Prof GC Dev, Jyotirmoy Guha Thakurta, Prof Santosh Bhattacharya, Mofazzal Haider Chowdhury, Prof Ghiyas Uddin, Prof Anwar Pasha, Prof Rashidul Hasan, Dr Abul Khair, Dr Murtaza, journalist Khandaker Abu Taher, Nizamuddin Ahmed, SA Mannan (Ladu Bhai), ANM Ghulam Mostafa, Syed Nazmul Haque, Selina Parveen.
Credit
Reporter: Sahidul Hasan Khokon
Edited by way of: Tirtho Banerjee
Interactive Manufacturer: Raka Mukherjee
Interactive Developer: Vishal Rathour
Quilt representation: Vani Gupta
Pictures: Sahidul Hasan Khokon,India Lately Archives