A Victory at the cost of 30 million lives
Thursday, 16 December 2010
Musa Sadik
Thirty-nine years ago, in 1971, I was working in the blood-drenched war fronts as an Information Officer-cum-War Correspondent of Mujibnagar Government. Alongside, I discharged my tough responsibilities as War Correspondent of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. I was hovering between life and death among the thousands of bullets being fired and artillery shells whizzing overhead. Defying death I had to rush from one front to another with meteoric speed with the valiant Freedom Fighters and Allied Forces. I have seen hundreds of the valiant sons of Mother Bengal falling like wilted flowers in the battlefronts. I saw them breathing their last with their breasts resting on the soil of Mother Bengal and blood gushing out of them.
I used to broadcast from Swadhin Bangla radio in my own voice a round-up of the happenings in the fronts twice a week under the title "From the battle-front" and "From the liberated areas". During the Liberation War many of my dispatches were broadcast by BBC, Radio Australia and Akashbani and were also headlined in many of the international newspapers. Apart from performing my duty as a war correspondent I had to carry many military secrets and my news gathering about the position and defence preparedness of Pakistani troops in the occupied areas of Bangladesh helped the Allied forces in formulating their strategy. In the war-front and occupied areas, I had many a time returned from the jaws of death by the grace of Almighty Allah. At the end of the war in December '71, I was subjected to severe torture by Pak troops and was rescued in an unconscious and critical state from an abandoned bunker by Captain Huda and his valiant freedom fighters.
Following are some of the tragic stories of those fateful days of '71.
On December 16, 1971, the valiant freedom fighters came home from the front wearing gumboots, their hair tousled and a few days' stubble on their cheeks.
At first the mother could not recognise her own son. When she did, tears welled up from her eyes like a stream and moistened the son's chest. These are the freedom fighters of Bangladesh who helped the Allied Forces take ninety-six thousand-strong occupation forces of Pakistan as prisoners. The triumph of the freedom fighters was being sung round the four corners of the earth. From Teknaf to Tetulia people were eager to embrace the heroes. The flag of Bangladesh emblazoned with the country's map set against the red sun fluttering all around and the slogan "Joy Bangla" resounding throughout towns and villages.
As the valiant sons of the Bangalee mothers were coming home that day, their path was strewn with flowers by the men and women of Bangla. In every home mothers and sisters with hands upraised prayed for the well being of the indomitable 'Prometheuses' of Bengal.
And for those who did not return from the front, but had with their blood blazed the path for other freedom fighters - for these deathless heroes all wept bitterly. It was mother Bengal in tears.
Those who laid down their lives in absolutely selfless devotion to the cause of liberation - how many of us remember their names today? They lie asleep in the heart of Bengal, across the sixty-eight thousand villages. How many are there today who in homage to the martyrs will declaim: "You have conquered death. Ever shall you remain alive in every Bangalee's heart"? many have already forgotten them. Those who are in the rat race for material possession in today's Dhaka are not disturbed by any lingering thoughts of the self-sacrifices of those gallant patriots. But in the remote and tiny hamlets, the mothers and sisters of Bengal sitting on their prayer mats still pray to the merciful for the salvation of the souls of those beloved heroes, radiant like the sun and gleaming like the stars.
The Kabiruls were among those who had likewise shed tears on the bank of the river Sonabhori on October 2. On the eastern bank, Rajibpur was the defence line of the freedom fighters. From Roumari to Rajibpur, from Mollar Char to Bahadurabad river terminal was their stronghold. The Pakistani defence lay along the entire western bank of the river. The two forces used to fire occasionally at each other in frontal engagements.
The undaunted freedom fighters summoned up all their courage and made a sudden thrust across the Sonabhori, the ill-fated river, in the last week of September. Before sunrise the Pak defence line on the west bank of the river was occupied. Two Pak soldiers were killed and many others wounded. With calculated moves the Muktibahini snatched away the long-coveted victory without sustaining any casualty. The Pakistani occupation forces were compelled to abandon their defence and retreat. Standing on the soil of Kodalkati, Subedar Major Altaf Hussain, FF commander Kabirul and freedom fighter Samad prayed to Allah and vowed to free their motherland from the occupation forces. On the green lawn of Kodalkati base the flag of Bangladesh, inscribed with the country's map, set against the crimson sun was fluttering on a flagpole. The Muktibahini consisted of a company of FF and some non-military personnel.
It was raining on October 4. At 4 o'clock in the morning about one hundred men of the Pakistani occupation forces, aided by three hundred razakars, attacked the Kodalkati defence base of the Muktibahini. In the rain-soaked morning the Muktibahini offered a bold resistance against a vast army. The Pakistani troops were armed with three-inch and six-inch mortars, while Bangalee freedom fighters carried 303 rifles and a single LMG.
The do-or-die battle was fought for long two hours on the bank of the Sonabhori. Every bullet of the occupation force drew a retaliatory shot from Kabir, Shafiq and others, who were hitting their targets accurately. In one bunker they were able to hit three 'Khan' troops. The occupation force suffered huge casualties. A number of razakars were also killed. The way the freedom fighters were able to push back the invaders, despite possessing no safe passage for retreat or replenishment, further enraged the invaders. After suffering unexpectedly heavy casualties they became desperate to occupy Kodalkata. Believing that the Muktibahini's defence would not hold out for long, the Pakistani troops intensified their attack. Fate also seemed to work against Kabir and his co-fighters. The Muktibahini's defence began to crumble and at the end could not match the overwhelmingly superior strength of the enemy. After a two-hour-long frontal battle with an army three times stronger, they decided to beat a retreat. When they swam across the sorrowful river Sonabhori and landed to safety, they found that four of their comrades, including Abdus Samad, a student of B.Sc. Classes of Gaibandha College, were missing. The Pakistani occupation troops had captured the four. As the sun rose over the Sonabhori, the occupation troops brought the four to the riverbank and exhibited their prized catch to Kabirul and his co-fighters.
On this bank everybody was in tears for them. But till then no one knew what cruel fate awaited those unfortunate four. Five hours later five launches and two gunboats came cruising from the Bahadurabad terminal side of the river. It was witnessed that five freedom fighters after being tied to the stern of the gunboat with cords were thrown in the water, while Pakistani soldiers were steering the boat merrily, shouting "Pakistan Zindabad". They performed this in full view of the freedom fighters on the eastern bank. Samad and others tied to the stern were helplessly tossing in the current. The strong tide and the waves churned by the boat were lashing upon them. In this four way the four brave sons of mother Bengal were towed from the bank of Kodalkata to Bahadurabad terminal. The freedom fighters, robbed of their companions, were also running alongside the eastern bank, laterally to the gunboat. Their wailing 'Oh! Allah', 'Oh! Allah' orchestrated with the gurgling sound of the river tide. As the news of this atrocity travelled like wildfire villagers with bleeding hearts rushed to the riverbank to witness this devilish spectacle. On the eastern bank was heard only the heart-rending wails 'Help, Oh! Allah, help.' No one cares to know today when the four brave youths yoked to the stern of the gunboat were swallowed by the swirling water.
Were the innocent infants spared? The song "Joy Bangla, Banglar joy" was being relayed from Swadhin Bangla radio. That was the early phase of the war. On the morning of April 24 sun had begun to shine over Shekhpara in Khulna. A group of innocent children had abandoned their play and gone to the near-by pond for a dip. They jumped into the water in a group and were playfully shouting "Joy Bangla" as they splashed, tossed and plunged in the pond. They had grown no awareness of the foes as distinct from friends. Playfully they were jumping and splashing in the water and shouting "Joy Bangla". Little did they know that in the guise of play violent death was creeping close.
It was about noon. A military jeep was rushing through the road by the pond. As the sound of "Joy Bangla" reached the jeep, it pulled its brake hard and groaned to a halt. There were seven or eight children in the pond. Three men of the Pakistani army got down from the jeep with sten gun in hand. Without sparing a moment's thought they emptied the magazines of their guns on the pond. On the surface of the water floated the skulls, eyes, limbs and organs of the children. The water was dyed red with the children's blood. After creating a doomsday scene in Sheikhpara the jeep of the occupation troops sped away.
When the men of the occupation forces were entering the town of Dinajpur they hoisted the Joy Bangla flag on their vehicles and were chanting "Joy Bangla" slogan in order to delude the people. At 'Dinajpur Lodge' a boy empathised and shouted "Joy Bangla" in their direction. That boy was taken to the Katabari road crossing and shot dead.
The occupation forces did not spare even religious preachers. In Dinajpur, Father Lukas Marandi of Ruhia Mission fell prey to them. Certainly he was not the one to take up arms against the Punjabis. How could such a charge be brought against a religious savant? His only fault was that he had given shelter to some terrified fleeing people. After making such accusation against a pious philanthropist they shot him dead on the very mission premises. Ruhia Mission, the symbol of piety and humanism, is today a place of worship commemorating Father Marandi's glorious self-sacrifice.
The men of the al-Badr took the widely revered Professor Munier Chowdhury of Dhaka University to the slaughter ground at Rayer Bazar, tied and blindfolded. My fond uncle, Dr Murtaza of Dhaka University, was taken in the same way. It was quarter-to-eleven in the morning on December 14. A jeep came to a halt in front of the building No 14. Four persons, their faces masked, alighted. They were carrying weapons. The al-Badr men knocked at a door on the ground floor. Uncle Murtaza opened the door and asked, 'What do you want?' The masked and weapon-carrying al-Badr men replied, 'We want Dr Murtaza.' Uncle replied composedly, 'That's me'. They tied up uncle's hands with the cord they had brought. They said, 'Come with us.' At the gate the messengers of death stopped and looked back. Behind stood auntie, frightened and bewildered, and their two-year-old daughter Miti. The deadly messengers' eyes were fixed upon Miti. Auntie felt a chill. One of the deadly messengers stepped forward in Miti's direction. Auntie screamed, 'She's an innocent child. What wrong has she done?' They pulled away Miti's odna, a long scarf worn by Muslim girls. It was red striped. Uncle had brought her that red striped scarf a few days earlier. With that scarf they blindfolded Dr Murtaza. He was whisked away to an unknown destination.
How did they take away the universally loved Kader Master of Tetulia, whose memory still brings tears to the eyes of his students, whose name is still recalled with reverence by all and sundry? This universally adored Kader Master was caught by the Punjabis on the charge of helping the freedom fighters and propagating that the Pakistani soldiers committed atrocities. The Punjabis rounded him up and carried him from Tetulia to Thakurgaon. But can you imagine how he was transported? The incident at Tetulia would remind one of Karbala.
Kader Master was the one who had kindled patriotism in the hearts of the students, inspired them to join the liberation war, gave shelter to many a freedom fighter. On November 19, Kader Master was tied to the rear of a jeep and dragged at high speed in broad daylight from Tetulia to Thakurgaon by the Pakistani Yazids.
On the way the jeep halted at towns and markets for demonstrating to the common people, while the men in the jeep shouted, "This punishment awaits the traitors, Muktis". Whoever saw his dear Kader Master tied to the rear of the jeep with a cord, his head crushed, his body mangled and battered and bathed in blood, wept only helplessly. No one knows when that mauled and mangled body fell dead.
Innumerable incidents in which such fiendish torture was perpetrated could be compared with the incidents of Karbala for their enormity. Few of these are known and documented. December 16 is the landmark day in our nation's life. It is the day on which in 1971, we saw light after darkness; a new sun-etched flag was raised signalling the birth of the Bengalee nation. We must renew our pledge on this day to build Sonar Bangla as dreamt by our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. I appeal to the thirty crore Bangalees of the world to please hoist the flag on every house today and write on it in letters of gold: "Bangalees are a nation of heroes, a nation of three million martyrs. The immortal soul of the Bengalee nation is Sheikh Mujibur Rahman".
The writer is a War Correspondent of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra and Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh and can be reached at e-mail: musabd.com@gmail.com
Thirty-nine years ago, in 1971, I was working in the blood-drenched war fronts as an Information Officer-cum-War Correspondent of Mujibnagar Government. Alongside, I discharged my tough responsibilities as War Correspondent of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. I was hovering between life and death among the thousands of bullets being fired and artillery shells whizzing overhead. Defying death I had to rush from one front to another with meteoric speed with the valiant Freedom Fighters and Allied Forces. I have seen hundreds of the valiant sons of Mother Bengal falling like wilted flowers in the battlefronts. I saw them breathing their last with their breasts resting on the soil of Mother Bengal and blood gushing out of them.
I used to broadcast from Swadhin Bangla radio in my own voice a round-up of the happenings in the fronts twice a week under the title "From the battle-front" and "From the liberated areas". During the Liberation War many of my dispatches were broadcast by BBC, Radio Australia and Akashbani and were also headlined in many of the international newspapers. Apart from performing my duty as a war correspondent I had to carry many military secrets and my news gathering about the position and defence preparedness of Pakistani troops in the occupied areas of Bangladesh helped the Allied forces in formulating their strategy. In the war-front and occupied areas, I had many a time returned from the jaws of death by the grace of Almighty Allah. At the end of the war in December '71, I was subjected to severe torture by Pak troops and was rescued in an unconscious and critical state from an abandoned bunker by Captain Huda and his valiant freedom fighters.
Following are some of the tragic stories of those fateful days of '71.
On December 16, 1971, the valiant freedom fighters came home from the front wearing gumboots, their hair tousled and a few days' stubble on their cheeks.
At first the mother could not recognise her own son. When she did, tears welled up from her eyes like a stream and moistened the son's chest. These are the freedom fighters of Bangladesh who helped the Allied Forces take ninety-six thousand-strong occupation forces of Pakistan as prisoners. The triumph of the freedom fighters was being sung round the four corners of the earth. From Teknaf to Tetulia people were eager to embrace the heroes. The flag of Bangladesh emblazoned with the country's map set against the red sun fluttering all around and the slogan "Joy Bangla" resounding throughout towns and villages.
As the valiant sons of the Bangalee mothers were coming home that day, their path was strewn with flowers by the men and women of Bangla. In every home mothers and sisters with hands upraised prayed for the well being of the indomitable 'Prometheuses' of Bengal.
And for those who did not return from the front, but had with their blood blazed the path for other freedom fighters - for these deathless heroes all wept bitterly. It was mother Bengal in tears.
Those who laid down their lives in absolutely selfless devotion to the cause of liberation - how many of us remember their names today? They lie asleep in the heart of Bengal, across the sixty-eight thousand villages. How many are there today who in homage to the martyrs will declaim: "You have conquered death. Ever shall you remain alive in every Bangalee's heart"? many have already forgotten them. Those who are in the rat race for material possession in today's Dhaka are not disturbed by any lingering thoughts of the self-sacrifices of those gallant patriots. But in the remote and tiny hamlets, the mothers and sisters of Bengal sitting on their prayer mats still pray to the merciful for the salvation of the souls of those beloved heroes, radiant like the sun and gleaming like the stars.
The Kabiruls were among those who had likewise shed tears on the bank of the river Sonabhori on October 2. On the eastern bank, Rajibpur was the defence line of the freedom fighters. From Roumari to Rajibpur, from Mollar Char to Bahadurabad river terminal was their stronghold. The Pakistani defence lay along the entire western bank of the river. The two forces used to fire occasionally at each other in frontal engagements.
The undaunted freedom fighters summoned up all their courage and made a sudden thrust across the Sonabhori, the ill-fated river, in the last week of September. Before sunrise the Pak defence line on the west bank of the river was occupied. Two Pak soldiers were killed and many others wounded. With calculated moves the Muktibahini snatched away the long-coveted victory without sustaining any casualty. The Pakistani occupation forces were compelled to abandon their defence and retreat. Standing on the soil of Kodalkati, Subedar Major Altaf Hussain, FF commander Kabirul and freedom fighter Samad prayed to Allah and vowed to free their motherland from the occupation forces. On the green lawn of Kodalkati base the flag of Bangladesh, inscribed with the country's map, set against the crimson sun was fluttering on a flagpole. The Muktibahini consisted of a company of FF and some non-military personnel.
It was raining on October 4. At 4 o'clock in the morning about one hundred men of the Pakistani occupation forces, aided by three hundred razakars, attacked the Kodalkati defence base of the Muktibahini. In the rain-soaked morning the Muktibahini offered a bold resistance against a vast army. The Pakistani troops were armed with three-inch and six-inch mortars, while Bangalee freedom fighters carried 303 rifles and a single LMG.
The do-or-die battle was fought for long two hours on the bank of the Sonabhori. Every bullet of the occupation force drew a retaliatory shot from Kabir, Shafiq and others, who were hitting their targets accurately. In one bunker they were able to hit three 'Khan' troops. The occupation force suffered huge casualties. A number of razakars were also killed. The way the freedom fighters were able to push back the invaders, despite possessing no safe passage for retreat or replenishment, further enraged the invaders. After suffering unexpectedly heavy casualties they became desperate to occupy Kodalkata. Believing that the Muktibahini's defence would not hold out for long, the Pakistani troops intensified their attack. Fate also seemed to work against Kabir and his co-fighters. The Muktibahini's defence began to crumble and at the end could not match the overwhelmingly superior strength of the enemy. After a two-hour-long frontal battle with an army three times stronger, they decided to beat a retreat. When they swam across the sorrowful river Sonabhori and landed to safety, they found that four of their comrades, including Abdus Samad, a student of B.Sc. Classes of Gaibandha College, were missing. The Pakistani occupation troops had captured the four. As the sun rose over the Sonabhori, the occupation troops brought the four to the riverbank and exhibited their prized catch to Kabirul and his co-fighters.
On this bank everybody was in tears for them. But till then no one knew what cruel fate awaited those unfortunate four. Five hours later five launches and two gunboats came cruising from the Bahadurabad terminal side of the river. It was witnessed that five freedom fighters after being tied to the stern of the gunboat with cords were thrown in the water, while Pakistani soldiers were steering the boat merrily, shouting "Pakistan Zindabad". They performed this in full view of the freedom fighters on the eastern bank. Samad and others tied to the stern were helplessly tossing in the current. The strong tide and the waves churned by the boat were lashing upon them. In this four way the four brave sons of mother Bengal were towed from the bank of Kodalkata to Bahadurabad terminal. The freedom fighters, robbed of their companions, were also running alongside the eastern bank, laterally to the gunboat. Their wailing 'Oh! Allah', 'Oh! Allah' orchestrated with the gurgling sound of the river tide. As the news of this atrocity travelled like wildfire villagers with bleeding hearts rushed to the riverbank to witness this devilish spectacle. On the eastern bank was heard only the heart-rending wails 'Help, Oh! Allah, help.' No one cares to know today when the four brave youths yoked to the stern of the gunboat were swallowed by the swirling water.
Were the innocent infants spared? The song "Joy Bangla, Banglar joy" was being relayed from Swadhin Bangla radio. That was the early phase of the war. On the morning of April 24 sun had begun to shine over Shekhpara in Khulna. A group of innocent children had abandoned their play and gone to the near-by pond for a dip. They jumped into the water in a group and were playfully shouting "Joy Bangla" as they splashed, tossed and plunged in the pond. They had grown no awareness of the foes as distinct from friends. Playfully they were jumping and splashing in the water and shouting "Joy Bangla". Little did they know that in the guise of play violent death was creeping close.
It was about noon. A military jeep was rushing through the road by the pond. As the sound of "Joy Bangla" reached the jeep, it pulled its brake hard and groaned to a halt. There were seven or eight children in the pond. Three men of the Pakistani army got down from the jeep with sten gun in hand. Without sparing a moment's thought they emptied the magazines of their guns on the pond. On the surface of the water floated the skulls, eyes, limbs and organs of the children. The water was dyed red with the children's blood. After creating a doomsday scene in Sheikhpara the jeep of the occupation troops sped away.
When the men of the occupation forces were entering the town of Dinajpur they hoisted the Joy Bangla flag on their vehicles and were chanting "Joy Bangla" slogan in order to delude the people. At 'Dinajpur Lodge' a boy empathised and shouted "Joy Bangla" in their direction. That boy was taken to the Katabari road crossing and shot dead.
The occupation forces did not spare even religious preachers. In Dinajpur, Father Lukas Marandi of Ruhia Mission fell prey to them. Certainly he was not the one to take up arms against the Punjabis. How could such a charge be brought against a religious savant? His only fault was that he had given shelter to some terrified fleeing people. After making such accusation against a pious philanthropist they shot him dead on the very mission premises. Ruhia Mission, the symbol of piety and humanism, is today a place of worship commemorating Father Marandi's glorious self-sacrifice.
The men of the al-Badr took the widely revered Professor Munier Chowdhury of Dhaka University to the slaughter ground at Rayer Bazar, tied and blindfolded. My fond uncle, Dr Murtaza of Dhaka University, was taken in the same way. It was quarter-to-eleven in the morning on December 14. A jeep came to a halt in front of the building No 14. Four persons, their faces masked, alighted. They were carrying weapons. The al-Badr men knocked at a door on the ground floor. Uncle Murtaza opened the door and asked, 'What do you want?' The masked and weapon-carrying al-Badr men replied, 'We want Dr Murtaza.' Uncle replied composedly, 'That's me'. They tied up uncle's hands with the cord they had brought. They said, 'Come with us.' At the gate the messengers of death stopped and looked back. Behind stood auntie, frightened and bewildered, and their two-year-old daughter Miti. The deadly messengers' eyes were fixed upon Miti. Auntie felt a chill. One of the deadly messengers stepped forward in Miti's direction. Auntie screamed, 'She's an innocent child. What wrong has she done?' They pulled away Miti's odna, a long scarf worn by Muslim girls. It was red striped. Uncle had brought her that red striped scarf a few days earlier. With that scarf they blindfolded Dr Murtaza. He was whisked away to an unknown destination.
How did they take away the universally loved Kader Master of Tetulia, whose memory still brings tears to the eyes of his students, whose name is still recalled with reverence by all and sundry? This universally adored Kader Master was caught by the Punjabis on the charge of helping the freedom fighters and propagating that the Pakistani soldiers committed atrocities. The Punjabis rounded him up and carried him from Tetulia to Thakurgaon. But can you imagine how he was transported? The incident at Tetulia would remind one of Karbala.
Kader Master was the one who had kindled patriotism in the hearts of the students, inspired them to join the liberation war, gave shelter to many a freedom fighter. On November 19, Kader Master was tied to the rear of a jeep and dragged at high speed in broad daylight from Tetulia to Thakurgaon by the Pakistani Yazids.
On the way the jeep halted at towns and markets for demonstrating to the common people, while the men in the jeep shouted, "This punishment awaits the traitors, Muktis". Whoever saw his dear Kader Master tied to the rear of the jeep with a cord, his head crushed, his body mangled and battered and bathed in blood, wept only helplessly. No one knows when that mauled and mangled body fell dead.
Innumerable incidents in which such fiendish torture was perpetrated could be compared with the incidents of Karbala for their enormity. Few of these are known and documented. December 16 is the landmark day in our nation's life. It is the day on which in 1971, we saw light after darkness; a new sun-etched flag was raised signalling the birth of the Bengalee nation. We must renew our pledge on this day to build Sonar Bangla as dreamt by our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. I appeal to the thirty crore Bangalees of the world to please hoist the flag on every house today and write on it in letters of gold: "Bangalees are a nation of heroes, a nation of three million martyrs. The immortal soul of the Bengalee nation is Sheikh Mujibur Rahman".
The writer is a War Correspondent of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra and Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh and can be reached at e-mail: musabd.com@gmail.com