Historic role of Teliapara HQ in Liberation War

Teliapara is a tea garden in Shahjahanpur union of Madhabpur upazila under Habiganj district. Although small in size, the spot bears witness to a crucial chapter in the history of Bangladesh’s Liberation War. When the barbaric Pakistani army started to perpetrate a terrible genocide in Bangladesh from the midnight of March 25, 1971, various strata of the country’s unarmed population started to put up resistance in different corners. At this juncture, the Bangali soldiers of Pakistan Army swiftly revolted from their respective locations and came forward to stand beside the people. The 4th East Bengal Regiment was one of those rebel units. These rebels first arrived at Teliapara tea-garden on March 29 and set up their headquarters there. After that, when the 2nd East Bengal Regiment established their headquarters at the same place, it became the joint headquarters of both 2nd and 4th East Bengal Regiments.

Coinciding with this significant event, the director general of BSF eastern zone Brigadier B C Pande (famously known as Papa Pande) met Lt Colonel S M Reza, Major Khaled Mosharraf, Major K M Shafiullah and Major Shafaat Jamil after arriving in Teliapara headquarters. He informed them about the crossing of Indian border by Colonel M A G Osmani and the armed resistance put up by the 8th East Bengal Regiment under Major Ziaur Rahman at Ramgarh. During this meeting, the need for holding a conference at the dak-bungalow of Teliapara tea-garden on April 4, 1917, for coordinating the activities of rebel forces and resolving the issue of probable assistance from India was emphasised. Brigadier Pande gave assurance of all-out cooperation in this regard.

On April 2, 1971, the district magistrate of Agartala Omesh Saigal came to the Teliapara BOP (border outpost). He met Major Khaled Mosharraf and Major Shafaat Jamil and took steps for implementing the next course of collaborative action. Then on 3 April, Major Ziaur Rahman arrived at the Teliapara dak-bungalow from Chattogram for attending the conference. Towards 10 am in the morning of 4 April, Brigadier Pande and the Agartala district magistrate Omesh Saigal arrived in Teliapara dak-bungalow along with Colonel Muhammad Ataul Gani Osmani.

The liberation war was in fact formally launched from that historic military conference held on April 4, 1971. As no political government was in place till then, the senior-most retired army officer and elected member of the national assembly Colonel M A G Osmani was unanimously nominated as the commander-in-chief of the Muktibahini (liberation force). Another member of the national assembly Lt Colonel M A Rab was made the deputy commander-in-chief. Later, after the formation of the Bangladesh Government-in-Exile on 17 April, Colonel Osmani was made the commander of Muktibahini with the status of a minister through a cabinet decision adopted on April 29, 1971. Lt Colonel M A Rab was appointed the chief of staff, which was approved on the same day through the signature of acting president Syed Nazrul Islam.

Those who were present at the conference held on April 4 included Colonel M A G Osmani MNA, Lt Colonel M A Rab MNA, Lt Colonel Salauddin Mohammad Reza, Major Khaled Mosharraf, Major K M Shafiullah, Major Ziaur Rahman, Major Kazi Nuruzzaman, Major Nurul islam, Major Shafaat Jamil, Major Moinul Hossain Chowdhury and the rebel sub-divisional officer of Brahmanbaria Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad. The eastern zone Director General of BSF Brigadier B C Pande and the Agartala district magistrate Omesh Saigal represented the Indian government at the meeting. After the commencement of the meeting, the commanding officer of 4th East Bengal Regiment Major Khaled Mosharraf made a presentation on its objectives and agendas.

During the conference, Brigadier Pande gave assurance of providing limited quantity of arms and rations subject to approval of the Indian central government. The Agartala district magistrate Omesh Saigal gave assurance of setting up training centres for freedom fighters as well as camps for refugee on Indian territories. The whole of Bangladesh was divided into four military zones. Major Ziaur Rahman was given the responsibility of greater Chattogram, Chattogram Hill Tracts and the eastern region of Noakhali district. Major Khaled Mosharraf was given charge of greater Cumilla, and western regions of Dhaka and Noakhali districts. Major Shafiullah was vested the responsibility of greater Sylhet and eastern region of Mymensingh district. Major Abu Osman Chowdhury was given the charge of greater Kushtia, Jashore and Faridpur districts. The Muktibahini of Bangladesh emerged from this very gathering.

Following the conclusion of the meeting, Colonel Osmani declared the formal launching of Muktibahini by firing shots in the air from his revolver. Based on a decision at the meeting, a two week-long guerrilla training course was started for 2,000 freedom fighters for the first time under the stewardship of Major K M Shafiullah at the Banshbari Camp near Teliapara BOP.

The second meeting of the military officers was held at Teliapara on April 10. Two additional zones were approved at this second meeting, thereby raising the number of sectors to six. After the establishment of army headquarters in Kolkata, Teliapara remained the headquarters of Sector No 3 until 19 May.

Significantly, the first two out of a total three policy-making meetings of the Muktibahini during the liberation war were held at Teliapara, and the proposal to constitute a political government was adopted from here. The formal start of the liberation war and the emergence of Muktibahini were therefore concrete outcomes from the historic military conference held in Teliapara on April 4, 1971. Besides, as follow-up measures, the Proclamation of Independence was issued from Agartala on April 10, and the Mujibnagar Government was constituted at Meherpur on April 17.

At least 20 guerrilla battles and frontal combats between the Muktibahini (under the command of Sector No 3 commander Major K M Shafiullah) and the Pakistani forces took place at Madhabpur and Chunarughat areas, which were directed from the Teliapara headquarters. Teliapara was under the control of the freedom fighters until 19 May, but fell to the Pakistani military on 20 May following a successful ambush led by Lieutenant Helal Morshed Khan. The freedom fighters had to engage in a number of frontal combats just to keep Teliapara under their possession. A total of 83 freedom fighters were martyred during these encounters. On the other hand, around 210 Pakistani soldiers were killed. The events centring Teliapara headquarters will always be remembered in the annals of Bangladesh’s liberation war because of their military cum political significance.

Dr Helal Uddin Ahmed is a retired Additional Secretary and former Editor of Bangladesh Quarterly.

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