Monuments and Memorials of Bangladesh Liberation War Sylhet Division

By Anwar Shahjahan

The book begins with a foreword describing this context. In this part, Anwar Shahjahan has given a brief description of the Sylhet Division. More specifically, he has assessed the importance of the location and contribution of the Sylhet Division. Here, he has frankly expressed his concerns about the incompleteness of his work. The book is divided into four main chapters, which contain accounts of the virtual spaces and monuments of the liberation war of Sylhet, Habiganj, Sunamganj, and Moulvibazar. He has chronologically discussed regions in brief throughout. Each main chapter has sub-chapters, numbering 46, 8,10, and 15, respectively, totalling 79 sub-chapters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Utso Prokashan
• Release date: Dec 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9789849602002

Book preview

Monuments and Memorials of Bangladesh Liberation War : Sylhet Division

Monuments and Memorials of Bangladesh Liberation War : Sylhet Division

Anwar Shahjahan

Utso Prokashan

Twenty one year of Publication

Utso Prokashan

©

Author

Date of Publication

December 2018 (Bangla)

February 2022

Publisher

Mustafa Salim

Utso Prokashan

127 Aziz Super Market (2nd floor), Shahbag, Dhaka 1000

Phone : [phone]

E-mail : [e-mail], [e-mail]

Cover Design

Mustafiz Karigor

Printing

Sanjana Printers, 81/ Nayapaltan, Dhaka 1000

Price : 450 Taka

ISBN : 978-984-96020-0-2

Online Distributor

www.rokomari.com/ utso // www.porua.com.bd // www.boimela.com

Dedication

To those martyrs in exchange of whose blood we had

achieved independence.

Other published books of Anthor

Moddaner Kolahol (Selection of poems, 1993)

Kojon Kritisontan (Biography, 1994)

Shomoyer Sreshto Chhora (Selection of Short poems, 1995)

Bilater Dinguli O Onnanno Proshango (Essay, 1996)

Golapganjer Itihash O Oitijjo (History, 1996 & 2015)

Shadinotajudde Khetabprapto Bir Muktijudda (Part-1, 2016)

Shadinotajudde Khetabprapto Bir Muktijudda (Part-2, 2017)

Sylheter Khetabprapto Bir Muktijudda (2018)

Sylhetay Muktijuddher smiriti bigoreto stan o shiudo (Part 1 2018)

Monuments and Memorials of Bangladesh Liberation War in Sylhet (2018)

Corona Atonko Deshe Deshe (2021)

INTRODUCTION

Bangladesh fought through an armed struggle to achieve independence. Indeed, our autonomy is neither due to anybody is bestowal nor to the execution of any agreement. The freedom of this country was achieved through a nine-month-long bloody war of liberation. Three million men and women were martyred in this war, and countless mothers and sisters were raped in this struggle. The country was liberated at the high cost of our brave freedom fighter’s sacrificed blood and the devoted mass of the country at large.

So far, after having attained our independence, many historical accounts and memoirs have been written on this subject by writers from our country and authors, journalists, and freedom fighters from abroad. They have each composed different types of works on our great war of liberation. Even so, many aspects of this issue are still left unwritten. It is expected that many more works on this auspicious subject matter will be coming out for publication in the coming days. However, with the publication of one book, a new chapter is added to the storehouse of contemporary history and literature on this war of liberation. ÔMonuments and Memorials of Bangladesh liberation war : Sylhet Divsion Õ by foreign resident and patriot writer Anwar Shahjahan. The writer did not witness our freedom war, as he was born afterwards in our new independent Bangladesh. Nevertheless, he has demonstrated immense interest and attachment regarding our local history and our struggle for freedom. He has already composed several works on this subject, and ÔMonuments and Memorials of Bangladesh liberation war : Sylhet DivisionÕ harvest his adoration, patience, attachment, and exertion over long days.

There are many places bearing memories of the liberation war in the four districts of Sylhet Division. Being situated on the border of Bangladesh and India, Sylhet Division was recognized as an important place during liberation. Therefore, many armed conflicts, face-to-face action, and guerrilla-style fighting occurred between our brave freedom fighters and the occupied Pakistani forces throughout this area. In all these conflicts, many freedom fighters were injured or martyred. Many unarmed public members also lost their lives due to the Pakistani force’s brutality, and many also experienced moments on the brink of death. Entangled with memories of the liberation war, many martyr’s monuments have been preserved with due care in multiple locations.

In contrast, in other places, such monuments are still lying neglected without any care. Entwined with liberation war memoirs, many places have also been site unidentified, while others have disappeared under newly built establishments. As a result, marks of the liberation war have been abolished, and in so many other identified places, there has not yet been a martyr’s monument established.

As a research analyst of the liberation war, Anwar Shahjahan had travelled across the entire Sylhet Division. He deliberately collected and noted all the information of different memorable places and monuments relating to our liberation war with due care. Based on this authentic information, he has composed this book for publication. There may indeed be more spaces and monuments relating to the war of liberation beyond what he has witnessed. Performing such a considerable task independently was quite tricky and, to some extent, even impossible. Still, because of his steadfast love for his motherland, he remained entirely devoted to performing this holy task by dedicating so much of his time and money to it. Anwar Shahjahan has been altogether successful in his initiative.

The book begins with a foreword describing this context. In this part, Anwar Shahjahan has given a brief description of the Sylhet Division. More specifically, he has assessed the importance of the location and contribution of the Sylhet Division. Here, he has frankly expressed his concerns about the incompleteness of his work. The book is divided into four main chapters, which contain accounts of the virtual spaces and monuments of the liberation war of Sylhet, Habiganj, Sunamganj, and Moulvibazar. He has chronologically discussed regions in brief throughout. Each main chapter has sub-chapters, numbering 46, 8,10, and 15, respectively, totalling 79

sub-chapters.

While elaborating on the spaces and monuments of the liberation war, Shahjahan also provides a vivid description of the fighting that has taken place in each of these locations. As a result, his description has become an integral part of our national history. With the desperate outlook, he has tried his best to conduct the proper study of liberation war history. In these efforts, his success ranks supreme beyond question. Similar works on the memorable spaces and monuments of the liberation war should also be written and published, covering other country regions. This is because it is necessary to report the most accurate history of the liberation war. I am not sure whether any such book has already been written and published, covering other regions. However, I consider it essential to issue such a book covering each part about which nothing has yet been published.

By writing ÔMonuments and Memorials of Bangladesh liberation war : Sylhet DivisionÕ, Shahjahan has indeed freed the inhabitants of Sylhet from the burden of social accountability. Wherever there is any incompleteness in this book, we hope that another researcher will come forward to fill these gaps. There is no concluding word in writing or researching history. Nevertheless, particularly for Sylhet, this is the first book of its type and pattern. Shahjahan will be forever remembered as a pioneer of history and literature on our struggle for liberation. Immense debts to my respectable teacher, Professor Dr Mahmud Shah Qureshi, who had given his valuable advice and time to make the book more widely accessible and error-free. Therefore, to write the introduction of this book was a matter of great pride for me. I convey my utmost respect to my honourable teacher Prof Dr Mahmud Shah Qureshi, and I wholeheartedly congratulate the author Anwar Shahjahan for writing this valuable book. I hope this work will surely get the great appreciation it deserves among the reader’s community.

Sylhet                          Professor Nandalal Sharma

16th December 2018               Metropolitan University

FOREWORD

1.

The Sylhet division (previously Sylhet district) is an administrative region situated in the North-East of Bangladesh, which consists of four sections (Sylhet, Habiganj, Sunamganj, and Moulvibazar). Before the attainment of independence of Bangladesh in 1971, Sylhet was just a district in status and was included in the Chattogram division. Later, following the administrative reforms, Sylhet emerged to become the sixth division of the country with the districts mentioned above. Commencement of Sylhet division came in force on 29th June (Thursday), 1995. The total area of the Sylhet division is 12595.95 square kilometres.

2.

In the liberation war, Sylhet was substantially marked as an essential district; for being situated close to the border belt area of neighbour India and for its geographical location. This district stood up as a direct witness of many eventful occurrences of the liberation war. There was enough lamentation of sorrow, and on the other hand, there was also plenty of joy of victory. A significant chapter of the liberation war was essayed alone with the Sylhet region. During the liberation war of 1971, the occupied forces, with the help of their aids and associates (Razakars, Al Badrs), had conducted massive destruction here and killed countless numbers of freedom-emancipating Bengalis. Sector number 3 and 4 were formed with freedom fighters covering a wide-ranged area of Sylhet. Several memorials concerning the freedom fights have been erected in the Sylhet region to recognise these encounters between the Pakistani forces and the freedom fighters. Several monumental structures and sculptures were built at different locations to honour our brave freedom fighters. There are many mass graveyards too. The introduction and only 79 monuments and memorials intertwined with memories of liberation at Sylhet have been compiled and elaborated in this book.

3.

Our struggle for freedom is our pride. Whenever we witness around us the mementoes, structures, sculptures entwined with the memories of the freedom struggle, we become so proud. We get a different type of satisfaction in consuming the history and tradition after moving into all such places of Sylhet. However, unfortunately, most of the killing fields and mass graves reflecting memories of the freedom struggle of Sylhet still lie unprotected. Some of them have already been destroyed. Even the list of freedom fighters could not be adequately preserved. In the 48 years of our independence, no mentionable initiative was taken to protect and maintain those critical places. Due to lack of proper care and preservation, the mementoes of freedom struggle like the killing fields and mass graves will be lost daily. Many of them have already been converted into grazing fields of cows and goats due to definite identification. Many historical places relating to the freedom struggle are yet to be identified, marked, and preserved correctly. We hope that the Government will now come forward to take all necessary steps to protect and keep all the important places of Sylhet, which are directly linked with the war of liberation.

4.

A nine-month-long struggle for freedom indeed bears a bright and glorious history for Bangladesh. In this liberation war, three million people were martyred following attacks and torture by the occupied Pakistani army.

It is also a fact that not all of them died directly on the frontlines. At that time, many professionals like engineers, doctors, teachers, journalists, and government officers were killed indiscriminately even though they were just supporters and took the independence side but did not take part directly in the war of liberation. In such extraordinary killings and tortures, collaborators of the occupied army (Razakars, Al-Badrs) all took a vital role beyond battlefields; it was impossible to settle the Pakistani forces without knowing directly about the home and address of the Bengalis victimised.

In the liberation war, people who took part directly in the fighting on the front lines, their contribution undoubtedly is great. However, their contribution is also not overlooked for those who stayed inside the country without direct involvement in the war. Their lives always remained at risk as they used to help the freedom fighters with all necessary supplies as and when they could do so. Doctors used to treat the injured soldiers; women used to feed them after cooking the food. The elderly and the children help the freedom fighters by providing favourable secret information about the enemy. In this way, people of all classes and professions directly or indirectly wrapped themselves well in activities of the liberation war. Overall, except for the collaborators, the contribution of all country’s people cannot be denied. However, even in just 50 years, the names of so many martyrs and freedom fighters got forgotten from the records documented; history will indeed recall them one day with due respect. It is the holy duty of all conscious citizens of Bangladesh to preserve the true history of our great liberation war. The true history of our liberation war can surely encourage and guide present and future generations to build the country with the spirit of our liberation. So, let not the history kept under veil but focus it well with the light of truth. Now, this is worth making a good list of all traced and untraced martyrs to place them in history with esteemed respect. Whoever will come forward to perform this holy task, the nation will gratefully remember them forever.

To keep ever awaken the spirit of our victory in the liberation war, many freedom-war-oriented sculptures have been erected by this time in many different country areas. The first such freedom-war-oriented sculpture is ÔJagroto Chowrongi.Õ Sculpture artist Abdur Razzaq built this sculpture. ÔAparajeyo BanglaÕ is the symbol of our tradition relating to the glorious freedom struggle that stands there within the Arts faculty of Dhaka University. It is regarded as a masterpiece that reflects the combined participation of men and women in the war of liberation and the glorious winning of the war together. The erector of this famous sculpture is a freedom fighter and sculpture artist Syed Abdullah Khalid. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, during the first hours of the victory day celebration in 1972, laid the stone of The National Martyr’s Monument situated at Savar, Dhaka. The architect of this National Martyr’s Monument is Syed Moinul Hossain. As for Sylhet, the first such sculpture relating to the liberation war is Chetona 71, built inside Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) in 2009. Architect of this sculpture is Artist Mobarok Hossain Nripal. Following this way, together with the capital city Dhaka, in every divisional town, in every district town, even in each police station, in unions and cluster localities, such type of monuments and sculptures are being built to uphold the spirit of liberation war and make our young generation fully conscious of the background of our independence and know the history of the liberation war.

5.

It is evident that in the publication process of a book, the contribution of many essential people comes up inevitably. To make the book (Monuments and Memorials Bangladesh liberation war of : Sylhet Division) generally good and error-free, Professor Dr Mahmud Shah Qureshi (ex-director general of Bangla Academy) contributed valuable advice tremendously. I am grateful for the advice of prominent writer and researcher Professor Nanda Lal Sharma and his help in completing this book and writing the book’s introduction. UTSO Prokashon has published the book with the direction and guidance. I houe also neceued a few pictures from writer Amirul Islam Bablu. My most profound regard and love to all those who continuously helped me with the necessary information and