Today is March 25, the National Genocide Day and tomorrow is the Great Independence Day of Bangladesh.  I begin by respectfully recalling all the martyrs indiscriminately killed by the Pakistani occupation forces and their local collaborators on the black night of March 25, 1971. I also pay my homage to the martyrs and Beerangonas who sacrificed everything for the independence of Bangladesh. I pay my respects to the great hero of the nation’s liberation, the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, without whom we cannot imagine the great liberation war of Bangladesh. 

Since August 5, last year, a lot has happened in Bangladesh. The country is now gripped by the controversial and violent activities of militant groups, including Hizb ut-Tahrir, Jamaat-e-Islami, AB Party, and other right-wing groups, including the newly formed National Citizens Party (NCP). The hyenas of 1971 have returned, and the ghosts of the Razakars, Al-Badr, and Al-Shams, collaborators of the Pakistani occupation forces, are trying to forcibly establish extreme right-wing religious ideology, undermining the ideals of the great liberation war, democracy, socialism, and secularism. The destruction of Bangabandhu’s historic house at Dhanmondi 32 exemplifies this. Bangabandhu’s home has been attacked twice, and we lost Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family on August 15, 1975. Despite our best efforts, we cannot bring back the Father of the Nation, Bangamata, little Russell, Sheikh Kamal, and Sheikh Jamal. However, the house remained until the old neo-Razakar parties destroyed it, fearing that Bangabandhu’s voice would declare independence again from house number 32, inspiring brave Bengalis to roar against the defeated power of 1971 and restore the ideals of the great liberation war. 

The article has two parts. The first part describes the black night of March 25, the early morning of March 26 and the declaration of independence by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The second part discusses the importance of the great Independence Day in the present context, the need to recognize the genocide in Bangladesh, and how to spread the true history of Independence Day among future generations. 

1.

March 25, 1971, was a horrific night for the Bengali nation. The Pakistani occupation forces turned Bangladesh into a place of death, carrying out infernal, barbaric, brutal killings according to a pre-plan. The Pak army named the operation “Operation Searchlight”. On the late night of March 25, 1971, the East Pakistan Rifles Pilkhana, Rajarbagh Police Outpost, Shakhari Bazar, Tantibazar, Dhakeshwari Temple in Old Dhaka, Rokeya Hall, Shahidul Huq Hall, Fazlul Huq Hall, Iqbal Hall, and Jagannath Hall of Dhaka University became the main targets of the Pakistani invaders. The attackers searched the hall rooms and indiscriminately killed students, teachers, officers, and employees.  

At Iqbal Hall, they lined up 11 students and shot them, then set fire to Rokeya Hall, causing female students to run out. On that night and the following day, March 26, more than 66 people were killed and buried in front of the north house of Jagannath Hall. Jagannath Hall was destroyed on that fateful night. The names of 66 people are mentioned on the nameplate of the mass grave who were martyred on that day. This horrific scene was filmed by BUET teacher Dr. Nurul Ullah. The exact number of people martyred at Jagannath Hall on the night of March 25 remains unknown. Still, it is believed that more than two hundred students, employees, teachers, and ordinary people were brutally killed by the invading forces at Jagannath Hall ground. Jagannath Hall and the Hindu-dominated areas of Old Dhaka were the main targets of the attack because Pakistan’s military junta always claimed that Hindus were ‘supporters of India’ or ‘agents of India’. On this night, nine teachers of different departments of Dhaka University, including Gobinda Chandra Dev, Jyotirmoy Guha Thakurta, Professor Santosh Bhattacharya, and Dr. Moniruzzaman, were killed. (Bangladesh Awami League Facebook, 2024) 

The Father of the Bengali Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was ready for this situation. He had announced preparations for the war of independence on March 7 at the Racecourse Maidan. The whole nation awaited Bangabandhu’s call in the last week of March 1971. Before his arrest, he declared independence for Bangladesh in the early hours of March 26. In the proclamation written in English, Bangabandhu said, “This may be my last message, from today Bangladesh is Independent. I call upon the people of Bangladesh wherever you might be and with whatever you have, to resist the army of occupation to the last. Your fight must go on until the last soldier of the Pakistan occupation army is expelled from the soil of Bangladesh and final victory is achieved.” (Tofael Ahmed, 2023) 

Major Siddique Salik, Public Relations Officer of the then Chief of Pakistan’s Eastern Army Lieutenant General Niazi, wrote in his book ‘Witness to Surrender’ that when the first shot was fired, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s voice came from a faint wave near the official wave of Pakistan Radio, declaring East Pakistan as the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. This statement shows that the military junta of Pakistan took Bangabandhu’s declaration of independence very seriously and did not expect his firm position. They could not understand that Bangabandhu had prepared himself and the whole country for this situation. The rest of history is known to all of us. Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested immediately after the declaration of independence and was kept captive in Pakistan for the rest of the liberation war. Even if the great hero of the great liberation war was imprisoned, his consciousness could not be stopped! Following his call, Bangladeshis jumped into the great liberation war with the desire for Bangladesh’s liberation. 

Fifty-four years of Bangladesh’s independence have passed. The pro-Pakistan unconstitutional and undemocratic Yunus government came to power after ousting the pro-independence forces on August 5, 2024. The ordinary people of Bangladesh now understand that the extreme-right religion based political parties backed by Islamist militants misled them through false information and propaganda on social media. At this moment, March 26 and National Genocide Day have gained new importance. After August 5, 2024, the right-wing political parties and their followers, the young opportunistic youths, wanted to present different narratives to distort the history of Bangladesh and erase the contribution of the Bangabandhu and Awami League forever. But they couldn’t. 

2.

Within a few days of capturing power, they had to admit that the heroic Bengalis did not take up arms for independence at the call of anyone other than the great hero of the War of Liberation, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and the Awami League was the leading party carrying the flag of liberation. Therefore, the new generation must be associated with the correct narrative of history by presenting the correct history centered on the great Independence Day. Only then can we win the ideological battle against the right-wing parties in the days ahead!  

March 25 is National Genocide Day. The worst genocide since World War II took place in Bangladesh. About 3 million innocent and unarmed people were killed, and more than 200,000 Beeranganas had to be honoured. According to the verdicts given by the International Crimes Tribunal until August 5, 2024, Hindus were victims of genocide due to religious identity (See: Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury’s case), Awami League supporters due to political identity (See: Md. Khalilur Rahman’s Case), and women due to their gender identity (See: Reazuddin Fakir’s case) during the Great War of Liberation. There is no international recognition of this genocide. Due to this reason, right-wing extremist groups like Jamaat-e-Islami are considered moderate Muslim political parties in the global arena. The western countries of the world cannot be made to believe that Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Shibir, named Chhatra Sangha in 1971, were responsible for the genocide in Bangladesh. Countries like the United Kingdom and the United States protect, accommodate, and honour genocidal perpetrators like Chaudhry Moinuddin. We must work unitedly to gain recognition of the genocide in Bangladesh. Especially those of us who hold the ideology of the Father of the Nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, from abroad must work together. In the spirit of the Great War of Liberation, we must present the true history of Bangladesh and the true character of the anti-liberation forces to the government of the country and the leadership of the new generation. Let us pledge to continue this movement until we gain international recognition of the genocide committed during the Great War of Liberation. Through booklets, leaflets, films, artworks, songs, and poems, we must work together to gain recognition of the genocide that took place during the liberation war on foreign soil. There is no alternative to working together. 

3.

The valiant Bengalis never forgave the collaborators of the Pakistan Army in 1971, Razakar, Al-Badr, and Al-Shams, and rejected their politics in Bangladesh with hatred. Every election proves that. As a nation, we have not forgiven the killers who killed the Father of the Nation on August 15, 1975, and they have no acceptability in the politics of Bangladesh. But after August 5, 2024, we see that the defeated enemies of 1971 and the killers of 1975 are together to rewrite the history and heritage of Bangladesh. They aim to transform Bangladesh into a failed state based on religion, like Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Over the last 15 years, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s bold and far-reaching prudent leadership has driven an incomparable socio-economic transition, particularly in women’s rights. However, since August 5, Bangladesh has been moving in the opposite direction under the undemocratic and unconstitutional leadership of the Yunus government. Let us hold the spirit of the great liberation war and Bangabandhu’s ideology in thought and consciousness and stand against the anti-liberation killers, ultra-right-wing fanatic extremist political forces. 

Robi Das

International Human Rights Lawyer in exile.