A week before the War of Independence started, the Pakistani forces faced the first armed resistance in Gazipur’s Joydebpur, near Dhaka, on this day in 1971.
A number of Bengalis, including Hurmat, Niyamat, and Manu Khalifa, were martyred in the resistance that day. The “Jagroto Chowrongi” memorial sculpture in Joydebpur commemorates them.
Due to this armed resistance of the brave Bengalis, the plan to disarm the Bengali army of the second East Bengal Regiment at Joydebpur failed.
News of Joydebpur's clash with the slogan 'Take the path of Joydebpur and make Bangladesh independent,’ spread like wildfire all over the country, including the capital.
The government enacted the “Shandho Ain” or a night curfew in Joydebpur causing outrage in Dhaka and surrounding areas and spontaneous processions were taken out.
Photo courtesy: Bangabandhu Memorial Trust In a statement issued in the evening, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman strongly condemned the army's firing on unarmed civilians in Joydebpur, saying: “The people of Bangladesh want a peaceful solution to the problem. But that doesn't mean they're afraid to use force.”
Condemning the killings, Bangabandhu said: “No sacrifice would be considered enough to emancipate the people of Bangladesh. Bangladesh cannot be suppressed by force. If needed, we shall give the last drop of our blood to see that our posterity lived happily as a free citizen in a free country.”
The meeting between Yahya Khan and Bangabandhu had resumed after a break, but it was evident that the talks were leading nowhere.
War was coming either way.