Most plots in Mirpur-1 Rainkhola are occupied by houses or commercial establishments, with the exception of a six decimal plot that seems to be a combination of a dumping ground and a rickshaw garage.
In reality, the plot is a land where the Pakistani forces and their collaborators carried out mass killings during the 1971 Liberation War.
Locals told Dhaka Tribune that the once private land now belongs to the government. A war memorial was built there but local residents reportedly demolished it and now the place remains in ruins.
Freedom fighter AKM Nadir Uddin, who has been trying to set up a memorial in the land for the last 25 years, said they have written to the local commissioner to preserve the place.
“I want to see it protected before I die,” he told the correspondent.
The Pakistani aggressors and their local allies - Al-Badr, Al-Shams and Razakars – resorted to mass killings in different parts of Bangladesh during the nine-month war of independence.
The liberation war affairs ministry puts the official number of these mass killing sites at 281. In reality, there are many more such spots that witnessed the untold horrors of the war.
A fifty-one-year-old Bangladesh that has progressed by leaps and bounds is yet to take appropriate measures to preserve these historical sites. Many of them, till today, remain unprotected and unmarked.
Neglected and Uncared
During a spot visit to 11 such killing sites in the capital, the Dhaka Tribune correspondent found that three of the sites are completely untraceable.
Markets and shopping complexes obscure the mass grave in Mirpur's Muslim Bazar. During the expansion of the former Noor Mosque, locals unearthed a few skulls in a nearby pond.
The mosque was later renamed Shaheed Muktijoddha Jame Masjid.
As a tribute to the martyrs of the 1971 mass killing, one pillar in the mosque has been colored black, Ibrahim Khalil, the muezzin said.
Meanwhile, in Mirpur’s Shialbari, a mass grave has been turned into a family graveyard.
Ramzan Ali Madbar, one of the owners of the cemetery, claims that the graveyard was established in 1912, long before the war.
“Some people from the government came to us and talked about this. If anyone wants to be buried here, we have an option here. But we can't leave our family graveyard,” he said.
Few exceptions
Only a handful of the mass killing fields are traceable and few have war memorials. The Rayerbazar mass killing grounds, Martyred Intellectual Memorial at Mirpur, Government Bangla College in Mirpur, Jalladkhana Killing Field in Mirpur, Jagannath Hall and Rokeya Hall at Dhaka University are amongst the few.
The Jalladkhana killing field, which is managed by the Liberation War Museum, is in good condition followed by four spots inside the Bangla College premises.
The monument at Rayerbazar Mass Killing field remains neglected throughout the year except for December 14 and 16 on the occasion of Martyred Intellectuals Day and Victory Day.
How many mass killing fields are in Bangladesh?
Minister for Liberation War Affairs AKM Mozammel Haque says the number of mass killing sites is yet to be confirmed.
According to the War Crimes Facts Finding Committee, the number of mass killing fields is over 5,000. Among them, 952 have been identified. The Liberation War Museum puts the number at 446 and the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs puts it at 281.
However, only 281 such fields have been conserved and a mere 35 have been protected by the government.
According to the liberation war affairs minister, the ministry is working for the conservatorship of the 281 sites under a "Baddhabhumi" project.
“We will include the Rayerbazar mass killing field in the project,” he said, adding that work on the project began in 2021 and is likely to end by 2023.
According to the Genocide and Torture Archive and Museum, a total of 2,834 mass killing sites in 34 districts have been found.
Around 14,452 genocidal killings have taken place in the spots and the museum classified 759 as Baddhabhumi, 1,048 as mass graves and 1,027 as torture cells.
The museum, however, claimed that there are about 10,000 spots in 64 districts.
“As part of a project, we have worked in 40 districts so far,” says Dr Chowdhury Shahid Kader, director, 1971: Genocide-Torture Archive and Museum Trust.
“Our primary target is to identify the spots and establish monuments,” he added.
Researchers say the places are now hard to find, due to the government’s failure to take up any initiative to protect them.
Hence, locals are also unaware of the importance and historical significance of the places where they reside.
Historian Muntassir Mamoon, president of 1971: Genocide-Torture Archive and Museum Trust, told Dhaka Tribune that they have described the mass killing places in the form of 32 books.
“However, we have not got any attention from the government so far. After 20 years we will not find any more freedom fighters, but there is a great need to identify these places to pass on the memory of the Liberation War to the new generation,” he said.
The Cultural Affairs Ministry has also entered into an agreement with Google to bring all the places in Bangladesh under its map.