At the fag end of the Liberation War half a century ago, the Pakistani military with the help of their infamous local cohorts -- al-Badr, al-Shams and Razakars -- seeped through Dhaka city and abducted hundreds of eminent intellectuals at the centre of Bangladeshi intelligentsia and culture for supporting the split of Pakistan.
These systematic campaigns took place in the capital in two phases -- on March 25 and again on December 10-14. The bodies that bore torture marks were later found in the killing grounds at Rayer Bazar.
With the nation observing five decades-plus of liberation, hundreds of families of the martyred intellectuals are still waiting for a complete and credible list of the victims.
After the Awami League assumed office in 2009, the government's sincere and gradual initiatives to honor Freedom Fighters and intellectuals by preserving the war's history raised hopes among cultural personalities, intellectuals and historians.
So far, only 344 names out of 1,222 listed persons have been recognized as martyred intellectuals. However, many of the martyrs' families and Liberation War researchers remain in a state of despair about the government's failure to prepare a complete list.
Govt reviewing different lists
The Ministry of Liberation War Affairs in November 2020 formed a committee to scrutinise the list of intellectuals who sacrificed their lives during the Liberation War in 1971. On December 13, 2020, the committee finalized a preliminary list of martyred intellectuals. The list contained the names of 1,222 professionals.
The primary list includes names from “Bangladesh”, a documentary publication of the government in 1972, and the commemorative stamps issued by the Bangladesh Post Office in the name of martyred intellectuals at different times.
A total of 1,070 names from lists available with the ministry and another 152 from the postal stamps have been included in the list.
According to the committee, intellectuals who lost their lives at the hands of the Pakistani army and their collaborators in the Liberation War will be honoured as martyred intellectuals.
They include litterateurs, philosophers, scientists, artists, teachers, researchers, journalists, lawyers, physicians, engineers, architects, sculptors, government and non-government employees, politicians, social workers, cultural activists, musicians, and people involved in filmmaking, theatre and arts.
People from these professions, who were killed by the Pakistani forces or went missing between March 25, 1971, and January 31, 1972, would be defined as martyred intellectuals.
Later, the government published two gazettes in 2021 and 2022 containing a total of 334 names, declaring them as martyred intellectuals.
Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee President Shahriar Kabir, who is a member of the government-formed committee, said the two lists published include only the names of the popular martyred intellectuals.
“They were killed for their talent, their profession, or their contributions to the liberation struggle. Over a decade has passed, and the government has not been able to make a list. It frustrates the families and us too,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
“The government is also preparing a list of Razakars right now. I think this could be why the martyred intellectuals list is taking longer to finalize. For the young generation and the families of the victims, the government must prioritise and expedite the process of finalizing the list,” he added.
Khaja Miah, secretary of the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs, said that the verification of different aspects of information took a longer time.
“We have already published two gazettes and are working on the publication of the third gazette containing the names of martyred intellectuals. We are expecting to publish the list soon,” he said.
How many were killed?
According to the verdicts of the International Crimes Tribunal, a total of 1,111 intellectuals were killed across 19 districts in Bangladesh during the Liberation War.
On the other hand, the documentary “Bangladesh” by ASM Shamsul Arefin cited a government publication from 1972 putting the number at 1,109.
The victims include teachers of 21 universities, 637 primary schools, 270 secondary schools, and 59 colleges; 50 physicians; 41 lawyers; 13 journalists; and 16 music composers, filmmakers and cultural personalities.
1971: unfolding history
Martyred Intellectuals Day is a dark day in the history of Bangladesh. On the eve of the end of the bloody, nine-month-long war for independence, the Pakistan occupation army and its local collaborators -- al-Badr, al-Shams and Razakars -- targeted the brightest minds of Bangladesh in a plan to leave the nation intellectually crippled.
The intellectuals were abducted from their homes and slaughtered in the killing fields at Rayer Bazar and other parts of the country. According to news reports and history texts, most of the bodies that were found were blindfolded and had handcuff marks, as well as gunshot and bayonet wounds in the chest and head.
Among the victims of the brutality, only a few could be identified as many of the bodies were badly decomposed.
Al-Badr's Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman were the operation-in-charge and chief executioner of the para-military force which carried out the killings.