It was a Thursday in the last week of March in 1971 when Monowara Islam Manu last saw her brother, martyr Mohammad Mahbub, being dragged away by a group of Biharis from a road near the place now known as Jalladkhana in Mirpur.
Shaheed Mohammad Mahbub participated in the War of Liberation under Sector 9.
Mahbub had come to his house in Mirpur to meet his mother. That night, a group of 10 to 12 Biharis surrounded their house at around 3 pm and took him away. When Mahbub's mother tried to stop them, the group stabbed her to death right then and there. They also stabbed and killed Mahbub's one-and-a-half-year-old brother.
Monowara, around eight years old at the time, had no option but to hide in a nearby pond and helplessly watch the horrific massacre. She hid in the pond all night.
Throughout the night, more Biharis who were collaborating with Pakistan forces would come to the pond to dump the bodies of the innocents they had slain
“I was frightened, and I wanted to survive, so I did not dare to leave the pond,” Monowara told Dhaka Tribune.
This photo shows the brutality and cowardly attacks carried out by the Pakistani occupation forces on unarmed Bangalis on the night of March 25, 1971 CollectedThe next morning, she saw her older sister searching by the side of the pond with their younger sisters. “When I saw my older sister, I shouted ‘Bubu, I am here! I'm alive!' My sister jumped into the pond, hugged me, and cried. She had assumed that I would never be found.”
Monowara then learned from her sisters that not only had the collaborators taken her brother, but also looted all their belongings. The sisters moved to their village home in Keraniganj the same day and their father, Mohammad Sikandar Ali, went to the mosque to offer Esha prayers that night.
Mohammad Sikandar Ali was never seen again. His son-in-law Sheikh Suruj Ali also did not return home after leaving on March 25 of 1971.
Mohammad Farid Uz Zaman, son of martyr Akrob Ali, said he saw his father killed right in front of his eyes on March 25. He further said Mirpur was not truly independent even on January 31, 1972, as a section of the Bihari community there refused to acknowledge Pakistan's defeat and continued to carry out violence after the official end to the war on December 16 the previous year.
This photo shows the brutality and cowardly attacks carried out by the Pakistani occupation forces on unarmed Bangalis on the night of March 25, 1971CollectedCurrently, Mohammad Farid Uz Zaman lives in Mirpur-11, near the Jalladkhana killing field.
Farid Uz Zaman told this correspondent he was six years old during the Liberation War. His father was a farmer. Upon hearing the news of the independence of the country, his father moved to Mohakhali to keep the family safe.
“After victory in the war, we came back to our own house on Mirpur-11. On January 31, 1972, war broke out again in Mirpur. My father took us to a three-storey house next to Mirpur 13 market for safe shelter. Some other people also took refuge there. Later, a group of about 50 Biharis surrounded the house.
"They first ascended to the second floor and killed nine members of a family. After knocking on the door of our house, my mother opened it and stood in front of the door. They want to know if there were any men in the house."
"When my mother told them that there was no one, a Bihari peeked and saw my father. They shot at my father, but the bullet hit my mother's left hand," he added.
After that, the group pushed Farid's mother out of the way and fired indiscriminately until his father was killed. Farid grabbed them by the legs to try to save his father, but the group simply threw him into the pool of his father's blood.
This photo shows the brutality and cowardly attacks carried out by the Pakistani occupation forces on the unarmed Bangalis on the black night of March 25 in 1971 WikipediaThe group killed two of Farid's uncles the same day.
Abdul Hamid, son of martyr Abdul Hakim, said his father was killed by a group of Senpara Biharis. He and his family are still searching for his father.
Three decades after the atrocities, an excavation of Jalladkhana led to the recovery of 70 human skulls and 5,392 pieces of bones. Thousands of others will killed and buried in other mass graves across the country.
Families of martyrs: Recognize March 25 genocide
Family members of the martyrs have demanded international recognition for the March 25 genocide.
Pramila Biswa, director of the Jalladkhana killing field, told Dhaka Tribune: " Efforts continue to be made to inform visitors and the new generation through various publicity programs.”
Every Saturday, 40-50 students from different educational institutions listen to the story of Liberation War and the slaughter on March 25 from a freedom fighter or from the family members of martyrs, she added.
"Not only students, but people of all ages come to the story day. Our aim is to inform the future generation about the history of the Liberation War,” Pramila Biswa further said, urging the government to take further steps for international recognition of the March 25 genocide.
