A Conversation with Tariq Ali, Trustee and Member Secretary of the Liberation War Museum-
Whydid you and the other trustees decide to build the Museum?The successive governments after 1975 wanted to reinterpret the history of the Liberation War and spread their versions to the masses through media and textbooks - it was an attempt to change the core values of the Liberation War. Throughout the ages, we have seen that it is immediate society which determines the behaviour and way of life of citizens, not religious beliefs or even governments. There seemed to be a deviation from this way of life, and in this context we decided to preserve the memories of society during these times, in order to provide a true representation of our history. For this reason, we are and will continue to be an independent organisation.
Was it difficult to set it up?
Almost everybody has lost someone in the Liberation War, and families have always carefully preserved the memories of their lost loved ones. This memory is extremely precious to them, and at first, it was difficult to convince them to give up these artefacts to us. Back then, we started out by travelling all over the country, specifically to the Boddhobhumi (killing fields) and collecting the earth from these lands. If you go to the Mirpur Jolladkhana, you will now see a touching display of these collections. It was during the process of this collection that we got to know more people and created a confidence in us, assuring them that their memories are safe at the Museum. The involvement of Aly Zaker, Asaduzzaman Noor and Sarwar Ali as our trustees also added a legitimacy to our efforts, since people knew and loved them from before.
Have you faced any obstacles in your endeavours so far?
No. At the end of the day, the main point is - the common people of this country love this country, and they honour and respect the memories of our Liberation War with all their hearts. We have got unrequited love from the general public, and all the people who have supported us have never expected anything in return.
Do you have any specific memories you collected that really touched you?
The one that we all remember the most is the story of Rehana - she was a four month old baby from Khulna, the daughter of a freedom fighter. When the Pakistani soldiers came for her father but could not find him, they crushed her under their boots, they actually trampled her to death. Her father did not have any memories left of her, except that one tiny dress she wore at the time. He came to us and gave up that last remnant of her, saying “this is all I have left of her, and I want to give it to you.”
What is the future of the Museum?
We are now in the process of shifting to a much bigger space in Agargaon. The building is complete and we are ready to move in, but our galleries will not be ready before March, so that is when we will hopefully shift. We have over 20,000 artefacts in our collection, and currently only 1300 are on display. In the new space, we will be able to display around 5000-6000 artefacts.
Are there any specific exhibitions you are excited about?
We have a lot of new displays that focus on specific important points in our history. There is a sound and light exhibition about the night of 25th March (Kaalo Raat), where you step into a dark tunnel. As you progress you hear the wireless conversations between the Pakistani soldiers regarding their attack and see the videos and facts about the massacre they committed, including the killings at Jagonnath Hall. We are also recreating two war fields, and there will be more comprehensive displays on the martyred intellectuals of the War.
How do you engage the younger generation in learning about our history?
We have been working to engage and involve students continuously - we have organised bus trips from schools and brought over 2.5 lakh children to the Liberation War Museum. Additionally, we now have two buses that take a smaller version of the museum to the most remote villages in Bangladesh. We’ve gone to the sort of places where roads weren’t even wide enough to let the bus through, and people had to come to the end of the road to see it! In this way, we’ve engaged around 11 lakh children in 61 out of 64 districts.
We’ve been to at least one school in every thana of these districts, and we’ve asked every child and guardian to interview anyone they know who were involved in or affected by the Liberation War. In this way, we have created an oral history bank and you’ll be surprised to hear - we now have 28,300 pieces of oral history! We are now publishing these stories every year for the general public to read, and we preserve the original copies so that if a child want to come back after 30 years and read the interview she took of her grandfather, we promise it will be here.
What is the main role of the Museum?
The Museum does not only preserve our true history - one of its extremely important functions is as a storehouse of knowledge for research, with proper records and documents. For example, the War Crimes Tribunal has taken a lot of documents from us for their work. Our archives now have 22,000 pieces, which includes all sorts of documents related to our history that we are still in the process of collecting. We also have film clips from all over the world. Our aim is that 50-100 years later, anyone who wants to remember and research our history can come here for what they need.
