Bodies of Bangali students of Dhaka University's Iqbal Hall (now Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haq Hall) killed during the Operation Searchlight on March 25, 1971 were kept lying in front of the dormitory.
Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh Masud Ahmed said the Pakistan Army killed Bangalis indiscriminately with no provocation, which falls under the category of genocide in any definition.
He added that Pakistan’s massacre of Bangalis was premeditated, which is why it brought in a large number of its military forces, many in the guise of civilians.
Touhid Reza Nur, son of the 1971 martyr journalist Serajuddin Hossain, said the genocide was launched in cold blood to annihilate the Bangalis as a nation.
He called for getting young people involved in research into this genocide since they have shown their passion for the Liberation War and the nation’s sacrifice for freedom.
Aroma Dutta, granddaughter of martyr Dhirendranath Dutta, who in 1948 demanded Bangla be made the lingua franca as the majority language in the Pakistan constituent assembly, said Pakistan began killing Bangalis from the moment they sensed the linguistic identity of the Bangalis had begun to take shape at the start of the language movements.
She thanked the prime minister for declaring March 25 as Genocide Day and called for all to work together to build a country with the principles for which the martyrs sacrificed their lives.
Abdul Mannan Choudhury, member-secretary of the Coordination Committee for the Trial of the Killers and Collaborators of 1971, said steps must be taken to try the military officers involved in the genocide of the Bangalis.
Munshi Faiz Ahmad, chairman of BIISS and former ambassador to China, said not only the nation but the world has to know about the genocide.
Bangladesh Heritage Foundation Chairman Kamal Lohani and former foreign secretary Wali-ur Rahman also spoke, among others.Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque said the government has plans to observe March 25 as Genocide Day on a wider scale from next year to help young people learn more about the nation’s history of sacrifice.
The minister said the genocide will be included in all educational curriculum and discussions, among other programmes organised, to share the facts.
The government has already initiated steps to get the day recognised by the international community.
He made the remarks at a seminar titled “Genocide on March 25, 1971: Demand for international recognition,” jointly organised by Bangladesh Heritage Foundation and National Security and Counter Terrorism Centre for Genocide and De-Radicalisation Cell, at Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies in Dhaka at 10am on Saturday.
Bodies of Bangali students of Dhaka University's Iqbal Hall (now Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haq Hall) killed during the Operation Searchlight on March 25, 1971 were kept lying in front of the dormitory.
Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh Masud Ahmed said the Pakistan Army killed Bangalis indiscriminately with no provocation, which falls under the category of genocide in any definition.
He added that Pakistan’s massacre of Bangalis was premeditated, which is why it brought in a large number of its military forces, many in the guise of civilians.
Touhid Reza Nur, son of the 1971 martyr journalist Serajuddin Hossain, said the genocide was launched in cold blood to annihilate the Bangalis as a nation.
He called for getting young people involved in research into this genocide since they have shown their passion for the Liberation War and the nation’s sacrifice for freedom.
Aroma Dutta, granddaughter of martyr Dhirendranath Dutta, who in 1948 demanded Bangla be made the lingua franca as the majority language in the Pakistan constituent assembly, said Pakistan began killing Bangalis from the moment they sensed the linguistic identity of the Bangalis had begun to take shape at the start of the language movements.
She thanked the prime minister for declaring March 25 as Genocide Day and called for all to work together to build a country with the principles for which the martyrs sacrificed their lives.
Abdul Mannan Choudhury, member-secretary of the Coordination Committee for the Trial of the Killers and Collaborators of 1971, said steps must be taken to try the military officers involved in the genocide of the Bangalis.
Munshi Faiz Ahmad, chairman of BIISS and former ambassador to China, said not only the nation but the world has to know about the genocide.
Bangladesh Heritage Foundation Chairman Kamal Lohani and former foreign secretary Wali-ur Rahman also spoke, among others.
Bodies of Bangali students of Dhaka University's Iqbal Hall (now Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haq Hall) killed during the Operation Searchlight on March 25, 1971 were kept lying in front of the dormitory.
Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh Masud Ahmed said the Pakistan Army killed Bangalis indiscriminately with no provocation, which falls under the category of genocide in any definition.
He added that Pakistan’s massacre of Bangalis was premeditated, which is why it brought in a large number of its military forces, many in the guise of civilians.
Touhid Reza Nur, son of the 1971 martyr journalist Serajuddin Hossain, said the genocide was launched in cold blood to annihilate the Bangalis as a nation.
He called for getting young people involved in research into this genocide since they have shown their passion for the Liberation War and the nation’s sacrifice for freedom.
Aroma Dutta, granddaughter of martyr Dhirendranath Dutta, who in 1948 demanded Bangla be made the lingua franca as the majority language in the Pakistan constituent assembly, said Pakistan began killing Bangalis from the moment they sensed the linguistic identity of the Bangalis had begun to take shape at the start of the language movements.
She thanked the prime minister for declaring March 25 as Genocide Day and called for all to work together to build a country with the principles for which the martyrs sacrificed their lives.
Abdul Mannan Choudhury, member-secretary of the Coordination Committee for the Trial of the Killers and Collaborators of 1971, said steps must be taken to try the military officers involved in the genocide of the Bangalis.
Munshi Faiz Ahmad, chairman of BIISS and former ambassador to China, said not only the nation but the world has to know about the genocide.
Bangladesh Heritage Foundation Chairman Kamal Lohani and former foreign secretary Wali-ur Rahman also spoke, among others.