Liberation War

Chuknagar: A shocking savagery

It was around 11:00am on May 20, 1971.

When the message of Bangladesh’s liberation travelled on two wheels

Jamal Hasan and his three teammates decided to go on a goodwill mission for the fledgling state to thank the people of the world for supporting their Liberation War.

Motherhood, martyrdom and the spirit of female resistance in 1971

Ekattorer Dinguli forces one to acknowledge the dire reality of ethnic and religious violence, and the harsh legacy of colonial oppression and divide that has ruptured the fabric of the South Asian subcontinent since 1947.

War in the waters: Looking back at Operation Jackpot, 1971

Operation Jackpot was the first—and allegedly best—campaign of naval commandos during the Liberation War of 1971, a deadly blow against the Pakistani invasion forces carried out on August 16, 1971.

A fugitive

It was noontime when I arrived home the sun was shining bright

You said

Notun Bazar was burning, burning! /Shops, stores, woodpiles/ Piled up iron, timber, mosques and temples/ Notun Bazar was burning, burning!

Shankhari Bazar carnage ‘71: Death knocked on their doors at sundown

Shankhari Bazar is a neighbourhood in the old part of Dhaka, largely inhabited by the Hindus.

War and peace and poetry and poets

How can you talk about peace without taking into account war? Both are subjects not only of Tolstoy’s great novel but also of the two founding epic poems of Greek as well as Indian literature.

Reading as a form of resistance: Some anecdotes from the 1971 war

After the war, the library authorities placed advertisements requesting people to return any books from the library that they might have in their possession, but the response was poor. The library's hundred-year-old collection was lost forever.

March 7, 2023

Looking back at the Liberation War through poetry

On the third day of the event, two documentaries were showcased. The first featured the infamous Belonia Battle, and Pakistan’s first and only surrender to the freedom fighters. It emphasised how the battle is closely intertwined with Bangladesh’s military history and has a special significance in the turn of events that led to our independence.

March 4, 2023

'We dissented Pakistan as it ignored the rights of the people of our region'

Gyantapas Abdur Razzaq Foundation revisits the spirit of liberation in March.

January 26, 2023

Family of feelings: Iffat Nawaz's 'Shurjo's Clan'

Part memoir, part magical realism, this is a story about identity and the idea of home.

January 2, 2023

'Diary of Genocide': A brief history of Martyred Intellectuals Day

A short film named “Diary of a Genocide” was released on 14th December 2022, Martyred Intellectuals Day. This 4-minute and 26-second-long film is based on the historic incident of 14th December during the Liberation War in Bangladesh. On this day, Pakistani rulers, with the help of Razakars, Al-Badrs, and Al-Shams created a blueprint to destroy Bangladesh’s (then-East Pakistan’s) intellectual foundation and render the country metaphorically paralyzed. An unexplored horror-map, the treachery of how these intellectuals were abducted is still shrouded, this movie offers a visual picture of this little-known chapter of history.

December 31, 2022