On March 24, 1971, the day before the Pakistani army unleashed the infamous “Operation Searchlight,” its top brass flew to Chattogram Cantonment from Dhaka.
This year marks the 73rd anniversary of the 1952 Language Movement. Drawing on research based on various published books, this 21-part series tells the story of the historic struggle for our mother tongue.
This year marks the 73rd anniversary of the 1952 Language Movement. Drawing on research based on various published books, this 21-part series tells the story of the historic struggle for our mother tongue.
This year marks the 73rd anniversary of the 1952 Language Movement. Drawing on research based on various published books, this 21-part series tells the story of the historic struggle for our mother tongue.
Since the British rule, Brahmanbaria had been regarded as the cultural hub of East Bengal. So, it was no surprise that when the news of the language movement reached the district, Brahmanbaria became heavily involved and played a pivotal role.
It was in the newspapers of Sylhet that the first demands for Bangla as the state language were raised.
The arrival of approximately 50,000 Urdu-speaking Biharis in Dinajpur, Parbatipur and Syedpur after the 1947 Partition created a new social dynamic.
Through swift mobilisation, strategic brilliance, and devastating attacks against the Pakistani army, the Halim Bahini of Manikganj distinguished itself as one of the most effective regional forces that fought in the Liberation War.
During the Liberation War, two powerful regional forces challenged the Pakistani army in Tangail.
Akbar Hossain, the chairman of Sreekol union parishad in Magura’s Sreepur upazila, led a force to be reckoned with against the invading Pakistani army during the Liberation War. While officially named Sreepur Bahini, this force was known to locals as Akbar Bahini.
During the 1971 Liberation War, dozens of regional forces emerged across Bangladesh. Just as the freedom fighters trained under the sub-sectors and the Bengal Regiment fought valiantly, these regional forces also put up tough resistance against the Pakistan forces. In the month of victory, we bring you the stories of some of these heroic forces.
In the early days of the 1971 Liberation War, a formidable resistance movement emerged in the Rajshahi region, led by Ohidur Rahman, a prominent figure in the Purba Banglar Communist Party
House 677, Road 32 (old), Dhanmondi, Dhaka. A seemingly ordinary two-storey house.
This is a loose translation of a melodious Urdu poem that once used to reverberate through the empty lanes of old Dhaka deep into the Ramadan night.
After president Ayub Khan was forced to resign in the face of the 1969 mass uprising, General Yahya Khan assumed office on March 25. He immediately moved to consolidate his power by dissolving both national and provincial assemblies, effectively scrapping the constitution, and declaring martial law across Pakistan.
In the early 1960s, another covert group codenamed “Nucleus” emerged in the scene to further the cause of an independent Bangladesh alongside the Inner Group, East Bengal Liberation Front, and Apurba Sangsad.
The 1940s witnessed the rise of some of the first movements for self-determination in East Pakistan. Politicians, journalists, and intellectuals like Moazzem Ahmed Chowdhury, Abdul Aziz Bagmar, Sirajul Alam Khan, and many others played a pivotal role in these early struggles for liberation.
