The month of December ushers in the spirit of patriotism in every Bangali as the essence of victory fills the atmosphere.
At 48 Bangladesh has much to celebrate on Victory Day which is a day that always brings with it mixed emotions.
Two big celebrations are knocking at our doors: one is the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in 2020, to be followed by the fiftieth anniversary of the emergence of Bangladesh in 2021.
When I think of the bloody birth of our nation, I feel the weight of history on my shoulders. It’s overwhelming to think of how we had reached that moment, the whole gamut of historical changes that this land has gone through, with its complex interweaving of political and social influences, cultures, events and political intrigues.
My mother passed away when I was only four years old. I had a rough childhood and could not study for long either.
Forty-eight years ago, in the cold month of December, over 3,500 brave Indian soldiers captured 93,000 Pakistani prisoners who were made prisoners of war (POW) during the Liberation War in 1971, which ended the war in 14 days of a multi-front military engagement. A new nation was born after the valiant fight put up by the Freedom Fighters and Indian Army at the cost of much bloodshed.
Chronicling Bangladesh Theatre and Liberation War Plays inevitably persuades one to explore how proscenium theatre culture came in this subcontinent, especially in this part of India, that is Bengal, for, contrasted with our open-stage Jatra that does not divide the audience from the performers, a proscenium stage is the “arch or opening separating the stage from the auditorium together with the area immediately in front of the arch”. This Greek tradition came to India sometimes in the mid-18th century and obviously it is a colonial cultural legacy.
The Armed Bengali Policemen of erstwhile East Pakistan, especially of Dhaka city endeared themselves greatly to the freedom-craving Bengali masses in the wake of the historic non-co-operation movement that commenced at the call of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in March 1971.
The Liberation War of Bangladesh is a glorious part of our history. People from all walks of life took part in the war and millions laid down their lives to free the motherland from the Pakistanis.
