Bangladesh: Bringing to memory of our fallen intellectual heroes

We never enter the time of remembrance without our mind being flooded with our martyred intellectuals. We cannot forget the heart-wrenching pain of their near and dear ones as they watched helplessly as the best sons of this soil were so brutally murdered

by Anwar A. Khan-Dec 14, 2017

( December 14, 2017, Dhaka, Sri Lanka Guardian) Louis D. Brandeis said, ”Those who sacrificed lives for our independence… valued liberty as an end and as a means. They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.” Patriotism is an emotional attachment to a nation which an individual recognises as their homeland. This attachment, also known as national feeling or national pride, can be viewed in terms of different features relating to one’s own nation, including ethnic, cultural, political or historical aspects. Intellectualism denotes the use, development, and exercise of the intellect; the practice of being an intellectual; and the Life of the Mind. And the fallen great patriotic intellectuals in 1971 are the real life of our minds. In the view of Socrates, intellectualism allows that “one will do what is right or best just as soon as one truly understands what is right or best”; that virtue is a purely intellectual matter, since virtue and knowledge are familial relatives, which a person accrues and improves with dedication to reason. Our fallen intellectuals could really fathom what was right or best for our people.

The bloods of these honourable patriots’ are still warm in our veins. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the supreme sacrifices of these great sons of this sacred soil.

We never enter the time of remembrance without our mind being flooded with our martyred intellectuals. We cannot forget the heart-wrenching pain of their near and dear ones as they watched helplessly as the best sons of this soil were so brutally murdered in the 2nd half of 1971 just before Bangladesh was liberated from the cruel clutches of the Pakistani Military Junta and their local henchmen, especially the Jamaat-e-Islami goons. They went through a war of unsurpassed sacrifices by laying down their lives to the cause of creating the country, Bangladesh. When we put all the sufferings and deaths of every war together, these cannot touch the weight, suffering and sacrifice of their supreme sacrifices. Their battle deserves their own recognition “lest we forget” and the world forgets. They as it is unconscionable to consider forgetting the sacrifice and death of our great intellectuals and civilian lives, it is even more so, a grave travesty and dishonour to their services and sacrifices, to forget. Today, we are speaking of our great patriots; our great intellectuals.

They are the patriots in the truest sense of the word. Thomas Campbell said, “The patriot’s blood is the seed of Freedom’s tree.” The bloods of these honourable patriots’ are still warm in our veins. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the supreme sacrifices of these great sons of this sacred soil. Patriotism is a kind of religion; it is the egg from which wars are hatched and won. This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the braves like our great intellectuals who embraced their martyrdoms.

Great people have great minds and great thoughts. Majority of the great people not only achieved their goals but also they have left their precious words and sayings behind for others to follow and to give them a path of success. If we read their teachings and words from the depth of our heart, we shall come to know that they have given us formulas to live a successful and meaningful life. Our fallen intellectuals are our constant inspirations. December 14 is ‘the Martyred Intellectuals’ Day in our life. It is an important day for us in Bangladesh. It is a day to give thanks, to pay tribute and to remember those who gave their lives during our glorious Liberation War in 1971 to protect our country. In reality, we should be thankful every single day of the year, but the December 14 is the official day where we all come together to honour our fallen patriotic intellectuals.

Their journey forced us to live in the present – we didn’t want to miss any part of the beautiful landscape of this land going by out the window. They are on our mind as we drive through this beautiful land of Bangladesh. We are thankful that these noble souls gave us the strength and inspiration to take this long nine months of hardships to liberate the country from cruel Pakistani Army and their local brutal henchmen especially belonged to the fearsome criminal outfit, Jamaat-e-Islami. We are honoured to remember the many brave men and women who have given their lives throughout the history of our great nation – those who made the ultimate sacrifices to protect us from harm. We salute all those now alive and we raise our prayers for their safety and blessing.

As we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifices for the freedoms we enjoy every day, we think of how they have followed in the footsteps of patriotism. Please hold our fallen heroes in the strong arms of the Almighty. Cover them with your sheltering grace and your presence as they stand in the gap for our protection. We also remember the families of our patriots. We ask for your unique blessings to fill their homes, and we pray your peace, provision, and strength will fill their lives. May the members of our patriotic intellectuals be supplied with courage to face each day and may they trust in the Lord’s mighty power to accomplish each task.

The defeated cohorts of the Pakistani military knew very well that the most effective way of crippling the nation that was about to be born was to liquidate its best sons.

Noted educationist Prof. Dr. Rebecca Haque said, “Mourn a cold, dark, bloody day in distant December. Dawn, dusk, dew, and nightfall. Silent death squads knocking at the door, targeting noble names on the assassin’s hit-list. Lament the loss. Weep the tears. Cry for the slaughter of the illustrious sons of the delta. Wail at the memory of the dead desecrated in the ditch. Feel the agony of grief. Our teachers and our seers, taken from us to the sequestered pit. Freedom on the horizon and the marching Mukti Bahini carrying the flag of liberation could not save them from the savage ambush. On the fourteenth of December, raise your arm to salute, to remember the martyred intellectuals. Murdered with such diabolical, secret strategy to cripple the new nation. Dare to shout. Dare to accuse. Dare to punish the craven killers. Your Nation asks this of thee: do not flinch, seek justice.” The nation observes the Martyred Intellectuals Day on December 14 as much with a deep sense of loss as with the rekindling of the spirit that went into the making of Bangladesh.

The defeated cohorts of the Pakistani military knew very well that the most effective way of crippling the nation that was about to be born was to liquidate its best sons. So, some brilliant teachers of Dhaka University– where almost all the progressive movements in the history of the country had been initiated – were targeted. “The killers of the infamous Al-Badr belonged to Jamaat-e-Islami wanted to deprive the nation of the services of the intellectuals who represented the core values that the emerging nation stood for. True, the killers succeeded in physically eliminating the top intellectuals, but their ideas and beliefs still inspire the nation to remain on the right track. The martyrs of December 14 will ever shine brightly in our memories.”

The killers have clearly been defeated. The nation has rejected obscurantism and religious extremism. It is a very positive development that those who perpetrated the crimes against humanity are now facing trial, at least some of them. Justice delayed is not always justice denied! The nation is looking forward to the day when all the killers of the intellectuals will be tried and punished. It is a bit disquieting to watch some people questioning the rationale behind this delayed trial of the war criminals. They must not forget that the crimes committed in 1971 against the people of this country cannot be condoned. We cannot forget and forgive the criminals responsible for one of the worst genocides in recorded history.

The intellectuals were killed as part of an evil design which was finally foiled by our victory 48 hours later. The best way to pay homage to the martyrs is to make sincere efforts to translate their dreams into reality. They had a dream of a progressive and exploitation-free society where nobody would be discriminated against. Also they were the torch bearers of the spirit of Bengali nationalism that set the entire nation on a warpath in 1971 to win our freedom. So, let us live up to their expectations in perpetuity. Let us not remember on a particular day only the men and women whose keenness of intellect and the power of conviction gave them a very special place in society. The day of remembrance should always be a part of our consciousness and existence.

Our goal is to never let people forget the sacrifices made for our freedom and to take care of the families of our fallen heroes now and in the future. A full scale special tribute for the brave and gallant are to be performed by us on the Mourning Day for the fallen martyrs; because they marked the most decisive battles of the entire nine months long journey of Independence War in 1971. In that period, slowly broke down the Pakistani forces resistance and ultimately into a full surrender.

These fallen soldiers, we honour on this day, made the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good of mankind. The ruthlessness of the Pakistani Military Junta was evident throughout the history. These patriots had to unselfishly sacrifice their lives for the country’s peace and stability. They fought a good battle and their blood that flows from all the way to the whole Bangladesh territory, nurtures our democracies and strengthens our nations in fighting oppression and foreign dominance. History is such as the victory of Bangladesh side narrows the gap between our nations that may be geographically far apart but brings us closer in pursuit of democracy, human dignity, peace and security.

And we shall gather on the morning of 14 December, 2015 not merely to lift up the memories of our fallen comrades, but to read the names inscribed on these walls and support one another in strength as well as in grief. These kind-hearted and patriotic intellectuals were truthful and meant what they said for the cause of our valiant people. For every fallen hero, a life; and a reminder of the grief of loved ones left behind. The day we received the message of their brutal murder we could not come to grips with it and even today we cannot digest it. It is a tragedy for the country and a tragedy to the human fraternity and they have left a big vacuum.

They were like shining stars of strength and loving devotion that many of us will continue to be guided by throughout our lives. Our love is deeper than the solar system and wider than eternity.

Their death occasioned the sad loss of intellectual giants who radiated an unfailing commitment and devotion to the struggle for freedom. They were known as thinkers who could easily speak in simple language and socialise with ordinary people. They were true compatriots and pure-blooded democrats. They were an embodiment of what Bangladesh stands for. These were great intellectuals who harboured the noble qualities of dedication, sacrifice and discipline. They are the persons who showed immense empathy to human suffering, and compassion for the poor and oppressed. They personified humility, dignity and sophistication.

Throughout their lives they continued to inspire all of us with the certainty that we would triumph in the end. On 14 December, 2017, we shall mourn the passing of our great sons. We salute our comrades and friends, and intellectual leaders in the struggle of our movement and fellow members of a generation that has given so much to the shaping of our country. In the memory of our martyred intellectuals veteran freedom fighter late Syed Shahidul Haque Mama said, “Our country has been blessed with some quite outstanding persons. We give thanks to Allah for their quite substantial contribution to our struggle and to the transformation that has happened and is happening in our country.” In all their work, they distinguished themselves as scholars, disciplined cadres, builders and teachers. They built and sustained a tradition of excellent political journalism and theoretical writing.

Great Bengali heroes have encountered barbaric murders; they will go down in the annals of history as men of immense integrity, intellectual capacity; unrelenting in their determination to follow their own destiny, and on behalf of the voiceless, but always gentlemen of stature. Their loss is a national loss. We are all indebted to them for leading us in a way that is most worthy of emulation. Their lives and times were a celebration of a life lived to the fullest. In the era of democracy, they were a constant reminder of the need to speed up service delivery to improve the lives of our people.

We should vow not to stop our fighting till the last butcher is perished from our sacred land. We must destroy their financial base and confiscate their properties to compensate the same to the families of war victims.

They were like shining stars of strength and loving devotion that many of us will continue to be guided by throughout our lives. Our love is deeper than the solar system and wider than eternity. Let us never forget that it is “love that shines brighter than the morning sun.” We can now remember this famous poem :

“We honour them by promising them our best
That we will stand for that which is righteous and true
The freedom of mankind and the red, the white, and the blue
A story to be told of that which is not yet
We will begin by promising not to forget
Those who fell on the battlefield and those who came home
Those who gave all and that all gave some
May God make us worthy of the story that’s been told
May our story be that we have made their cause our own.”

There is no better epitaph we can leave on the tombs of our martyred intellectuals than the words of Armand Hammer, “A person first starts to live when he can live outside himself. Life is a gift, and if we agree to accept it, we must contribute in return. When we fail to contribute, we fail to adequately answer why we are here.” Noted Historian Prof. Dr. Muntasir Mamun has said, ”Bangabandhu had united the nation. Gen Zia had divided it. It is tough to unite a nation. But it is easy to divide. Zia did it. We hope the new generation will be able to be united once again. There will be no anti-liberation element in the country. The entire nation, imbued with the spirit of Liberation War, will stand in unison.” He further has said, “Unfortunately the political forces in Bangladesh are now divided as anti-Liberation and pro-Liberation forces. There is no nation in the world where anti-Liberation forces exist. But in Bangladesh, it exists. There will be politics in Bangladesh. But there will be no anti-Liberation politics. Everybody will have to pro-Liberation. You will find no country in the world, where any political party upholds the spirit of defeated forces. They support crimes against humanity. You will not find it anywhere else. Khaleda Zia questions the genocide. You will not find any such politician in other countries.”

Ciao. But before that, we wish to salute our martyred intellectuals on the 46th anniversary of their brutal slaughtering by the war criminals and their killing outfits, Al-Badr and Al-Shams in connivance with the brutal Pakistani Military Junta. We should vow not to stop our fighting till the last butcher is perished from our sacred land. We must destroy their financial base and confiscate their properties to compensate the same to the families of war victims. One hundred ninety five war criminals of the Pakistani Army shall be tried in the International Crimes’ Tribunal to award due punishment to these perpetrators to let the whole world know of what magnitude of crimes they committed to our people during our glorious Liberation War in 1971.The martyred intellectuals will thus live on through the love in our hearts.

-The End-