Dr. M A Hasan writes for DOT
The most barbarous and shameful chapter of the genocide in Bangladesh took place toward the end of the war. The main designer of the killing of intellectuals was Major General Rao Farman Ali and a few top brass of Pakistan army, including General Rahim, Brigd. Bashir, Brigd. Aslam, Lt. Col. Taj and a few intellectuals working for CIA. Moulana A.B.M. Khaleque Majumdar, office secretary for Dhaka City of Jamat-e-Islami, and few top leaders of Jamat who were also working for CIA were given the responsibility for killing of the intellectuals. They had discussion with one Mr. Duip the CIA representative visiting Dhaka in August 1971. It was when resisting the fighting Bengalees had become impossible, they planned that massacre to deprive Bangladesh the service of some of its most highly qualified sons to make its survival impossible. A blueprint was designed to simultaneously kill persons engaged in different professions and the intellectuals. In a very well-planned way the Pakistanis moved to kill three hundred Bengalees, including administrative heads, doctors, surgeons, professors, litterateurs, journalists and engineers.
It is popularly conceived that killing of intellectuals was initiated in December 1971 and it reached the pinnacle on 14th, but in real sense it started long before in 1969 when Dr. Zoha a professor of Rajshahi University was targeted. He was openly killed by one Pakistani army officer. It was a long cherished plan of Yahya Khan and the Pakistan army.
Thus, during 1971 lieutenant Col. Taj of 32 Punjab killed Prof. G. C. Dev and his close associates right on 25th March night.
That targeted killing continued. The great changer of society Ronodaprasad Saha and Dhiren Datta pioneer warrior of language movement were picked from their home and were killed within may 1971.
Some bureaucrats and intellectuals were deliberately spared as though they were openly with liberation war, but, secretly they were with the Pakistan army. Some of their close relatives were holding top posts in Pakistan army and in Pakistan civil administration. Someway, they were linked to Pakistan. It was those intellectual who refused to answer call of Shaheed and their family during their last days were secret warrior of Pakistan in disguise. (Ref. statement of Bashonti Goha Takurata)
From the month of October the “Al-Badar” squads prepared for the killing of intellectuals. In the month of November they started sending letters of warning to many intellectuals.
Brigadier Raja of Mirpur under Mohammadpur Police station at Dhaka, Brigadier Aslam of Ramna police station, Brigadier Sharif of Tejgaon area and Brigadier Shafi of Dhanmondi area had special roles in the killing of intellectuals.
It was confirmed that Ashrafuzzaman Khan and Imran (a senior medical student) top leaders of the Al-badar High Command, were the principal killer of this ‘bahini’ (squad). Five hundred members of “Al-Badar” Bahini specifically, their Salauddin wing had been engaged to kill the intellectuals of Dhaka. A report in the daily “Dainik Bangla” of 14 December 1972 said that in May 1971 some intellectuals had been sent a special form on behalf of Yahya Khan. It is surmised that this form was sent to them in order to make inquiries about them. The “London Times” leaked out this plan of completely wiping out teachers, professors, doctors, lawyers and litterateurs of Bangladesh. As a result the plan was stayed for the time being.
On the morning of 26 March one House Tutor Professor Anuddoipayan Bhattyacharya was killed after torture along with two others. A Reader of the Statistics Department of Dhaka University A.N.M. Muniruzzaman was killed along with three other members of his family in building no. 34 adjacent to the Shahid Minar. Gobindrachandra Dev his son in law Mohammad Ali- husband of his adopted daughter Rokeya were also shot that day. Jyotirmoy Guhathakurata was taken to the Medical College Hospital on 27 March. He was admitted in ward 7 on surgical unit at fist floor. Before that Pak troops had shot him at neck after asking his name at his quarter in university. Prof. G.C. Dev and his son in law had been left on floor in his quarter. Later they were carries to football field of Jagannath hall in front of a ‘L’ type ditch dug by tank and caterpillar.
The Pakistani army had regarded the teachers to be the moral leaders of the nation. They had assessed that this force had to be destroyed by any means. After they made their base in the Rajshahi university the Pak army took away Kaji Saleh of the Department of Statistics, lecturer of Mathematics Mujibur Rahman, Dr. Rafique of Physics and Dr. Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal of Bengalee, and tortured them inhumanly. The then Vice-Chancellor Syed Sajjad Hossain helped the Pak army to prepare the list in this connection. Assistant Professor Shukhoranjan Samaddar of Sanskrit was killed and left in a hole on the bank of Kajla pond in front of the university. On 25 November Mir Abdul Quayum Lecturer in Psychology was called from his house by a non-Bengalee tout of the Pak army stenographer Tayab Ali. His corpse was found on 30 December in the babla woods on the bank of the Padma. Professor Habibur Rahman of the Department of Mathematics was taken to the roof of the guesthouse of Brigadier Aslam and Colonel Taj. He never returned.
A report in the “Purbodesh” of 9 January 1972 mentioned a diary. It was mentioned that the diary belonged to Ashrafuzzaman Khan, Commander of Al-Badar and the killer of intellectuals. It had already been proven with witnesses that Ashrafuzzaman had killed seven university teachers at the Mirpur graveyard with his own hands. Driver Mofizuddin who had driven the vehicle which had carried the teachers had given this testimony to the police.
In two pages of this diary there were names and addresses of 19 distinguished teachers of the Dhaka University and of Murtaza Bashir, the university doctor. Out of these 20 the 8 who disappeared on 14 December were Professor Munir Chowdhury (Bengali), Professor Mofazzal Haider Chowdhury (Bengali), Professor Anwar Pasha (Bengali), Dr. Abul Khair (History), Professor Rashidul Hasan (English), Professor Gyasuddin Ahmad (History), Dr. Faizul Mahi (Islamic Studies) and Dr. Murtaza.
Other names in the diary were those of Professor Wakil Ahmad (Bengali), Dr. Nilima Ibrahim (Bengali), Dr. Latif (Education), Dr. Maniruzzaman (Geography), Dr. Saaduddin (Sociology), Dr. A.S.S. Shahidullah (Mathematics), Dr. Sirajul Islam Chowdhury (English) Name of Professor Kabir Chowdhury, the Director of The Bangla Academy was written first and then deleted for unknown reason. In that diary there were many names including those of Brigadier Bashir and Captain Tahir and another sixteen teachers of Dhaka University, none of whom disappeared. Besides, among these teachers one, Dr. Mohor Ali, was an agent of the Pak army. It was later known that Ashrafuzzaman was a student of political science of Dhaka University. The second phase of the killing of intellectuals started on 10 December, just a few days before independence, with the news reporter of the “Daily Ittefaq” Mr. Sirajuddin Hossain as its first victim. Right after this many started disappearing. The joy of independence was dimmed by the discovery on 18 December of the execution centre of Rayer Bazaar. Here amidst the brick kilns were found the corpses of distinguished sons of the country, eyes and hands tied; some with their eyes taken out; some with their breasts pierced and hearts taken out.
Dr. Rabbi the renowned medicine specialist and a progressive professor of Dhaka medical college was picked up from his house and was killed on 14th December. Mutilated body of Dr. Rabbi with heart taken out of chest was found in rayerbazar.
Badar activist Dr. Ehsan, Imran and a few senior right wing doctors had hands in his killing. Corpses of Selina Parveen and many progressive people were found there. The author of this article who at that time was serving Bangladesh army and looking after law and order of half of the Dhaka city found nearly half a bucket gauzed eyes in one pump house near Rayerbazar- some pump houses in Basila, Adabor and Mirpur were used as killing chambers.
On 5 January under the graveyard of Mirpur were found the corpses of Sri Santosh Bhattyacharya, Dr. Sirajul Haque, Dr. Faizul Mahi and Dr. Murtaza. Another three corpses were so terribly decomposed and deformed that it was impossible to identify them. On the other hand no traces have been found of the corpses of the Managing Editor of Ittefaq Janab Sirajuddin Hossain, Joint Editor of Sangbad, Janab Shahidullah Kaiser, Former Chief of P.I.A. Bureau, BBC reporter Janab Nijamuddin Ahmed and Chief Reporter Syed Najmul Haque.
Intellectual killings of 1971 were a classic example of class-based genocide where intellect and philosophy of the victims were targeted.
The writer is Chairperson -War Crimes Facts Finding Committee, Bangladesh
Email: dhasan471@gmail.com