By Mamun Islam
RANGPUR, April 3, 2022 (BSS) - Ten intellectuals of Rangpur embraced martyrdom in early hours on April 4, 1971 when the Pakistani army inhumanly tortured and gunned them down at Dakhiganj Shwashan Baddhyabhumi area in the city.
Talking to BSS, former Rangpur district unit Commander of Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad (BMS) heroic freedom fighter Mosaddek Hossain Bablu said the Pakistani occupation army caught 11 brilliant sons of Rangpur from their houses on March 27, 1971.
"The occupation army with local non-Bengali Behari collaborators forcibly took them to Rangpur cantonment and conducted barbaric physical tortures causing intolerable pains and sufferings to them," he said.
In the small hours on April 4, 1971, the Pakistani occupation army and local collaborators took them to Dakhiganj Shwashan (crematory) Baddhyabhumi in the eastern part of the city and gunned them down by opening brass fire.
"Fortunately, one of them, Awami League (AL) leader Dr. Dinesh Chandra Bhowmick alias Mantu Daktar, who received eight bullets, escaped the dreadfulness luckily," Bablu said quoting his talks with Mantu Daktar in 1971.
Mantu Daktar was then taken to India where he joined the 'Mukti Bahini' after getting proper treatment and fought to liberate the country by killing many enemy soldiers in the war fronts.
The 10 martyred intellectuals are: Advocate Mahfuz Ali Zorjes, Khitish Halder, Ehsanul Haque Dulal, Rafiqul Islam Rafique, Dhirendranath Shanti Chaki, Durga Das Adhikari, Gopal Chandra, Tofazzal Hossain Moharram, Uttam Kumar Adhikari and Pagla Darbesh.
Talking to BSS today, Shushanto Bhowmick, youngest son of heroic freedom fighter Dr. Dinesh Chandra Bhowmick alias Mantu Daktar, said the occupation forces killed the ten intellectuals of Rangpur at the early hours on April 4, 1971 to make Rangpur talentless.
"The people of Rangpur actually started the War for Liberation from the beginning of March in 1971 after becoming extremely angry when Yahiya Khan on March 1 cancelled the scheduled parliament sitting on March 3 and declared curfew on the day.
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with huge hatred vehemently rejected cancellation of the scheduled parliament session and called a strike on March 2 in Dhaka and March 3 throughout the country.
As per the call of Bangabandhu, the whole nation was in an unprecedented non- cooperation movement against the Pakistani regime that declared curfew in the then East Pakistan on March 3, 1971.
"On March 3, 1971, thousands of people irrespective of caste, creed and religion brought out huge protest processions from Kachari Bazar point breaking curfew in Rangpur city as elsewhere in the country," said Shushanto Bhowmick, also a senior journalist.
Non-Bengali Behari Sarforaz Khan shot dead heroic boy Sangku Samajhder, 12, of Rangpur on March 3, 1971 at 9:30 am while Sangku was taking part in the massive non-cooperation movement rally that was passing through Alamnagar area in the city.
"The supreme sacrifice of Sangku triggered mass anger among the Rangpur people uniting them to snatch away Independence at any cost," Bhowmick said, adding that the occupation forces started conspiring to foil the War of Liberation since then.
Heroic freedom fighter Md Matiar Rahman said killing of the ten intellectuals of Rangpur on April 4 by the occupation army ignited sleeping heroism in every Bangalee of Rangpur region inspiring them to join the 'Mukti Bahini' en-masse.
'Muktijoddha Smriti Sanrakshan Parishad' observes the 'Dakhiganj Shwashan Baddhyabhumi Dibash', martyrdom day of 10 intellectuals, here every year on April 4 to pay rich tribute to the heroic sons of the soil.
'Dakhiganj Baddhyabhumi Smriti Raksha Committee' and 'Muktijuddher Smriti Sanrakshan Parishad will observe the "Dakhiganj Baddhyabhumi Dibash" through various programmes to pay homage to the martyred intellectuals tomorrow.
