Ahmad Istiak

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.

It is difficult for 68-year-old Shikha Biswas to decide if she is fortunate or not.

Undeterred by setbacks, the freedom fighters held their nerve, and their resolute spirit fuelled the fight to liberate Bangladesh

An unceremonious monument covered by bushes on three sides is barely visible from the adjacent road. At first sight during our visit in October, it was difficult to make out that the small structure is in fact the memorial of the notorious Pahartoli killing field.

Since its inception in 2001, the Liberation War affairs ministry has taken up two projects to identify and preserve killing fields in different parts of Bangladesh, but both initiatives have been marred by irregularities and slow pace.

“Every night, the Pakistan army and their Bihari collaborators would bring truckloads of people on that bridge,”

At a time when he should have been going to school and growing up with all the happiness and blessings life has to offer, Sajjad ended up experiencing the other end of the spectrum.

Martyred guerrilla of the Liberation War, Syed Hafizur Rahman, has finally been recognised as a freedom fighter after his family’s appeals were rejected nine times.

On June 9, 1971, six guerilla freedom fighters were on the way to the Intercontinental Hotel (InterContinental Dacca) in a hijacked Datsun 1000 car around 6:30pm. Shahidullah Khan Badol was driving, while Kamrul Huq Shopon and Masud Sadek Chullu, Habibul Alam, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, and Ziauddin Ali Ahmed were carrying three hand grenades each.

Sakib, an 11-year-old homeless child in Dhaka’s Farmgate area, calls the sidewalks his home. Begging for food and money for his grandmother, he sleeps adjacent to Ananda cinema hall every night.

Despite repeated concerns from experts, child drowning still remains a major concern in Bangladesh, with over 7.9 percent of children aged under five drowning annually in rural areas of the country.

It was around 11:00am on May 20, 1971.

“This is Mohammadpur, get off,” a child yelled out to the passengers of a leguna, otherwise known as human hauliers, which had reached the area as early as 7:00am.

“Pakistani soldiers broke into our house through the backyard. Sensing their presence, three of my nephews gathered in one room. Another managed to flee. The soldiers entered our house firing indiscriminately killing the 3 helpless boys. They fell on the floor just like logs. …

Things changed when on February 15, Bhutto declared that PPP cannot participate in the assembly unless Awami League compromises on its six-point demand.

Just past midnight on Manik Mia Avenue, some children were seen taking the opportunity of the traffic light turning red. While some carried flowers, others had balloons of different colours. They were seen taking these to the passengers of private cars stopped at the signal, requesting them to make a purchase.