Martyred intellectual
Encyclopedia
1971 killing of Bengali intellectuals refers to the systematic execution of Bengali
pro-liberation intellectuals during the Bangladesh liberation war
of 1971 by Pakistan Army
and their local collaborators, most notably the extreme right wing Islamist militia groups Al-Badr
. Intellectuals were killed during the entire duration (9 months) of the war. However, the largest number of executions took place on 25 March and 14 December 1971.
, on the night of 25 March 1971, a number of teachers of Dhaka University were killed. Among them were notable intellectuals like Dr. Govinda Chandra Dev
of Philosophy, Professor Abdul Muktadir of Geology, Professor A R Khan Khadim (Physics), Anudaipayan Bhattacharjee (Applied Physics), Dr. F. R. Khan, Sharafat Ali of Mathematics, Dr. Muniruzzaman of Statistics and Professor Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta
of English. These killings can be attributed to the Pakistan Army who also killed thousands of students and other people in Dhaka on that night and afterwards.
Even after the official ending of the war on December 16 there were reports of hostile fire from the armed Pakistani soldiers and their collaborators. In one such incident, notable film-maker Zahir Raihan was killed on January 30, 1972 in Mirpur, allegedly by the armed Beharis of Mirpur.
It is widely speculated that the killings of 14 December was orchestrated by Maj Gen Rao Farman Ali
. After the liberation of Bangladesh a list of Bengali intellectuals (most of whom were executed on 14 Dec) was discovered in a page of his diary left behind at the Governor's House. The existence of such a list was confirmed by Ali himself although he denied the motive of genocide. The same was also confirmed by Altaf Gauhar, a former Pakistani bureaucrat. He mentioned an incidence in which Altaf requested Ali to delete a friend's name from the list and Ali did that in front of him..
. as follows -
The district wise break-up of the number of martyred academicians and lawyers published in 1972 was as follows -
Administrative districts and divisions mentioned here are as they were in 1972.
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
pro-liberation intellectuals during the Bangladesh liberation war
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
of 1971 by Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
and their local collaborators, most notably the extreme right wing Islamist militia groups Al-Badr
Al-Badr (East Pakistan)
The Al-Badr was the paramilitary wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh that collaborated with the Pakistan Army against the Bengali nationalist movement in the Bangladesh Liberation War. The present chief of the Jamaat, Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami headed the Al-Badr organisation as the...
. Intellectuals were killed during the entire duration (9 months) of the war. However, the largest number of executions took place on 25 March and 14 December 1971.
Black Night of 25 March
At the beginning of Operation SearchlightOperation Searchlight
Operation Searchlight was a planned military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army to curb the Bengali nationalist movement in the erstwhile East Pakistan in March 1971. Ordered by the central government in West Pakistan, this was seen as the sequel to "Operation Blitz" which had been...
, on the night of 25 March 1971, a number of teachers of Dhaka University were killed. Among them were notable intellectuals like Dr. Govinda Chandra Dev
Govinda Chandra Dev
Govinda Chandra Dev , or G.C. Dev as he is popularly known as, was a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Dhaka. He was assassinated at the onset of Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 by the Pakistan Army as part of a plan to eliminate the Bangladeshi intelligentsia.-Early life:G.C...
of Philosophy, Professor Abdul Muktadir of Geology, Professor A R Khan Khadim (Physics), Anudaipayan Bhattacharjee (Applied Physics), Dr. F. R. Khan, Sharafat Ali of Mathematics, Dr. Muniruzzaman of Statistics and Professor Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta
Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta
Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta was a Bengali educator and humanist of the former East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. He was one of the Bengali intellectuals assaulted by Pakistan Army during the 1971 Dhaka University massacre on the night of 25 March 1971.-Early life:...
of English. These killings can be attributed to the Pakistan Army who also killed thousands of students and other people in Dhaka on that night and afterwards.
14 December executions
On 14 December 1971, over 200 of East Pakistan's intellectuals including professors, journalists, doctors, artists, engineers, and writers were picked up from their homes in Dhaka by the Al-Badr militias and Pakistani Army. They were taken blindfolded to torture cells in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Nakhalpara, Rajarbagh and other locations in different sections of the city. Later they were executed en masse, most notably at Rayerbazar and Mirpur. In memory of the martyred intellectuals, December 14 is mourned in Bangladesh as Shaheed Buddhijibi Dibosh ("Day of the Martyred Intellectuals").Even after the official ending of the war on December 16 there were reports of hostile fire from the armed Pakistani soldiers and their collaborators. In one such incident, notable film-maker Zahir Raihan was killed on January 30, 1972 in Mirpur, allegedly by the armed Beharis of Mirpur.
It is widely speculated that the killings of 14 December was orchestrated by Maj Gen Rao Farman Ali
Rao Farman Ali
Major General Rao Farman Ali Khan was Pakistan Army general during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. He took commission in an artillery regiment in 1941 and later commanded the 26 Field Regiment...
. After the liberation of Bangladesh a list of Bengali intellectuals (most of whom were executed on 14 Dec) was discovered in a page of his diary left behind at the Governor's House. The existence of such a list was confirmed by Ali himself although he denied the motive of genocide. The same was also confirmed by Altaf Gauhar, a former Pakistani bureaucrat. He mentioned an incidence in which Altaf requested Ali to delete a friend's name from the list and Ali did that in front of him..
Statistics
The number of intellectuals killed is estimated in BanglapediaBanglapedia
Banglapedia, or the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, is the first Bangladeshi encyclopedia. It is available in print, CD-ROM format and online, in both Bangla and English. The print version comprises ten 500-page volumes...
. as follows -
- Academics - 991
- Journalist - 13
- Physician - 49
- Lawyer - 42
- Others (litterateur, artist and engineer) - 16
The district wise break-up of the number of martyred academicians and lawyers published in 1972 was as follows -
| District and Division | Academicians | Lawyers | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | Secondary | Higher Secondary | ||
| Dhaka Dhaka Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city... |
37 | 8 | 10 | 6 |
| Faridpur | 27 | 12 | 4 | 3 |
| Tangail Tangail Tangail is a town in Tangail District located in central region of Bangladesh. It consists of 5 corporations, 8 municipalities, 72 wards, 211 mahallas. It is located on the banks of Louhajang River, and is part of the Dhaka Division.-Education:... |
20 | 7 | 2 | |
| Mymensingh Mymensingh Mymensingh , pronounced moy-mon-shing-haw, is a city of Bangladesh situated on the river Brahmaputra. It is the headquarters of the administrative unit Mymensingh District. Mymensingh is the anglicized pronunciation of the original name Momenshahi, referring to a ruler called Momen Shah. The cadet... |
46 | 28 | 1 | 2 |
| Dhaka Division | 130 | 55 | 17 | 10 |
| Chittagong Chittagong Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading... |
39 | 16 | 7 | 1 |
| Chittagong Hill Tracts Chittagong Hill Tracts The Chittagong Hill Tracts comprise an area of 13,295 km2 in south-eastern Bangladesh, and borders India and Myanmar . It was a single district of Bangladesh until 1984. In that year it was divided into three separate districts: Khagrachari, Rangamati and Bandarban. Topographically, this is the... |
9 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Sylhet Sylhet Sylhet , is a major city in north-eastern Bangladesh. It is the main city of Sylhet Division and Sylhet District, and was granted metropolitan city status in March 2009. Sylhet is located on the banks of the Surma Valley and is surrounded by the Jaintia, Khasi and Tripura hills... |
19 | 7 | 2 | |
| Comilla Comilla Comilla is a city in south-eastern Bangladesh, located along the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway. It is the administrative center of the Comilla District, part of the Chittagong Division. The Eastern Wing of Bangladesh Highway Police is located in Comilla.... |
45 | 33 | 1 | 4 |
| Noakhali | 26 | 13 | 4 | 2 |
| Chittagong Division | 138 | 73 | 13 | 10 |
| Khulna Khulna Khulna is the third largest city in Bangladesh. It is located on the banks of the Rupsha and Bhairab rivers in Khulna District. It is the divisional headquarters of Khulna Division and a major industrial and commercial center. It has a seaport named Mongla on its outskirts, 38 km from Khulna... |
48 | 15 | 2 | 2 |
| Jessore | 55 | 31 | 5 | 4 |
| Barisal | 50 | 21 | 4 | |
| Patuakhali | 3 | 1 | ||
| Kushtia | 28 | 13 | 4 | |
| Khulna Division | 184 | 81 | 15 | 6 |
| Rajshahi Rajshahi The city of Rajshahi is the divisional headquarters of Rajshahi division as well as the administrative district that bears its name and is one of the six metropolitan cities of Bangladesh. Often referred to as Silk City and Education City, Rajshahi is located in the north-west of the country and... |
39 | 8 | 3 | 5 |
| Rangpur Rangpur, Bangladesh Rangpur is one of the major cities in Bangladesh. Rangpur is considered as the centre of northwestern Bangladesh. Recently established public university of Bangladesh named as "Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur" is situated in the southern part of the city. Earlier Rangpur was the headquarter of... |
41 | 22 | 9 | 4 |
| Dinajpur Dinajpur District, Bangladesh Dinajpur is a district in Northern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rangpur Division.- Geography :Dinajpur is bounded by Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts in the north, Gaibandha and Joypurhat districts in the south, Nilphamari and Rangpurdistricts in the east, and the state of West Bengal, India... |
50 | 10 | 1 | 2 |
| Bogra Bogra Bogra is a town, and one of the oldest towns in northern Bangladesh. It is a centre of commerce and trade within the Bogra District and located under the Rajshahi Division. Bogra is sometimes described as the nerve centre of Northern Bangladesh. Amongst many notable activities, it has been hosting... |
14 | 12 | 2 | |
| Pabna Pabna Pabna is a town in Rajshahi Division ofBangladesh and the administrative capital of eponymous Pabna District. It is located on the north bank of Padma river and has a population of about 138,000.-Name:... |
43 | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| Rajshahi Division | 187 | 61 | 14 | 15 |
| Bangladesh | 639 | 270 | 59 | 41 |
| Martyred academicians (not affiliated to universities) = 968 | ||||
| Martyred university teachers = 21 | ||||
| Total martyred academicians = 989 | ||||
Administrative districts and divisions mentioned here are as they were in 1972.
See also
- 1971 Bangladesh atrocities1971 Bangladesh atrocitiesBeginning with the start of Operation Searchlight on 25 March 1971 and continuing throughout the Bangladesh Liberation War, there were widespread violations of human rights in East Pakistan perpetrated by the Pakistan Army, with support from local political and religious militias, especially...
- 1971 Dhaka University massacre1971 Dhaka University massacreDhaka University is the center for development of Independence of Bangladesh. Dhaka University has greatly contributed to the liberation of Bangladesh....
- Martyred Intellectuals MemorialMartyred Intellectuals MemorialRayer Bazaar is a well-known thoroughfare in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. It is generally regarded as one of the historical areas of the city.Rayer Bazaar was founded during the colonial period most probably in 19th century. It was the potters who first started to live here beside the...
- Bangladesh Liberation WarBangladesh Liberation WarThe Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
- List of massacres in Bangladesh