In 1970, I was transferred to Bangladesh Ordnance Factory in Gazipur from Pakistan Ordnance Factory. After a few days, the general election was held in Pakistan. The result was a victory for the Awami League led by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which won an absolute majority of 160 seats. But, military junta chief President Yahya Khan refused to hand over the power to Bangabandhu. He was wasting time illegally in the name of meeting.
The whole Bengali nation became agitated and protested demanding transfer of power to Bangabandhu. There were mass meeting, processions and protest across the country to meet the demand. Students protest was created centering Dhaka University. Student leaders started working according to the leadership and suggestion of Bangabandhu.
They made outline of the national flag. On other hand, Yahya Khan was ridiculously wasting time in the name of handing over power to Bangabandhu. He also started bringing army and military equipmentto East Pakistan from West. A non-cooperation movement led by Bangabandhu was started on March 3 in 1971. All offices including bank, insurance and private organisations was following the instructions of Bangabandhu.
Banganbandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered his historical speech at the then Ramna Race Course (Race Course Moydan) now known as Suhrawardy Udyanon March 7 in 1971. There were hundreds of thousands of people gathered the Race Course ground to hear the speech from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Actually the 7th March rally gave a dramatic turn in the Bangali struggle for Independence.
There was also protest in Gazipur Ordnance Factory and Machine Tools Factory as the military junta did not handed over the power to Bangabandhu. There were meeting and procession everyday. After the killing of an officer of Pakistani Military in Gazipur, Pakistani army tried to enter there in mid-March in 1971.
On that time the protest sparked and went on the extreme level. The protesters blockaded the roads with tree trunk to barricade the Pakistani army from entering them into Gazipur from Dhaka. The Pakistani army had a faceoff with the protesters when they tried to break the barricade. At one stage, they opened fire to the protesters and killed and injured the protesters brutally.
On March 25 night in 1971, the armed Pakistani army with tanker and ammunition indiscriminately attacked the Bengalis.They killed thousands of Bengalis mainly targeting Dhaka University, Police Lines and Pilkhana (EPR). As there was hardly any form of communication, the next day, we came to know that the Pakistani military made Dhaka a city of death. They killed every Bengali at their reach.
On March 29 in 1971, the armed and well-equipped Pakistani army personnel started heading towards Gazipur Ordnance Factory and Machine Tools Factory and launched air attack. They also bombed at the factory from their planes. The army members were shooting at sight of anybody in the area. I was lucky as I narrowly escaped from a shell when I was moving to a building from another in the factory.Everyone was very scared and tried to flee the scene.
It is mentionable, our officers and staff members kept the arsenal open so that everyone could take the rifle and ammunition with them. I rushed to my home and told my wife that the Pakistani army will enter into the factory shortly. I heard they will kill people indiscriminately and mercilessly. We will have to leave the factory premises as soon as possible. We will come back when the situation will be brought under control.
My elder daughter was three-year-old then and my son was only one-year-old.We left the factory immediately with our children. We left behind everything except a basket filled with baby food, biscuits, feeder, some clothes and a towel. My eldest son went with his grandfather before. In this way, we escaped from the west gate of the factory and moved towards the West further. On our way, we heard from locals that Pakistani army had already took control over the factory. They were killing Bengali factory workers there. We kept on going to west and at one stage, we took shelter at a home in Zolarpar village of the area.There was no sign of a peaceful situation. Although the senior Pakistani officers personally loved me; but the Bihari and Hindustani officers and staff were jealous about me. They are well aware of that I am from the same area of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. I knew that the Biharis would kill me if I would go inside the factory. So, I decided to stay at the house in the village for at least four to five days. The owner of the house was a farmer. They cordially received us. My wife was used to cook for us and I was doing the daily shopping from the kitchen market. The nights were very cold on that time. They gave us winter clothes as well. We are still grateful to them.
Later, we came to know that the Pakistani army personnel were searching for Bengali factory workers and officials to kill them. We left Zolarpar after a spending there for several days. We crossed the Mirzapur River by boat and took shelter at the house of a primary teacher, Abdus Sattar, in Shakeshwar village. They were very happy to see us and received us cordially. We lived there for another five-six days. They did not let us cook rather they cooked for us. In the meantime, we met some other families of our colleagues. They told us that there was no improvement of the situation at the factory. Only a very few people joined the factory but were brutally killed by the Pakistani army. So, we decided to go to our village home. The Pakistani army were used to patrolling on the Dhaka-Aricha road in daytime. So, we decided to go at night. We left Shakeshwar at the evening. We got a tempo after a while. We board onto the tempo and headed to Noarhat Bridge at late night. The tempo driver refused to go further. We walked and crossed the bridge and took shelter at another house. They offered us food. There was a mother with her daughter from Manikganj with us. They were born and brought up in Pakistan so they could not speak in Bangla. We had to face hurdle with them as some youths tried to pick them up terming them Bihari. We managed to save them from the youths after a section of explanation. We stayed at the house for two nights and a day.
The next day, we walked and hired a tempo to reach the house of Abdur Rashid, the gate inspector of our factory. He used to give foods to pedestrians at the bridge.We stayed there for two days. Then we walked and board in a bus to reach Aricha.Then we and some other families hired a boat to cross Padma River. We crossed the river and reached Faridpur. We took shelter at a house at the night. We stayed there the next day. I brought kitchen essentials from market. Hilsas were very cheap at the market. I bought a Hilsa weigh one and half kg at only Taka 2. We reached at the Bakhunda Bridge after walking a good distance and hiring rickshaw and bus also. We crossed the bridge and went to Dwigangar Bridge. We made another boat journey to reach Maldia village at Mokchhudpur. We somehow managed to reach the house of my another colleague of the ordnance factory, Ali Ashraf.
It is mentionable that, the family of Ali Ashraf was also with us from Aricha. We stayed there for four to five days. Everyone at our way to home helped us and we are very grateful to them. In this way, in the mid-April, we reached home at Sulatnpur Manikhar under Kathi union of Gopalganj Sadar. We came to know that the Pakistani army, with the help of Razakars and Shanti Committee, brutally killed the youths and raped and abducted the women and girls of the village.The Pakistani army also torch houses and shops in the area of their operation. On May 14 in 1971, we heard that the Pakistani army could attack our village anytime. Later on May 16, we were confirmed that the Pakistani army will attack our village on the following day. We decided that only the children and sexagenarians and older people than that will stay at home. The rest of all will take shelter at the marshland in around one to two miles far from the village.
Our neighbour, M Hafizur Rahman Badsha, works at the court. He goes to his office regularly and he has got a pass from the Pakistani government. So he decided to stay at home with his brothers. On the other hand, at the Purbopara of our village, a woman, wife of one Monju Mollah, was died on May 16. So, everyone decided that the beard people with cap aged more than 50 will only do the needful for the funeral of the body.Everyone will return home after the operation of the Pakistan Army. We all left the village and went to the safe distance with some food. At the dawn, the Pakistani army and Razakar (war criminal) stormed at the house of Badsha Mollah. They stayed at the house and talked to the members of the house. They saw and examined the government pass of Badsha bhai. They ate snacks and pomegranatethere. Then they asked Badsha bhai, and his three brothers and their three sons (aged between 1 to 11) to lay down on the ground. They opened brush fire and killed them. Later they torched their five houses. Their house and trees were torched. The brutal violence can not be described in words if someone has not seen it.
The Pakistani army went to the east of the village as their house was at the west. They torched every house on their way and they tortured the old people as well. There were 14 people with beard to finish the funereal of the woman at the east side of the village. They were taking the body to the graveyard. The Pakistani army personnel were so brutal that they did not even spare them. The army shot them on their way to the graveyard. The scene was very pathetic.
We were saved as we were far away from the village. They even opened fire at the marshland. We were out of their range. So, we were safe. At 3:00pm, we heard that the army left the village after finishing the operation. Then we came back to our village and heard about the brutality of the Pakistani army. After seeing and hearing all these, we decided to save East Bengal from the brutal, barbaric and uncivilized Pakistanis. We joined the Liberation War to achieve the freedom.
The writer is a valiant Freedom Fighter.
The article was first appeared in a Bengali national daily
