News Desk :
The nation on Monday observed the Martyred Intellectuals Day to commemorate those intellectuals who were killed systematically by the Pakistan occupation army and their local collaborators at the fag end of the country’s Liberation War in 1971.
The day was observed on a limited scale due to fresh surge of the Covid-19 cases.
President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid rich tributes to the martyred intellectuals, marking the Martyred Intellectuals Day.
On behalf of President, his Military Secretary Major General SM Shamim Uz Jaman, and on behalf of the premier, her Military Secretary Major General Naqib Ahmed Chowdhury placed the floral wreaths around 7.10am at the Martyred Intellectuals’ Mausoleum at Mirpur in Dhaka to pay homage to the great heroes of the country.
Awami League, BNP and other political and social organizations also placed wreaths at the Martyred Intellectuals’ Mausoleum in the morning.
Just two days ahead of the country’s final victory for independence on this day 49 years back, the Pakistani occupation forces with the help of their local collaborators – Razakar, Al-Badr and Al-Shams – killed many of the prominent intellectuals of the country.
As many as 200 illustrious sons of the soil, including professors, journalists, doctors, artistes, engineers and writers, were abducted from their respective residences during December 10 and December 14 in 1971.
They were taken blindfolded to torture cells at Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Nakhalpara, Rajarbagh and other locations in different parts of the capital.
Subsequently, they were put to death en masse at different killing grounds, most notably Rayerbazar and Mirpur, in a bid to cripple the newly emerging Bangladesh intellectually.
Those who were exposed to the killers’ wrath on December 14, 1971, included Dr Alim Chowdhury and Dr Fazle Rabbi, Journalists Shahidullah Kaisar, Sirajuddin Hossain, Nizamuddin Ahmed, SA Mannan and Selina Parveen, and litterateur Munier Choudhury.
