Dr Mohammad Didare Alam Muhsin :
After a long and bloody nine-month war, the Pak aggressors were finally forced to surrender on 16 December 1971 in the face of a joint operation by the Freedom Fighters and the allied forces. Many nations of the world have shed blood year after year but have not been able to break the shackles of subjugation. One will not find in history more examples of the way that the heroic fighters of Bengal snatched victory by defeating the immensely powerful Pak army in just 9 months of armed struggle.
The war of liberation is the most glorious chapter of this nation. Bangabandhu united the nation to demand liberation, and the War of Liberation built that unity on an inflexible and solid foundation. The fearless youths who went down to the battlefield in one cloth, took up arms in their hands, responding to Bangabandhu’s call, what were their desires? Money, fame, position? Certainly not. With a completely uncertain future ahead, what could be the aspirations of those who took up arms that day, other than sacrificing themselves for their own country and nation? Is not it their intense desire to devote themselves to the love of the land and the people that had been the key to their success that day? In the final stages of the War of Liberation, when the Indian forces directly joined the war in December, the Freedom Fighters had already cornered the Pak army inside Bangladesh by November. Thus, the participation of the Indian forces undoubtedly hastened the final resolution, but the major work was certainly done by the brave children of this soil.
The freedom fighters are the sun-like children of this country. From the above discussion, I hope it has become clear that the only source of inspiration for them that day was the desire to devote themselves to patriotism in response to Bangabandhu’s call, not any material demands. Can there be any reward for this self-less sacrifice other than respect, love and prayers for them? Certainly not. It would be a gross injustice to them if someone thinks that such a desire is working in their minds even today as they did not go to war with any material demands. Isn’t it right that, by honoring them with some privileges or positions, in accordance with their needs or qualifications, in this country earned by their blood and sweat, we can only try to alleviate little bit the debt burden on our shoulders.
It is a pity that, according to newspaper reports, we have not yet been able to finalize the list of Freedom Fighters even after 49 years of independence? The War of Liberation was no secret! When each and every individual of this nation was, directly or indirectly, a part of this war, everybody in a locality supposed to know the guys in the area who jumped into the battlefield with arms. So, there should not be any problem at all in identifying the real freedom fighters. And why do the Freedom Fighters have to apply for enlistment? If we want to honor them with some opportunity or allowance according to our ability, isn’t it our responsibility to find them? Wouldn’t it be a great pity if you hear that a true freedom fighter has not yet been enlisted even though he applied with relevant documents about a decade ago. It is true that some opportunists may try to get enlisted with fake certificates as the government has announced some facilities for the Freedom Fighters, but it would be extremely unfortunate if a real Freedom Fighter were deprived of the announced benefits due to delays in enlistment in the name of verification.
Basically, I wanted to write today about the martyred Freedom Fighters. They fought to liberate this country until the last drop of their blood remained, but they could not see that the country has become independent. It seems very unfortunate when people raise controversy over the number of martyrs. Often, the issue comes to the fore in such a way that as if how many martyrs were killed — one, one hundred, one thousand, one lakh, ten lakh or thirty lakh — this number is the big deal! Why, buddy? Why do even a single member of a community have to give his life to realize their fair share? Unless you consider human life to be cheap, the number will not appear to you to be any big issue. Doesn’t Allah say in the Holy Qur’an that killing a human being unjustly is tantamount to killing the whole of humanity? However, the question that remains here is: how successful have we been in compiling a complete list of known martyred Freedom Fighters? I have to make the same argument again. Those who were martyred in the Liberation War in an area, did not return after joining the Liberation War, or went missing from the area suspiciously, should be known to more or less everyone in that area. Many of the generation who took part in the liberation war that day are still with us. So, if we are serious, it should not take long to make a complete list. Those who have sacrificed their lives for the country have gone far beyond these things long ago. However, if we as a nation want to move forward, we should remember in our interest the heroic fighters who sacrificed their lives for this nation. Because, from generation to generation, they will be our pioneers, the source of inspiration. So, why the delay? Now is the time to actively consider setting up an honors board at the UP office or elsewhere in each area by compiling a complete list of known martyrs in the area through area-wise investigations.
(Dr Muhsin is Professor of Pharmacy, Jahangirnagar University).
