Spotlight

A valiant freedom fighter

Syeda Nafisa Nawal

He was one of those valiant freedom fighters who fought for our liberation; one of those brave heroes, who gave us a separate identity. A man of indomitable spirit and patriotism, this hero was my grandfather, Late Syed Shamsur Rahman (1924-1990). He was the Govt. Treasury Accountant for Jamalpur from 1946 to 1988.

It was 1971. Terrified at the news of the genocide on the night of the 25th March, people began to move towards safer places, away from the atrocities of the brutal Pakistani army. Numerous youths responded to the call of independence. Amidst such crisis, Dadabhai (grandfather) had to defend his family and fight for the nation as well. My grandmother was pregnant at that time and there were five kids in the family. So he decided to send them to Durmut, our remote village home. The nerve-racking journey to Durmut got worse, when Dadu (my grandmother) went into labour. With their lives in their hands, they managed to reach Durmut, where Dadu delivered her baby, an innocent yet misfortunate life, who came to the world in a reign of terror. By the next day, the Pak army had burnt all houses in town, including our one. Dadabhai was arrested; he was forced to join office and bring back his family, though he had nothing except a burnt house. This burnt house was their only shelter. In the meantime, he enlisted himself in the Muktibahini for disseminating information on pre-planned military attacks to the Muktijoddhas beforehand.

Outside Jamalpur, the Muktibahini gradually closed in on victory. But things suddenly began to deteriorate by mid-November. Jamalpur town became a war-field. Air attacks, artillery, mortar-shelling and gunfire from all around blurred the air and shook the soil. It was so dangerous that people had to dig trenches in the soil. Amongst such adversity, the guiltless little infant died of malnutrition and lack of medical treatment. Helpless and grief-struck Dadabhai lost everything - a child, his dwelling house, wealth and security. All he had was his family. The most difficult episode of the war then began. Panic persisted; many people hid themselves under a trench for ten days in a row. Yet nothing could deviate him from the thirst for freedom. In such miserable conditions, he used to plan attacks on the Pak army with his fellow Muktijoddhas.

Circumstances worsened within few days. Daytimes were filled with smoke and fire and the darkness of night became a death trap. To save his family from increasing danger, he took them to the shelter of last resort, the nearest liberated area, Bhabki. On the way back from Bhabki to Jamalpur, Dadabhai began to recall what he had lost since the 25th of March till the 9th of December. Sighing with sorrow, he looked towards the sky to find that his dream had come true. His eyes glistened with joy; the flag of independence was flying, declaring the victory of a nation that had defeated tyranny and oppression.

Many other people like Dadabhai who have helped the Muktijoddhas directly and indirectly have been living in seclusion over the last 37years. Let's rediscover their dreams of a truly independent Bangladesh.