Volume 6 | Issue 09| May 05, 2012|



  
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Journey Through Bangladesh

Lalmonirhat

Sector 6 HQ in Tatters

Sector 6 headquarters, the only command centre of the Liberation War that was in the country at the time of the war, is in tatters at the moment. Eleven thousand freedom fighters took training here at the time of the Liberation War of 1971.
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S Dilip Roy

Hasor Uddin High School at Burimari area of Sree Rampur union under Patgram upazila in Lalmonirhat was the 6 No Sector headquarters of the Liberation War of Bangladesh. Of the total 11 sectors command, only sector 6 was in homeland but rest 10 others were in neighboring land. As Patgram upazila was the safe zone, so sector 6 command was set up in this upazila. Air Martial AKM Bashar was the commander of this sector command. The science building of Hasor Uddin High School was used as the office for the 6 No sector and the residence for headmaster besides the school was used as sleeping room for sector commander and high level officials.

 
 
Headquarters of Sector Six

Playground of Hasor Uddin high school was used as the venue for training to the freedom fighters. Bangladesh gets freedom but 6 No sector headquarters Hasor Uddin high school and its playground is uncared till now. Freedom fighters Ismail Hossain Prodhan, Osman Gony, Mohiuddin and others told, a total of 11 thousand freedom fighters took training at Hasor Uddin High School ground under 6 sector command and they fought against Pakistani occupation at different areas in the country. One thousand Mujib Bahini men took their place here at Hasor Uddin high school during freedom fight and they conducted their fighting plan against Pakistani occupation from here. They also added that many ministers of the Mujib govt visited Hasor Uddin High School and they stayed there some days for planning how the freedom fighters fight against Pakistani occupation. The four national leaders had to come here for several times to plan next steps. It had been decision that Bangobondhu Sheikh Mujibor Rahman will visit Hasor Uddin High School in January 1976 for announcing the construction of the memorial palace, auditorium at Hasor Uddin High School and nationalize the school. But he never could, as he along with his family members were martyred on 15 August, 1975, they said. Witnesses Nurul Huda, Hazimuddin, Abu Bakkor Siddique and others told, now Burimari Hasor Uddin High School looks paralyzed but it was glorious, and seen busy during the fight for freedom. High officials of the government both Bangladesh and India came here for observing freedom fighters training and giving fighting plan. The headmaster of Hasor Uddin High School Mokhlesar Rahman Prodhan said that there is no memory trace of the Liberation War at sector 6 command except the Science Building and headmaster residence. The sector command office science building going to collapse due to no repair since long. “For keeping the memory of 6 No sector command alive, it is necessary to construct memorial palace, auditorium at Hasor Uddin high school and nationalize the school as soon as possible,” the headmaster said. A class five reading student Parvin Akhter said, “My parents told me that Sector 6 command headquarters of Freedom Fight was at Hasor Uddin high school. But there is no memory trace. I want to know detail about it.” But her two classmates Misty and Sohel don't know about it. When they were asked about 6 No sector command they replied what is this? Sree Rampur UP chairman Abdul Karim Prodhan and ex-chairman Musa Ali jointly said that they have communicated with the high officials of the government in this regard. The president of Hasor Uddin High School AL leader Abul Hashem informed that he and others are tying to communicate with the higher authority concerned of the government for constructing memorial palace, auditorium at Hasor Uddin high school and nationalize the school for keeping the memories of the 6 No sector command point alive.


Sylhet

Shikha Satero: A Reminder of the Horror

41 years have already passed, yet the identity of the 17 freedom fighters still remains unknown. The small memorial 'Shikha Satero' still stands on the Govindaganj - Chhatak road in the Sunamganj district in memory of the gallant sons of the soil.
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Iqbal Siddiquee

The freedom fighters of Chhatak thana as well as of the Sunamganj district could not recover the identity of these 17 men even after repeated attempts over the years. Yet, people still salute the 17 freedom fighters for their supreme sacrifices for the motherland.

 
 
Shikha Satero memorial at Chhatak in Sunamganj

It was the 4th of April, 1971. A contingent of the Pakistani army entered the Chhatak thana headquarters and resorted to mass killing with the help of local collaborators. They brutally shot and killed prominent leaders like Haji Moina Miah, Somuj Ali and Nozir Miah of the Bagbari area. On the following day, they killed Dilip Nag, Jogendra Protap Dutta and his son Nanu Dutta at Chhatak bazaar which was a commercial hub of the region. On the same day, they had caught a student of the Rajshahi University, as he had come to join the liberation war. He was tied with ropes and killed by being dragged from their jeep. The killers then dumped the body into the Surma River. The name of the student is still unknown.

The older people of Chhatak who were present then still recall the horrors of that day.

As many as 18 young students who were from different places crossed the Surma River in a group, through the village Bausha and Betura ghat at Chhatak for starting towards the Indian border. Some collaborators of the Pakistani army managed to get information about the group that was going to India to join the movement of the Liberation war. Soon after, their regional leader Motosir Ali was informed of the matter. This marked the beginning of a dark chapter in the history of Chhatak.

The Pakistani group, comprising of Rajakars Lal Miah, Mosoddor Ali and Altab Ali of the village Asadnagar, Tajul Islam of the village Mirjapur and Mojor Ali of the village Noilgaon and other Rajakers were led by Fakir Motosir Ali. The Rajakars captured the 18 freedom fighters. They captured the group from the Betura School field and took them to the house of Motosir Ali. The group had to pass the night there before they were brought to Chhatak on the next day. However, a student named Zafar Ahmed Kabiri, hailing from Sriramshi under Jagonnathpur thana of Sunamganj managed to escape from the clutches of the Rajakars. But the 17 others were handed over to the Pakistani Army by Motosir.

The troops took the 17 young men to the village Madhabpur and asked them to dig a big ditch. The Pakistani soldiers buried them there. The villagers were not allowed to come out of their houses on that day. The inhabitants of Madhabppur somehow managed to visit the place on the next day. Although identity of those youngsters could not be ascertained, it is widely believed they might have been from the nearby Biswanath, Derai and Jagonnathpur upazilas. In 1972, The Freedom Fighters of Chhatak thana built a small memorial called 'Shikha Satero' (Flame of 17) on the that location as a tribute to the memory of those valiant sons of the soil. In 1992, the Chhatak upazila parishad did some renovation work on the memorial. People still pay homage to the departed souls, who had laid down their lives in the Liberation war.

This year, the Upazila Parishad carried out more renovation with a new design of the small memorial. It was formally inaugurated on the 26th of March by the lawmaker Muhibur Rahman Manik.