The nation has paid respects to the martyred intellectuals, who lost their lives at the hands of Pakistan army on this day 47 years ago just two day ahead of the country’s victory.
The marauding Pakistan army, in collusion with their local collaborators – Al-Badr, Al-Shams and Razakars, killed the most prominent intellectuals of the country in a bid to cripple the newly emerging nation of Bangladesh.
Thousands of people, from all walks of live, gathered on Friday (Dec 14) to pay their respects at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial at Mirpur and in Rayerbazar.
The Pakistani troops and their Bengali-speaking collaborators carried out a systematic campaign to kill the most eminent academics and professionals like doctors, engineers and journalists to make the newborn nation to a state of brainlessness.
Those who were exposed to the killers’ wrath on December 14, 1971 included Dr Alim Chowdhury and Dr Fazle Rabbi, Journalists Shahidullah Kaisar, Sirajudddin Hossain, Nizamuddin Ahmed, SA Mannan and Selina Parveen and litterateur Monier Chowdhury.
Most of the Dec 14 victims were picked up from their houses blindfolded and killed during December 10 to 14 in 1971.
Bangladesh, this year, observes the day with a sense of relief from the stigma of impunity as the top assassins, who collaborated with the pakistanis, have been hanged.