Top 10 Intriguing Facts about Martyred Intellectuals Memorial

A person mourns at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo by Jubair1985. Wikimedia Commons.

Top 10 Intriguing Facts about Martyred Intellectuals Memorial

Perhaps one of the most harrowing reminders of the monstrous atrocities committed by the Pakistan army during the Bangladesh Liberation War, the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial was built in memory of hundreds of massacred Bengali professionals.

 These include hundreds of teachers, engineers, doctors, writers, and poets who were captured, tortured, and killed by the Pakistan Army just as the war was about to end.

Bengali nationalists were assured of victory but two days before the imminent surrender of their opponents, this unfortunate massacre was orchestrated in a bid to cripple a young nation’s development.

 The memorial is located at Rayer Bazar, in Dhaka, where hundreds of bodies were found. It is mainly a massive curved brick wall with jagged ends, a pool, and a square window on the southwest side of the wall. These features are symbolic.

The site is a significant mark of Bangladesh’s history, and a reminder of the painful price paid for the nation’s liberation. Here are some of the top intriguing facts about the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial.

1. The Memorial commemorates hundreds of professionals massacred during the Bangladesh Liberation War

1971 Pakistan’s Instrument of Surrender signing, ending the Bangladesh Liberation War on 16 December 1971. Photo by Indian Navy. Wikimedia Commons.

The Bangladesh Liberation War, also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence took place in 1971. It was a harrowing 9 months of bloody conflict between the Bengali nationalists in East Pakistan and the Pakistan military junta in West Pakistan.

The two areas were geographically separated and political power was mainly vested in West Pakistan. The war began after the Pakistan military annulled the 1970 elections held by the Awami League calling for the transfer of power, and arrested Prime Minister-designate- Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. What followed was civil unrest and a series of brutal killings.

On March 26, Operation Searchlight was conducted by the Pakistan military, commencing the Bangladesh genocide. Widespread extrajudicial killings were committed against the people of East Pakistan, to quell resistance.

The Pakistan army targeted Bengali intellectuals, professionals, students, nationalist civilians, religious minorities, and armed personnel. Thousands were brutally murdered. The memorial is built in the memory of these martyrs of national freedom.

2. The massacre was aimed at eliminating future leaders of a young Bangladesh nation

Blindfolded statues at Shahbag Square, Dhaka. Photo by Mehdi Hasan Khan. Wikimedia Commons.

Although these systematic killings had been ongoing since the start of the war in March 1971, the unfortunate incidents on the night of 14^th December highlight the Pakistan army’s plan to annihilate a nation’s hope.

 Interestingly, the defeat was imminent and apparent for the Pakistan military, since two days later, on 16^th December, they surrendered. The hundreds of intellectuals rounded up and killed would have been part of the formation of the Bangladesh nation.

3. It is built on the site of the massacre

The war had seen scores of Bangladesh civilians killed since its commencement in March. However, the killings of 14 December 1971 are specifically marked on the site of the memorial.

On that night, over 200 professionals were captured by the Pakistan army, tortured, and killed on Rayer Bazaar and Mirpur, among other isolated sites.

The two were the major sites of these monstrosities. Teachers, doctors, engineers, writers, and other Bengali professionals were found dead, tied up, and blindfolded. The ghastly scene in Rayer Bazaar is where the memorial was later erected. The atmosphere is still laden with sorrow.

4. The initial proposal to build a memorial was made by the children of the martyrs

The Projonmo ’71 is an organization for the children of the Bangladesh martyrs during the 1971 Liberation War. Since its inception in 1991, it has been at the frontline in advocating for a united Bangladesh nation, condemning religion and communal-based politics and attacks on minorities.

 They made the initial proposal to build a memorial at Rayer Bazar in memory of the martyrs, and also laid a temporary foundation stone in 1991. The Government would later commence the construction in 1993.

5. An architectural competition was held for its design

The Government of Bangladesh decided to erect a memorial at Rayer Bazaar in 1993.

A national architectural competition was held for the design, jointly organized by the Ministry of Housing and Works, and the Institute of Architects Bangladesh.

Twenty-two entries were received and the jurors selected the design proposal by architect Farid Uddin Ahmed and Architect Md Jami-al-Shafi.

6. The Memorial’s design is symbolic

Martyred Intellectuals Memorial. Photo by Jubair1985. Wikimedia Commons.

The memorial is essentially a massive, long, and thick brick wall. The brick wall represents the original brickfield at Razar where the bodies were found. The ends of the wall are broken, showing grief, a broken heart of a nation for its loss.

 There is a square window on the southwest side of the wall with a view reaching out to the blue skies. Some have interpreted it as a nation’s sigh at the loss of some of its best children. It could be seen as hope too, with light striking through the entrance to the people watching through it below.

 In front of the wall is a pool of water, from which rises a black granite column, representing tears of grief. Everything speaks of the tragic loss of a nation in the most inhumane  way.

7. Its construction took 3 years

A temporary foundation stone had been laid by the Projonmo ’71, an organization of the children of the martyrs in 1991.  In 1993, the Government laid a foundation stone to commence the construction.

The memorial’s main element is a massive wall, approximately 17.7 meters high, 0.9 meters thick, and 116 long. It was completed in 1996.

8. A national mourning day is held in Bangladesh annually for the martyred intellectuals

Rayer Bazar graveyard, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo by Salim Khandoker. Wikimedia Commons.

Scores of Bengali intellectuals were systematically killed during the 9 months of conflict in the Bangladesh Liberation War. The largest number of killings of professionals took place on the night of 14^th December 1971.

Over 200 professionals were captured and rounded up in Dhaka. They were then blindfolded, and taken to torture cells in Mirpur, and other locations of the city.

They there later executed en masse. 14^th December is mourned in Bangladesh as the Shaheed Buddhijibi Dibosh (Martyred Intellectuals Day)

9. Families of the victims lead tributes in Rayer Bazaar

The executions mainly took place at Rayer Bazaar’s brickfields. People  can pay tribute to the martyrs at the memorial any day of the year but on 14^th December, Martyred Intellectuals Day, the families of the martyrs lead the tributes and ceremonies at the site.

Personalities from government, professional, social, cultural, and economic scenes also convene to pay tribute.

10. A Tribunal was set up in 2008 to investigate war crimes committed during the Bangladesh Liberation War

Uprising of people at Shahbag Square, Dhaka demanding death penalty for war criminals in the 1971 Bangladesh genocide. Photo by Mehdi Hasan Khan. Wikimedia Commons.

The Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal was established in 2008, after several failed attempts during the 1990s.

It was tasked with investigating and prosecuting suspects of the genocide committed by the Pakistan Army in 1971, and their local collaborators, Al-Badrs, Al-Shams, and the Razakars.

The first indictments were issued in 2010, including 9 leaders from the Jammat-e-Islami party, a political party that was opposed to independence in 1971.

While several verdicts have been made, criticisms as to the fairness of the trial process by Human Rights Watch and the UN have raised concerns.

 It is also rather interesting that members of the Pakistan army remain out of reach from the indictments.