Liberation war in Thakurgaon

March 7, 1971. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered his historic speech at Suhrawardy Udyan. Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani spoke on behalf of independence on 9 March at Paltan Maidan. The people of Thakurgaon also declared their solidarity with the news of Dhaka. Then the newspaper published from Dhaka would reach here the next day. Based on the information and news received, public gatherings, processions, meetings and overall movement of Thakurgaon city were slowly gaining momentum. Students, people, farmers and workers responded to the call of Awami League, NAP and Communist Party and their affiliates. From Wapda residential area to the south of Karibari Hat, Riverview High School on the bank of Tangan in the north, from Thakurgaon College in the west to the bus stand in the east, the small tidy town of about 6 sq km was bursting with loud slogans and processions. People used to gather at the crossroads after breakfast. The leaders used to sit in Peltu Babu's tea shop.

On the afternoon of March 3, a public meeting was held at the local football ground under the chairmanship of the then subdivision Awami League president Abdul Latif Moktar. Most of the people of the city including the leaders of different professions and political parties of the then 10 police stations of the subdivision were present in it.

At night, leading personalities of different political parties and leaders of student organizations met at the house of Mr. Fazlul Karim MPA. An 81-member "All-Party Struggle Council" was formed here. In order to coordinate the functions of the Sangram Parishad and create a mass uprising, three sub-committees were formed, one of which was to maintain contact with the leaders of neighboring India and seek assistance at the necessary time. This sub-committee was headed by Advocate Balramguh Thakurta and Abdur Rashid Moktar.

The participation of local women in the March 4 procession was quite spontaneous which accelerated the subsequent movement. The meeting was held on the football field on that day. It was decided to send 300 leaders and activists from each police station to attend the March 7 racecourse rally. After a mass rally at the crossroads and public library ground on March 5, about 500 leaders and activists of various organizations and political parties left for Dhaka by rail.

Although the people of the city did not know the full details of the historic speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 7, they were excited to hear the words 'This time the struggle is for our liberation, this time the struggle is for freedom'. The city was rocked by violent protests after a radio broadcast on March 7.

Those who had gone to Dhaka to attend the March 7 rally returned on March 9. Anyone brought a historical speech cassette. Mike started playing cassettes from the living room of MPA Fazlul Karim. In the context of that time, it was like a magic flute. People were running and listening to the speech. This trend has been going on ever since.

On the same day, an "all-party student struggle committee" was formed by convening the then VP of Thakurgaon College, Mohammad Ali. Besides, the 'Joybangla' force was formed only with the workers of Chhatra League under the leadership of Ansarul Haque Jinnah. On the same day, the Awami Volunteer Force was formed under the leadership of SM Azizul Haque.

On March 10, black flags were hoisted all over the city. At the call of the leaders of Sangram Parishad, high school teacher M Yusuf came forward to give rifle training to the students. He was trained. The training started with 50 dummy rifles for Rover Scouts and UOTC cadets. The training was conducted by about 200 students in the morning at the high school ground and in the afternoon at the public library ground.

On Thursday, March 11, the then MPA Advocate Sirajul Islam returned from Dhaka and joined the people's procession and called upon the then Sub-Divisional Administrator Taslim Uddin Ahmed to unite with the students and people and give them dynamic and comprehensive support to the movement. After the speech on March 7, almost all the prisons in the country were opened for the prisoners to come out and join the movement. Following this, the Thakurgaon jail was opened on that day and many prisoners joined the movement.

On 12 March, a single procession of women was organized by the Women's Awami League. Mursheda Karim, Syeda Jahanara, Shakti Vardhan, Dipti Vardhan, Shanti Rani Ghosh, Laila Shamim Rozi, Kamrunnahar Jolly, Mrs. Farida Latif, Ruby, Manju Islam, Photo Sen Gupta, Indian Guha Thakurata, Ushadi, Sharifa Sattar, Kali The wife worked tirelessly to organize the women. The women had photos, pots and brooms in their hands. It is surprising to think that local tribal women also took part in this procession of women with bows and arrows.

In the light of a statement of Bangabandhu published in 'Dainik Pakistan' on 15 March and 35 rules issued to keep the administration of the country running, all government-semi-government offices in Thakurgaon, courts and bank-insurance started their work.

Every day from March 16 to March 22, rifle training, public gatherings, processions and public meetings at the public library grounds in the afternoon and patriotic songs, mass music and various programs are organized in the evening. Local intellectuals, students and musicians took part in it.

Meanwhile, with March 23 in mind, a massive drive was launched to make a new flag emblazoned with a map of Bangladesh. Under the overall supervision of Falu Khalifa, about 1000 flags were made in 7/8 days. Local merchants supplied these flag cloths.

At the same time, the movement intensified in the other 9 police stations of the sub-division. Local progressive and pro-independence political leaders have organized public opinion rallies, processions and rallies in their areas. Leaders of the organization from Thakurgaon city addressed these rallies.

On 22 March, the largest mass procession of the commemoration period took place. Ordinary people including leaders and workers of Awami League, NAP, Communist Party, Krishak Samiti, Thakurgaon Sugar Mill, Wapdar Sramik Sangathan took part in it. The torch procession goes out in the evening. New flags were distributed at night.

March 23 was earlier declared as 'Resistance Day'. March 23 was Pakistan Day. A large number of students, including SM Asghar Ali and Georgesur Rahman Khoka, spent the night at the sub-divisional administrator's office at sunrise on March 23 in the office of Mr. Fazlul Karim. In the morning, Rezaul Haque Babul and three others hoisted the flag on the office of the sub-divisional administrator. Countless people below. After that he went to the police station building and was prevented from hoisting the flag by the non-Bengali guard but the then OC Abdul Gafur himself took the initiative to hoist the flag.

The new flag was being decorated everywhere including the mass procession and mass gathering on March 24. On the 25th, an agitated crowd blew up the Pakistani flag at the sub-divisional administrator's office and then lowered it and set it on fire. The flag of Bangladesh was hoisted there again.

Telecommunication with Dhaka was not possible since the morning of March 26. The procession meeting was going on as before. Everyone was aware of all the news from Akashvani, BBC and Voice of America. Since the launch of Operation Searchlight on March 25, the activities of the Pakistani rulers to annihilate the Bengalis and thwart the movement have been directly exposed. Under the ruling party, separation of Bengalis and non-Bengalis working in the army, then EPR and police force was carried out. This wave started in the 9th wing of Thakurgaon under Dinajpur sector of EPR. Major Mohammad Hossain, a Punjabi officer, was the commander of the 9th Wing at Thakurgaon and Captain Nabid Alam, a non-Bengali, was the second in command. Lt. Col. Tareq Rasool Quraishi, Punjabi Officer in charge of Dinajpur Sector. Among the Bengalis of the 9th Wing, the most senior officer was Subedar Major Kazim Uddin and the lion's share of the general sepoys were Bengalis.

A company of the 27th FF of the Pakistan Army had been stationed at the Dinajpur Circuit House with a large military stockpile since the 1970 elections. They set up a powerful wireless set at the Kuthibari EPR camp for communication across the country. Since the speech on March 7, the secret activities of these non-Bengali officers and youths were being observed.

On March 25, Major Mohammad Hossain was on a visit to the border post in Panchagarh area. Captain Nabid Alam attended the emergency meeting of Dinajpur sector. The meeting was highly confidential and Bengali officers and men were reprimanded there. On the morning of March 26, Major Mohammad Hossain and Captain Nabid Alam convened a meeting of all the JCOs of the wing. Major Saheb read out the edict issued by the government of Pakistan to all gathered and spoke sarcastically towards the movement of Bengalis. No Bengali JCO could speak despite his strong desire for revenge. The situation outside was completely unknown to them.

The EPR patrol began under the direction of the Wing Commander. Crowds began barricading the streets. Both Bengalis and non-Bengalis were in the EPR patrol vehicle on that day. They were patrolling after removing the barricades. Evening law or curfew was imposed in the whole city by miking on the evening of the 26th. But who listens to whose instructions. The mob broke the curfew and marched out. Everyone's goal is what instructions come from the control room. But it was not possible for the leaders to maintain any contact with Dhaka. Many were hearing about the mismanagement of Sangram Parishad. At this time the Student Struggle Council played a strong role. On March 26, everyone spent the night in a state of fear. However, the leaders held a secret meeting at Rafiul Ehsan's house at night.

The next day, March 26. After breaking the curfew, the crowd gathered in front of Fazlul Karim's Kachari or control room. The procession came out from there. The procession continued along South Circular Road (from the crossroads to Kali Bari junction) towards Kali Bari. Meanwhile, Major Mohammad Hossain, Subedar Major Kazim Uddin and Captain Nabid Alam came out of the EPR camp in a jeep to see the situation in the city. There were 8/10 EPRs in the pickup car behind them. On the one hand, the speech of Mike on March 7, on the other hand, the procession came in front of the house of Mr. Keramat Ali Moktar at one stage with various slogans of the procession. Here the Major's Jeep, the EPR of the patrol pickup and the crowd face off. Abdul Wahab Andhar Manik, the then CO Dave of Thakurgaon (who had been working in Thakurgaon since 1980), wrote in his book 'Amar Kahinikar' in 1972 in a sensitive article titled 'Shaheed Mohammad Ali Sarak' - "12:10 pm. The procession came to a halt in front of Mr. Keramat Ali Moktar's house. A jeep and a lorry were speeding from the south. Major's jeep came and stopped in front. Wing Commander Major Mohammad Hossain and Captain Nabid Alam got out of the jeep. Seeing them, the crowd participating in the procession seemed to burn like gunpowder. From the procession, a middle-aged rickshaw puller named Mohammad Ali, who was extremely brave, strong-bodied and had a slap on his face, came in front of everyone. Going in front of Major Mohammad Hossain, he shouted in a strong and fearless voice - Joybangla. At once three shots were fired. A body fell down with a huge scream. "The first martyr of Thakurgaon is Mohammad Ali." The Major got into the car and returned to the EPR camp with his troops.

The procession and the people were immediately dispersed by such barbaric activities of the Punjabi Major, but within a few minutes they regrouped. The news spread throughout the city. The crowd left the house and came out on the street. This time it was decided to attack the EPR camp. Martyr Mohammad Ali was buried on the east side of the road. Major Mohammad Hossain returned to the camp and sent three lorries of EPR led by Subedar Major Kazim Uddin to handle the situation. Meanwhile, a procession of bewildered people was running towards the EPR camp. Thinking of the awfulness of the situation, Kazimuddin went downstairs and spoke to some of the leaders in the front row with a very cold head and described their plans and situation. The crowd is calm. The procession came back again. Barricades are made by cutting down big trees in the streets. In the evening, curfew was imposed on Mike again. In the camp, Subedar Major Kazim Uddin sat in a secret discussion with Subedar Hafiz, Subedar Ataul, Naib Subedar Matiur Rahman, Habildar Abu Taleb and Naik Abdul Hakim.

Sunday, March 26. Processions and demonstrations again in the scorching sun. The procession took the form of a public meeting on the eighth floor of Thakurgaon High School ground. Asgar Ali, Anwar Hossain, Georgesur Rahman, Rezaul Haque, Bajlar Rahman, Abdul Latif Moktar, Abdur Rashid Moktar and Sirajul Islam MPA addressed the meeting chaired by FA Mohammad Hossain. It was announced at the public meeting that a control room has been set up from today - a two-room tiled house on the ground floor in front of the SDO office. At the end of the meeting, the crowd marched there. Then at 3 o'clock. An EPR patrol vehicle was passing near Goyal Para. Seeing the car, a 6/7 year old child got up from a slum on the west side and shouted 'Joybangla'. Naresh Chauhan, the infant son of Santuki Chauhan of Halpara, who was running on the road with another child five minutes ago, was killed on the spot when a rifle was fired from a patrol car. They did not even dare to bury Naresh Chauhan according to religious beliefs. No one came forward for fear. He was quickly buried on the east side of the road in front of the house.

The townspeople became more upset over the incident. The leaders of Sangram Parishad were very confused. Nevertheless, they contacted Subedar Major Kazim Uddin. Meanwhile, Major Mohammad Hossain and Captain Nabid Alam held a secret meeting with the non-Bengali EPRs and planned to kill all the Bengali soldiers at 11:15 pm. Subedar Hafiz got the news. As a result, they also discussed among themselves and planned to kill all the non-Bengali EPRs by attacking before the Punjabis attacked and that is how it started working.

10:16 pm. As per the plan, as soon as Subedar Hafiz's stengunta roared, the weapons kept by all the other Bengali soldiers roared. The common people of the city became frightened. But when the slogan 'Joybangla' was heard and the noble call to help the common people came forward, the people came running in spite of the darkness of the night. People came forward with food and water as much as they could. The non-Bengalis were found and killed all night. The next day, his wife Captain Nabid Alam was killed in Khochabari and on March 30, his wife Major Mohammad Hossain was killed in his bungalow.

After the incident on the night of March 26, Subedar Major Kazim Uddin came to the center of the movement and armed struggle. He sat in a meeting with the leaders of Sangram Parishad on the 29th. The horrors of the days ahead and the possibility of air strikes by air and armored forces from Syedpur Cantonment terrified everyone.

On March 29, all communication was cut off. At that time all the military and paramilitary personnel who were on leave or those who had escaped came and joined the control room. As a regular force, the defensive strategy was formulated near the Bhatgaon Bridge. Until then, digging trenches along the side of the road and cutting down trees to build barricades continued odme.

Rifle training started again. This time not with dummy. Now with the main rifle. All the light weapons in the EPR arsenal came into the hands of the common man within a day. Non-Bengali EPRs working in BOP were disarmed and killed. Two langarkhanas were opened to provide timely food to the freedom fighters engaged in defense and those who were training all day long, digging trenches and constructing barricades. Food was prepared for the defense at the Thakurgaon Government Girls' School ground - Nurul Islam Chutu and Fani Palit, who were in charge, another was set up for the general public on the belt of Sirajdaula Road. After anticipating the situation, Awami League leaders Akbar Hossain and Jagannath Guha Thakurtha went to Siliguri on a motorcycle on the same day. They met Chandi Babu, the Congress leader from Fulbaria, at the residence of the then minister Arun Kumar Maitra and described the exact situation. There he met Kamrul Hossain, the leader of the Communist Party of Tentulia. The three of them drew the attention of leaders of different political parties and journalists and appealed for help. The Indian people permanently formed the ‘Liberation War Support Committee’ and arranged for 1 truckload of salt, a few drums of oil, sugar, cigarettes, batteries, pulses and soap to be sent as aid. 
 

Meanwhile, the 7th wing of Kuthibari in Dinajpur also came under the control of the Bengalis through armed struggle. As a result, Thakurgaon, together with the Bengali army officers of Dinajpur, continued to look for ways to prevent a possible attack from the Syedpur cantonment.

In the afternoon, Abdur Rashid Moktar and Balram Guha Thakurta left for Calcutta to receive assistance and Subedar Major Kazim Uddin left to invite Colonel Banerjee of India's 75 BSF Command to come forward.

On 1 April Colonel Banerjee came to Thakurgaon. Along with Sirajul Islam MP, he inspected Shibganj Air Base, EPR's advanced base and gave directions on defense system. Mr. Reza, an engineer in the power department, climbed the tower of the power distribution station 10 miles away and disconnected the conductor. With the help of Thakurgaon Sugar Mill workers led by Abul Hasnat Vela, the people cut down huge trees on the runway of Shibganj Airport.

April 2: Friday. Retired Major M.T. Hossain. From here he got the responsibility of conducting the war. Kamiz Uddin remained his assistant. This brings life back to the immune system. Captain Ashraf and Captain Anwar, the Bengali officers who had escaped from Syedpur Cantonment, joined the Dinajpur Wing. Mirza Alamgir went to Dinajpur to join Captain Ashraf with the Thakurgaon Wing.

April 3: On Saturday, Major M T Hossain set up his office at the local post bungalow to conduct the war and delegate the responsibilities to the subordinate JCO NCOs. New dimensions of the defense system are added. The most unfortunate incident took place on this day when a letter written in Urdu about all the activities in the area was caught. The letter received from a non-Bengali man contained all the secret information which was being taken to the Syedpur army barracks. As a result, non-Bengali killings started. Which goes on for the next two days.

Since then, the whole city has been in a state of panic. All the household goods of the non-Bengalis were brought and deposited in the control room of the court premises. No one was able to give an accurate account or information about who was the right in-charge here and what goods were found till the end.

From April 4, the common people became terrified. On the one hand, there was no news of the defense system, on the other hand, everyone was discussing who would be responsible for the extermination of non-Bengalis. The crowd of curious people in the court premises seemed less than the previous day. From this day onwards the leading personalities started moving their families from the city to the village.

By 10 a.m. on April 5, the city was almost empty. Overnight, most city dwellers have reportedly moved their relatives to rural areas. Meanwhile, rumors are circulating about the defense system, which is alarming. After receiving instructions from the post bungalow, Mike was told that those who had rifles should deposit them in the post bungalow and join the war.

The situation on April 7 was more delicate. No responsible person could be found to open the control room. Those who were at night to guard the city's shops and houses also came to the court premises at noon. There was panic in everyone's eyes. No one could give any accurate news in any other place including Dhaka. The main attractions of the night were the news from BBC, Boys of America and Akashvani.

April 7: The day is memorable in the history of Bangladesh's independence. On this day a newspaper called 'Dainik Bangladesh' was published. Thakurgaon WAPDA official Kazi Mazharul Huda observed the real situation of the past few days and talked to a number of people about raising the morale of the people in time and raising the world opinion on the liberation war including frontline news. As a result, 500 copies of 4 pages of 1/6 dime size were printed from the local Sulekha Press. The price was 10 paise. The banner head of a number was ‘People China is a tiger in a paper’ which Devdulal Bandopadhyay read from Akashbani and discussed the importance of the newspaper. It would take a lot of speed to see and print the group at night and hand it over to the reader the next morning. In this way 6 consecutive numbers are found. The acceptance of the magazine was indescribable. 1000 copies were printed from the 2nd issue. The paper was later published from Islampur, West Bengal. Poet Abul Hossain Sarkar has also edited a number. This is the first daily newspaper of independent Bangladesh.

April 6 to April 14: These seven days were the most anxious days for the people of the city. No one stayed in the city at night except a few student leaders and activists, a few shopkeepers and guards in the treasury and police station areas. In the morning, after understanding the situation, everyone entered the city on the other side of Tangan with the news. These days, the announcement was made to all to return to their homes to fill the vacancy in the city and if they do not return, the houses will be confiscated.

On the night of April 14, the vault of the local National Bank of Pakistan was broken and all the money was taken away in a truck at night. City dwellers can know the news on April 15. Two people were also detained along with a box of money. Of course, all the facts were known later. It is learned that the money was later deposited in the fund of Mujibnagar government.

April 15: 11 p.m. A few people spending the night in the city, some student leaders and activists were present in the court premises. The people from the village have not yet fully arrived. Mike was announcing - the situation is under our control, our advance forces have reached Syedpur Cantonment and so on and so forth.

Suddenly a shell exploded with a loud noise on the southern edge of the city. People then lost their sense of direction and started running towards the north. Everyone has to leave the town for one purpose, to go to the other side of the Tangan river. Everyone started fleeing from the villages as passengers on the purpose of crossing the border to become more remote areas. Looking back, many people saw Mr. SDO's bungalow burning. The whole city is just a coil of fire in the sky.

Thousands of people took refuge in Indian refugee camps along the border areas of Baliadangi, Atwari, Panchagarh and Haripur for safe haven. 20 days after March 25, the city of Thakurgaon fell to the enemy. Meanwhile, the freedom fighters were retreating one by one as they could not stand in front of the armored units and tanks of Syedpur cantonment which no one informed the general public. Ordinary people were quite helpless. The freedom fighters retreated to Panchagarh and took defense. Panchagarh fell on 29 April. Till the end, the freedom fighters took the defense on the north bank by breaking the bridge of Chaoi river at Bhojanpur of Tentulia police station. The 64-square-mile Tentulia police station, which stretched from Bhojanpur to Bangla Bandha, was completely free of enemies. The Chaoi River bridge was broken and the Pakistani army could not advance. Moreover, Jagdal, Magurmari and Amar Khana areas are very borderline and they did not dare to move forward in terms of security.

Mujibnagar-based civil administration system was formed around this 64 square mile Tentulia. The war was fought from here. M, K Bashar has been staying in Tentulia Dak Bungalow for several days. From here I edited 'Saptahik Sangrami Bangla' which played an important role in the overall development of Thakurgaon during the post-independence period.

The days that followed were days of resistance and war. There have been a number of killings in the besieged town due to some non-Bengalis and Maldivians supporting the Khan army. Professor Golam Mostafa of Pirganj College, Salah Uddin of Kosa Raniganj, 18 people including Shahar Ali Bahr Ali in a water well at Farabari, Khunia Dighi, Jatia Danga, Wapda Workshop, Payendana Chowdhury Para, Ruhiar Ramnath Ot and other places including Ruhiar Ramnath Hat. Thakurgaon residents have been horribly tortured.

The people of Thakurgaon area took shelter in the refugee camps of Thukrabari, Rajganj, Kishoriganj, Vaishpita, Darivit, Patagara, Matikunda and Islampur for the humane treatment of Bihar Chief Minister Shri Karpuri Tagore and the West Bengal government. Many are staying at the Tentulia police station with the mentality of being in the civil administration and living in open land.

MPO Sirajul Islam came to Tentulia with his family on April 30 and stayed there till the end. Foreign researchers, journalists and tourists have come here due to the fact that an entire police station is free from enemies. All senior officials and leaders of Mujibnagar government have come here. Once upon a time there was talk of 'capital in the soil of the homeland' and administration. The war was fought with the overall cooperation of the Indian Army. The freedom fighters entered the country through different border areas of 10 police stations of the subdivision and fought.

The Allied forces have been advancing with the armed forces since November 21. Panchagarh was liberated on 30 November. The Khan army retreated to inflict irreparable damage, the city of Thakurgaon was liberated on the night of December 2, i.e. on the 3rd.

Probably: Thakurgaon is the only subdivision of Bangladesh which was captured by the Khan army later and liberated first of all. Despite the long 9-month war, the people of Thakurgaon flew the flag of the free country with the historical glory of the first independent subdivision of independent sovereign Bangladesh in just seven and a half months i.e. 321 days.