Dr. Muhammad Mahtab Hossain Mazed
On 16 December 1971, the Pakistani invading forces surrendered at Dhaka’s race course ground (now Suhrawardy Udyan). Now we are on the way to the 51st anniversary of victory. The month of victory came again in December.
Today is the day of Bengali nation’s glory. The day the red-green flag was placed on the world map. Today, the glory of this day will be revealed only by paying tribute to the brave children who sacrificed their lives for this flag and map. And this achievement was not possible in a day. For this the Bengali nation had a long penance and sadhana. The leader of this effort was the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. When the Bengalis under the leadership of Bangabandhu started to be excited by the spirit of independence, the level of Pakistani brutality on the people of Bengal continued to increase. After Bangabandhu’s historic speech on March 7, 1971, Pakistanis became more vocal. As a result, at midnight on March 25, Pak forces attacked the unarmed Bengalis. After the declaration of independence on March 26, when the Mukti Bahini was gradually organized, the level of oppression by the Pak Bahini increased. They burned the houses of sleeping people in the villages, selectively captured the youths and shot them to death and brutally tortured them. Unable to bear such oppression and torture by Paksena and Razakars, the common people of Bengal at one time fell into a public war in a collective effort. Here students and teachers, farmers, blacksmiths, intellectuals, educated and uneducated, children and adolescents, women all participated and continued intense struggle with the desire to make the country free from enemies. After nine long months of war, this desire of the people of Bengal was fulfilled on December 16. So the victory of December 16 is not an ordinary victory, it is the victory of our blood-stained spirit, the victory of our national identity. This victory is a source of inspiration and pride for us. Dr. MM Mazed, the prominent researcher and founder of the Jatiya Rogi Kalyan
Society of Bangladesh, has written a column on today’s issueThe word victory is always joyful. Just hearing the word victory makes me happy. But if it is the victory day of Bangladesh, then the feeling of breaking the dam and happiness starts stirring in the heart. But behind the word victory lies more sorrow than happiness. We have to cherish this victorious country in the dreams of martyrs, which was obtained in exchange for the blood of 30 lakh martyrs and the honor of mothers and sisters. But in the present time, various anti-independence activities of various parties-organizations started in different contexts. Which is opposite to the dream cherished by the freedom fighters of our country. Such discriminatory behavior hurts their ego. And so everyone must gain knowledge about the liberation war, about the victory of Bangladesh. May the hearts of every people of the country be filled with correct information analysis and knowledge gathering.
May the spirit of liberation war, the spirit of victory be nurtured in every human mindAnd from where we were on December 16, 1971, we have progressed a lot on December 16, 2022. According to the development standards of the World Bank and its followers, Bangladesh can now be proud of its development. Average per capita income, gross national income, economic growth is increasing. Production is increasing, the state is getting income from more sources. Roads, buildings, offices, courts, schools and colleges have been increased a lot.
Where we were in 1971 and where we are today, one has to be a little surprised to take account of the development. The question is, will this trend of development continue? There is a sense of satisfaction in the public mind with the current situation. People think ‘present is good, future is bad.’ People are often change averse. Since the anti-partition movement (1905-11) people in this country were change-oriented. This is the case in all countries of the world. Production is increasing, the wealth of the rich is increasing, the masses are apathetic, sleepy. From the French Revolution to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, people in all countries of the world were awake, looking forward to change, looking forward to progress. Now the public mind is not in that state. Now the peace of the self-interested is steadily increasing.
If dance-song-entertainment is considered as a part of culture, then Bangladesh has made incredible progress in terms of culture as well. The number of artists and writers has increased enormously. TV channels, newspapers are increasing. Many books are published every year. The number of these students is increasing everywhere from primary school to university. Exam ination results at all levels have been remarkably good. And it is true that our achievements in the last 51 years are not less. We have progressed from underdeveloped countries to developing countries. The enviable growth of our economy, infrastructural development, poverty alleviation, achievement of MDGs, our success in any consideration is worth mentioning; But when 16 percent of the country’s wealth goes into the hands of a few families, when the rate of inequality is increasing, when the gap in constitutional rights becomes obviousThen the war of liberation and the main principles of independence became confused.The father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman wanted to build a golden Bengal without discrimination through the supreme sacrifice of three million martyrs and three million mothers and sisters.
A glorious source of inspiration for Bengalis, Victory Day is deeply embedded in the socio-economic, cultural environment of independent-sovereign Bangladesh and the life spirit of Bengalis. From the inspiration of this victory, the long journey of Bengali today, all the achievements. Taking inspiration from the victory saga of 1971, Bangabandhu’s daughter Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been working tirelessly to build the dream of Sonar Bangla. Due to the efforts of Sheikh Hasina, the current prosperity of Bangladesh has broken the all-time record. The breeze of prosperity that is blowing in the country due to the tireless work of the honorable Prime Minister and the patriotic workers of the Liberation War cannot be ended by this small effort.
(Founder, Jatiya Rogi Kalyan Society, Author, researcher and political analyst, Email, [email protected])