The Bengali nation created an independent sovereign country by fighting to the death from March to December 1971. Our beloved motherland Bangladesh emerged as an independent state on December 16, 1971. Millions of people have shed blood to drive out Pakistani exploiters and aggressors. Millions of Bengalis have had to sacrifice their lives.
The glorious participation of the students and teachers at the university level with the masses at every stage of the liberation struggle and the war of independence has intensified this movement. At the highest stage of our national identity, the participation of family members of Rajshahi University in the Liberation War of 1971 adds a glorious chapter to the history of this second-largest educational institution in Bangladesh.
Along with other parts of the country, the green square of Motihar was also stained with blood by the Pakistani aggressors and their local allies. At that time, besides millions of people in this country, students, teachers, officials, and employees of Rajshahi University also played an important role. The monuments, memorial plaques, sculptures, Shaheed Minar, and slaughterhouses built in different places of RU have witnessed this.
On the eve of the Liberation War, the teachers, students, and staff of this university participated in the non-cooperation movement, sacrificing their lives at the hands of Pakistani aggressors, fighting against the enemy with arms, organizing the liberation war at different levels by employing their talents.
According to university sources, among the 3 million martyrs, there are many unknown student-teachers, officials, and employees of this university. In the history of the university, the names of 27 martyrs including three teachers are written with pride. Among them are 3 university teachers, 9 students, 5 support staff, and 10 general staff.
The name 'Rajshahi University' was first added to the liberation movement during the 1969 mass uprising. The mass uprising of '69 started a movement against the then Pakistani ruling party at Rajshahi University. During the movement on 18 February 1969, the Pakistani army opened fire on the students. To protect the students, the university's chemistry teacher and then Proctor Dr. Shamsuzzoha was martyred in front of the bullets of the Pak army. He was the first martyred intellectual of the independence movement.
Three respected teachers of Rajshahi University martyred in the War of Liberation are Habibur Rahman, Sukharanjan Samaddar and Mir Abdul Qayyum.
Professor Sukharanjan Samaddar was the first martyr at Rajshahi University on 14 April 1971. He was a professor of Sanskrit under the Department of Languages. That morning, the Pak army captured him from the teacher's quarters in Paschimpara and killed him. His used sandals and broken glasses were recovered in July. After independence, his body was recovered and buried in front of the central library of the university.
Professor Habibur Rahman was the chairman of the Mathematics Department, passed almost all the exams of education life with a gold medal. He took degrees from Aligarh Muslim University and Cambridge University. He played a leading role in the non-cooperation movement of March 1971 on the campus. He was abducted on April 15 with the help of Pakistani accomplices from house 15/B on campus. After that Professor Habibur Rahman could not be found.
Mir Abdul Qayyum, a professor in the Department of Psychology, was abducted and killed by the Pakistani army on 25 November 1971. Not only these three teachers, the Rajshahi University family lost more members including officers, employees, and students in the War of Liberation.
According to the Martyrs Memorial Museum of the university, the names of some martyred students are - Amirul Huda, Shahjahan Ali, Mizanul Haque, Mohammad Ali Khan, Pradeep Kumar Raha, Fazlul Haque, AH Latif, Golam Sarwar Khan Sadhan, and Rezaul Karim. Almost all of these martyred students directly participated in the war of liberation.
Among the support staffs of the university who were martyred in the War of Liberation were Emaj Uddin Sheikh, Saiful Islam, Md. Kalim Uddin, Abdul Ali, Shafiqur Rahman and others. Martyrs among the general staff are - Abdur Razzak, Mohan Lal, Md. Nuru Mia, Mohammad Yusuf, Wazed Ali, Md. Afzal, Abdul Wahab, Korban Ali, Abdul Majid and Abdul Malek.
Several teachers of Rajshahi University were subjected to inhumane treatment by the Pakistani aggressors. Professor Mojibur Rahman of Mathematics is one of them. He protested in writing against the conversion of the university into a cantonment. He was subjected to four months of inhumane treatment at a Pakistani army concentration camp, in which he lost his mental balance permanently. Professor Mojibur Rahman is still alive as a 'living martyr'. He was awarded the prestigious Ekushey Padak in 2015 for this unprecedented sacrifice in the War of Liberation.
Moreover, many teachers of Rajshahi University engaged in various activities under the expatriate Mujibnagar government, helping the Mujibnagar government to run the administration and successfully advance the war of liberation.
To capture the memory of the martyrs, the university has three buildings named Shaheed Habibur Rahman Hall, Shaheed Shamsuzzoha Hall, and Shaheed Sukharanjan Samaddar Teacher Student Cultural Center in the name of 3 martyred teachers. Several monuments have been erected at Rajshahi University in memory of the martyrs of the liberation war after independence. One of these is the 'Martyrs Memorial Museum', known as the country's first liberation war museum.
Upon entering the main gate of the university, one can see the sculpture 'Shabash Bangladesh' created by artist Nitun Kundu. During the war of liberation, the Pak army killed the students, teachers, and staff of the university and buried the people behind the Zoha Hall.
The 'Rajshahi University Burial Monument'' was later erected to preserve the site. It was inaugurated on December 21, 2004. In 2011, the sculpture 'Vidyargha' was erected in front of the Shaheed Habibur Rahman Hall of the university. In 2012, on the left side of Zoha Hall, Shamsuzzoha's portrait 'Sfulingo' (Spark) was created.
The War of Liberation of 1971 was an all-out people's war. These golden sons who participated in the liberation war are the pride of Motihar. The Bengali nation will remember with reverence those who sacrificed their lives in the Liberation movement and gave the gift of an independent state to the Bengali nation.
The writer is pursuing LLB (Hons.) at Department of Law, Rajshahi University
