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Dwelling on the glorious Liberation War

Afsar Ahmed
THE year 1971 is firmly rooted in every Bangalee's heart. The memories remain of the immense struggle of our valiant freedom warriors and the common people, which culminated in a joyous victory. It is heartening to see that the younger generation is open to the idea of acquiring knowledge about this momentous time in the nation's history. That explains why the young students of the BRAC University Cultural Club (BUCC) organised an informal but spirited commemorating programme with the artistes of the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra (SBBK) and the Mukti Shangrami Shilpi Parishad (MSSP)- Abdul Jabbar, Shaheen Samad, Bipul Bhattacharya and Halima Jabbar, on March 29 at the BRAC Inn Auditorium. Not only that, the young enthusiasts of the university also turned out to get a first hand view of the authentic history of 1971 from Bir Uttam Qamal Siddiqi.
Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, vice chancellor of BRAC University, inaugurated the programme with a speech and said, "The cultural orientation is not enough; the
younger generation should delve into the authentic history and the glorious past of our Liberation War." As the programme offered a tribute to the artistes of the SBBK and MSSP, he reminisced, "I still remember the day when SBBK started its journey on May 26, and in Bangla Egami Jaishtha, which was in fact the birth anniversary of poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. And later we all know about the contribution of the SBBK to our Liberation War."
The programme began with the splendid rendition of the three timeless songs: Purba digontey suija uthechey, Teerhara oidheuer shagor pari deborey and Nongor tolo tolo by the students of BUCC. Their performances were well received by the artistes of the SBBKandMSSP.
However, the high point of the programme was when Bir Uttam Qamal Siddiqi came on the stage and reminisced on his experiences as a commander of the then Gana Bahini. He acquainted the audience with a chronology of the historical events that had a great impact on our Liberation War, as for instance, Jinnah's speech in
1948, the Language Movement of 1952, general election in 1954, the birth centenary celebration of Tagore in 1961, Hamidur Rahman Commission's report in 1962, mass oppression in 1969, general election in 1970, which culminated in our independence.
According to him, our Liberation War had many facets, there were the writers, singers and obviously the guerillas and the regular troops consisting of the members of the then East Pakistan Regiment and Bangalee members of the then Pakistan army, in short the people of Bangladesh who laid down their lives for the country's independence.
The most exciting part was Siddiqi's narration of a few memorable incidents, a vivid description of the life of a guerilla fighter, their ambush story and their survival with the help of the villagers during the war. However, he shrugged, "In reality, a great
deal of that momentous period remains shrouded in divisions, misconceptions, confusion and politics."
Then Abdul Jabbar, Shaheen Samad and Bipul Bhattacharya performed a chorus Dhano dhanney pushpey bhara. Halima Jabbar then regaled the audience with reminisces of her days as a cook in the SBBK and the recitation of her self written poetry Ahonkar.
There were more memorable moments as Abdul Jabbar performed solo songs. With his deep baritone voice he enthralled the audience with the masterpiece songs Salam salam hajar salam, Orey nil dariya and Hajar bochhor porey. Shaheen and Bipul's chorus of Bratachari song Bangla mar durnibar amra tarun dal, Phul khelbar din noy auddo, Abar tora manush hoh and Janatar Shangram cholbey also lent an unforgettable touch to the programme.