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Purbo Banglar Jatiya Mukti Bahini
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that the guava orchards would be a perfect place to fight the Pakistani forces.
Meanwhile, the training of freedom fighters had already begun at different places in Jhalakathi in early March, including Pipoldia and Romanathpur schools under the supervision of Mujib Mehedi, a leader of the workers’ movement.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Fazlul Haque Milu, a freedom fighter of the Purbo Banglar Jatiya Mukti Bahini, recalled that they set up a camp at Palbari with Selim Shah Newaz in charge.
Youths were taking arms training at Jhalakathi police station ground at the initiative of second officer Shafiul Islam and the Awami League with weapons collected from the police station’s armoury.
At one stage of the training, the freedom fighters stockpiled food at a guava orchard. Jahangir Kabir, a freedom fighter of the force, said, “We opened up the storage for the common people as well.”
Acting on orders from Shafiul, more than 100 students, youths, and Awami League activists, armed with 36 rifles, gathered at Kirtipasha High School when the Pakistani forces entered Jhalakathi town on April 27.
In a book titled “Comrade Siraj Sikder O Muktijuddher Prothom Juddho”, Shafiul wrote that a joint force called Oikya Front was formed at Kirtipasha school in Jhalkathi on April 29 by workers’ group Purbo Bangla Sramik Andolan and the local Awami League, considering the Pakistanis as “national enemy”.
The workers’ group held a rally at Bhimruli school in Jhalakathi on April 30, 1971, according to “Ekattorer Biplobi Muktijuddher Prothom Ghanti Elaka Peyarabagan”, a book edited by Munir Morshed. The force was named Purbo Banglar Jatiya Mukti Bahini at that rally. A supreme military council of directors was also formed for the force there, with Siraj as the supreme leader of the party and the force, Ram Krishna Pal as political commissioner and Selim Shah Newaz as the commander.
On May 2, the central base of the force was established with the guava orchards as the No. 1 Front Area and Bhimruli as the headquarters. For training, a military school was opened in Bhimruli. The orchards were divided into eight guerilla sectors under one commander and a political commissioner in each.
Khurshid Alam Khasru, a freedom fighter of the force said the political commissioner was mainly the chief of the sector while the commander’s duty was to make immediate decisions.
Among the battles at the guava orchards was an assault on a Pakistani launch in Jhalakathi’s Hemandkathi on May 7, when the occupation force was carrying out looting and arsons on the villages. As many as 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in the attack.
Upon intelligence, the freedom fighters took position on both sides of the canal and ambushed the launch when the Pakistanis were returning to their camp after the day’s looting.
Jahangir Kabir, a freedom fighter of the force, recalled, “The man who was supposed to signal us upon arrival of the launch opened fire instead of giving us the signal out of thrill. The enemies fired back, but couldn’t cope up with our firing. Their launch ran aground to the other bank of the canal.”
Abdul Jabbar, another freedom fighter of the force, said, “We took up position in such a strategic way that the bullets fired by the Pakistanis were going over our heads.”
The force conducted another significant operation on Banaripara Police Station in Barishal on May 25 with four teams under the command of freedom fighters Khasru, Firoz Kabir, Selim Shahnewaz and Ziaul.
Khasru said they first confined the patrolling police officers to the dispensary. A gunfight took place while looting the armoury as the other police officers resisted the freedom fighters.
“We couldn’t take control of the police station because Firoz Kabir’s troops failed to enter the premises. But we were able to bring eight rifles, some revolvers and ammunition,” Khasru said.
The Pakistani forces deployed one brigade encircling the orchards and forced villagers to fell the guava trees after realising that the freedom fighters established their base there.
Abu Saleh, the pir of Sarsina Darbar Sharif shrine in Pirojpur, also ordered the students of his madrasa to cut the trees.
The freedom fighters were on the verge of being captured as the Pakistani military brought 35 speed boats and two gunboats while tree felling continued for several days.
In this situation, on June 3, the workers’ organisation was renamed from Purbo Bangla Sramik Andolan to Purbo Bangla Sarbohara Party.
Having been cut off, the freedom fighters decided to attack the Pakistani military’s Kuriana camp on the bank of a river as a diversion on June 6 night.
When all the Pakistani vessels rushed to the Kuriana camp immediately after the attack, the freedom fighters, led by Siraj Sikder, crossed the river to safety on small boats.
The Purbo Banglar Jatiya Mukti Bahini also fought more than 100 battles in other parts of the country by forming several other front areas in Barishal, Bhola, Munshiganj, Pabna, Madaripur and Savar.
Ramakrishna Paul and Khasru were the leaders of the front area in Barishal. Besides Gouranadi, Babuganj, Muladi, Hijla, Mehendiganj, Bamna and Golachipa in Barishal, they fought in Madaripur town, Kalkini and Palong, and Shariatpur’s Naria and Zazira.
Under political commissioner Ziaul Quddus and commander Lal Gazi, the freedom fighters of the front area in Bhola took control of Lalmohan and Charfeson police station in August and September.
On October 16, they joined forces with the local Siddique Bahini to fight the battle of Deula in Borhanuddin upazila. At least 29 Pakistani soldiers, the officer-in-charge of the local police station, and another policeman were killed in the five-hour battle.
Mazid alias Engineer Nasir was the leader of the Purbo Banglar Jatiya Mukti Bahini in the front area in Munshiganj, where the regional force began guerilla warfare under Shahjahan Talukder’s leadership in late May by driving away the collaborators of the Pakistan.
From the front area of Pabna, the freedom fighters of Purbo Banglar Jatiya Mukti Bahini carried out several attacks on police stations in Pabna, Tangail, Sirajganj, Kushtia and Faridpur.
Madaripur was under the Front Area No. 2 in Barishal first, but a separate front was established in Madaripur later.
The other front area of the force was in Savar, from where they started fighting under Samiullah Azmi in Savar and Manikganj from July.
[Translated and edited from Bangla by Osham Sufian]
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