1971 Dhaka University in my eyes

Professor Emeritus Serajul Islam Choudhury is an eminent educationist, well-known fiction writer, essayist and columnist. In 1971, as a teacher of Dhaka University, he witnessed the Bengali non-cooperation movement, the horrific genocide on the night of March 25, and various events. Apart from this, he observed the events of Dhaka University as a timeless witness. He spoke about the memory of 1971, left-wing politics and various issues in an interview with Rahat Minhaz, Assistant Professor, Department of Mass Communication and Journalism of Jagannath University.

Rahat Minhaz: The military authorities took a step in 1971 to initiate the operation of Dhaka University, and Dhaka University was also inaugurated. What was this incident?
Serajul Islam Choudhury: There was a reason for opening the university. Before that, let me briefly explain why I ran away. After March 25, a list of 10 people had been prepared at the university. This was a list of those who held meetings, celebrated Joha Day, and delivered speech at the clubs. The club was considered an adversary outpost for the Pakistani military. They believed that we were conspiring against them in the club. Shaheed Dr. Khayer, Rafiqul Islam, Saduddin, and Shahidullah—these four individuals consecutively served as secretaries from the club. They were detained later. My colleague and classmate Ahsanul Haque, who was the general secretary of the Teachers' Association, was also arrested. Looking at their pictures, they asked questions such as who is speaking here, what is their name, and where are they located. The military force claimed that the club was the epicenter of all conspiracies. They initially attacked the club. Three workers of the club fell victim to the massacre on the night of March 25.

Anyway, what I was saying is that they had prepared a list. They provided the police's Special Branch of Intelligence with a list to locate addresses. The majority in the police force were Bengalis. They were not collaborating with the military force. When they went to the police station, my relative was an SP there. Upon learning about it, he informed one of my other relatives, saying that the Pakistan Army had sent a list for them to manage the addresses. In that list, my name was at number 4. He came to me and said, "Your name is at number 4." That's when I understood that my safety was not guaranteed here. Regardless, the Pakistan Army was instructing the police to come and collect the addresses. The senior officers in the police had assigned the responsibility of collecting addresses to the lower-ranking individuals. However, those lower-ranking individuals were not very enthusiastic about going to collect the addresses. They went to the university's Registrar's Office to inquire about our address and left with the address we have. The address we had provided when applying for university employment was at the Registrar's Office. When I applied, I was living in the Azimpur colony with my father, and that was the address I had given. Now, if the army goes to that address, will they find me? After seeing all this, the army no longer relies on the police intelligence.

Rahat Minhaj: When was Dhaka University started functioning during the Liberation War. Were you able to take classes at that time?
Serajul Islam Choudhury: At that time, the question of attending classes didn't arise. We went there to sign in and confirm our presence. One day, we went and signed in for many days. It was an incident of a single day. There were several Bihari boys, and there were also some pro-Pakistani boys roaming around. They were loitering there. Whether we attend class or not they would report it, that kind of thought. A few of them gathered and confronted me, asking, "Sir, won't you take the class?" It felt like an interrogation. I took a few of them to the classroom with me. There, I saw the army had arrived. The army personnel, armed, came and asked immediately, "What's your name?" That day, I understood that I shouldn't come here anymore. After that, I didn't go there the next day.

Another very tragic incident occurred. The army was looking for Rashidul Hasan. Rashidul Hasan was a very outspoken person, especially on the matter of Bengali nationalism. Perhaps, the collaborators had reported his name. The army came to the office searching for Rashidul Hasan, asking where he was. Mr. Rashidul Hasan was coming from the opposite direction. In our office, the army had caught peon (office assistant) Noor Muhammad Rafiq. They took him to find Rashidul Hasan. Rashidul Hasan was coming from the opposite direction. Our peon was in a terrible dilemma at that moment. He couldn't tell the person in front that he was Rashidul Hasan because saying so would lead to his death. The army directly asked Rashidul Hasan, "What's your name?" As soon as Rashidul Hasan uttered his name, the army took him into custody. Rashidul Hasan was held at the Ramna Police Station for seven days. This incident occurred in August 1971. After that, until December 14, he was missing.

Rahat Minhaz: During the events of '71, there was an attempt to keep Dhaka University operational. I had conducted an interview with Nasir Uddin Yusuf Bachchu, a freedom fighter from Sector 2. He said that when the plan to continue classes at Dhaka University was underway, they bombed the university. Do you recall this incident?
Serajul Islam Choudhury: Bombs and mortars were falling everywhere; however, I don't remember whether I was there that day or not because perhaps, I wasn't on the campus that day. I used to go to Kalabagan.

Rahat Minhaz: Do you remember how many days you went to the campus during the events of '71, either to sign in or for work?
Serajul Islam Chowdhury: I went to the campus for a very short period. After signing in, I also went to the bank to withdraw money. At that time, our salaries were deposited directly into the bank.

Rahat Minhaj: How was the morning of December 16 for you?
Serajul Islam Choudhury: They are surrendering, that's what we heard at that time. We heard this on Indian radio. There is no such announcement on Dhaka Radio. The radio is off. Even from foreign radios, we can hear the news. We are tense. Later, we heard that the Pakistanis would surrender. We haven't left yet. Then, surprisingly, we saw those who were Razakars have become freedom fighters. They have taken to the streets chanting the slogan "Joi Bangla." This is the incident in the Wari area. They are looting cars and properties, taking whatever they can get. We didn't venture out on December 16.

Rahat Minhaz: The event of Bangladesh's independence, did you hear about it firsthand or on the radio?
Serajul Islam Choudhury: I heard about it first on the radio. The incident was understood through Pakistan Radio. Yahya Khan made a statement on Pakistan Radio, saying our army is surrendering. Subur Khan gave a speech, "A nation is born out of an illegitimate state. This bastard nation is being born." This can even be seen on Pakistan Radio and television. However, from Yahya Khan's speech, it was clear that they had surrendered.

Rahat Minhaj: You mentioned the events of December 17. What did you witness on that day?
Serajul Islam Choudhury: On the morning of the 17th, I came out and witnessed many scenes. All the surrounding shops were being looted. Another scene I observed was the looting of the Government House (currently the Presidential Palace). People were gleefully looting. I saw someone carrying a sewing machine, going with laughter, as if going to give a gift in a wedding house. Seeing looting in all directions, my mood turned sour. Coming to Hatkhola intersection, I met our young colleague Ahmed Kamal. He was a lecturer in the history department at that time. When he saw me getting off the rickshaw, he greeted me with a laugh. He asked, "Sir, are you still alive?" I asked him why, what happened. He said they have killed many people. That was the first time I heard about the massacre on December 14th. Later, gradually, I learned who they had captured.

Rahat Minhaz: In 1971, you interpreted the events in various ways. At that time, you were a young teacher. You were a person on the side of the freedom fighters of Bangladesh. Despite being present in the viewing gallery, not directly participating in the liberation war, not being in the battlefield—did this ever make you feel concerned, thinking that it would have been good if you could participate in the war if possible?
Serajul Islam Choudhury: We were involved in the war in the sense that before the war, we had sent letters to foreigners. We informed them that a genocide was going to happen here. There was a postal address for the BBC. During the war, we sent the flow of events from here to the BBC through that postbox. Locally, we supported the freedom fighters. Many of us crossed the border, and they are also reporting the news. Communication was there. We were not just collaborating; we were participating. It's not collaboration but participation. There was no middle ground. We participated.

Rahat Minhaz: Regarding the events of 1971, the memory of the Liberation War, the subsequent emergence of Bangladesh, and the various directions Bangladesh has taken later—if you have any comments on these overarching subjects?
Serajul Islam Choudhury: Our dream was that this nation would be a democratic one. Pakistan, however, was not a democratic state. Concerning democratic states, our belief was that without socialism, there cannot be a democracy. It means even the pro-liberation forces could establish a democratic state, the bourgeoisie could establish a democratic state, but we are thinking about a socialist democracy. For this, the concept came up during our seminar (March 23, 1971). We were thinking about a socialist Bangladesh, but what happened was not a socialist Bangladesh—it became a pro-liberation Bangladesh.

Pakistani authorities did not dismantle the pro-liberation structure that they had set up for their interests. Historically and economically, the development that occurred in Bangladesh was the development of pro-liberation forces. Another pro-liberation state was formed in Bangladesh. Now we see wealth accumulation happening. This trend has been ongoing historically—Mughals accumulated wealth in Delhi, the British in London, and Pakistanis in Karachi. Now wealthy Bengalis are taking their wealth to various countries around the world. We remain poor. Historically, we first experienced British colonization, then Pakistani colonization. Now, in Bangladesh, a colonization of the wealthy is emerging. They lack patriotism. They don't consider the future of the country lies in patriotism. They think about how to channel their wealth abroad.