Words always fall short when we try to describe our respect, sympathy, and profound gratitude to those who sacrificed everything in 1971 to establish our independent and sovereign homeland—Bangladesh.
Louis D. Brandeis said, “Those who sacrificed lives for our independence… valued liberty as an end and as a means. They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.” Patriotism is an emotional attachment to a nation, which an individual recognises as their homeland. This attachment, also known as national feeling or national pride, can be viewed in terms of various features relating to one’s own nation, including ethnic, cultural, political, or historical aspects.
Intellectualism denotes the use, development, and exercise of the intellect; the practice of being an intellectual; and the Life of the Mind. The fallen patriotic intellectuals of 1971 are, indeed, the real life of our minds. According to Socrates, intellectualism suggests that “one will do what is right or best just as soon as one truly understands what is right or best.” Virtue, therefore, is a purely intellectual matter, since virtue and knowledge are familial relatives that a person develops through dedication to reason. Our fallen intellectuals truly understood what was right and best for our people.
We never enter the time of remembrance without our minds being flooded with thoughts of our martyred intellectuals. We cannot forget the heart-wrenching pain of their loved ones as they watched helplessly while the best sons of this soil were so brutally murdered on or just before 14 December 1971, days before Bangladesh was liberated from the cruel clutches of Pakistan’s Military Junta on 16 December 1971.
These heroes endured a war of immense sacrifices, laying down their lives for the creation of Bangladesh. When we consider the sufferings and deaths of every war together, they cannot compare to the weight, suffering, and supreme sacrifices of our martyrs. Their bravery deserves its own recognition, lest we forget, and the world forgets. Forgetting their sacrifice would be an unconscionable dishonour to their service. On 14 December, Martyred Intellectuals’ Day, we speak of these great patriots with the highest respect.
They were patriots in the truest sense of the word. As Thomas Campbell said, “The patriot’s blood is the seed of Freedom’s tree.” The blood of these honourable patriots still courses warmly through our veins. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, and oppose any foe to ensure the survival and legacy of these great sons of this sacred soil. Patriotism is a kind of religion; it is the egg from which wars are hatched and won. This nation will remain the land of the free as long as it is the home of the brave, like our great intellectuals who embraced martyrdom.
Our fallen intellectuals are our constant inspiration. Martyred Intellectuals’ Day, observed on 14 December, is an important occasion for Bangladesh. It is a day to give thanks, pay tribute, and remember those who gave their lives during the Liberation War of 1971 to protect our country. In truth, we should be thankful every day, but 14 December is the official day when we collectively honour our fallen intellectuals.
Their journey compelled us to live in the present, cherishing every part of the beautiful landscape of this land. As we travel through the verdant beauty of Bangladesh, we carry them in our minds. We are grateful to these noble souls, whose strength and inspiration helped us endure nine months of hardship to liberate the country from the cruel grip of Pakistan’s army and their local henchmen, particularly those of the fearsome criminal outfit, Jamaat-e-Islami.
We are honoured to remember the many brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives throughout the history of our nation—those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect us from harm. We salute those who are still with us and raise prayers for their safety and blessings.
The nation observes Martyred Intellectuals’ Day with a deep sense of loss and a rekindling of the spirit that led to the birth of Bangladesh. The defeated forces of Pakistan’s military knew that the most effective way to cripple a nation on the verge of independence was to liquidate its brightest minds. Thus, brilliant academics from Dhaka University, a hub of progressive movements in the country’s history, were targeted.
The war veteran Md. Shaiqur Rahman notes: “The killers of the infamous Al-Badr, aligned with Jamaat-e-Islami, sought to deprive the nation of the intellectuals who embodied the core values of the emerging nation. True, the killers succeeded in physically eliminating the top intellectuals, but their ideas and beliefs continue to inspire us to stay on the right path. The martyrs of 14 December will forever shine brightly in our memories.”
The killers have been defeated. The nation has rejected obscurantism and religious extremism. It is a positive development that some of those responsible for crimes against humanity are now facing justice. Justice delayed is not always justice denied. The nation looks forward to the day when all the killers of our intellectuals are tried and punished.
The intellectuals were murdered as part of a sinister plan, thwarted by our victory 48 hours later. The best way to honour the martyrs is by making sincere efforts to realise their dream of a progressive, exploitation-free society, where discrimination has no place. They were torchbearers of Bengali nationalism, igniting a spirit that set the nation on the path to freedom in 1971.
Let us pledge to keep their legacy alive, support the families of our fallen heroes, and commemorate their contributions with full honours. Their sacrifices nurtured our democracy and strengthened our commitment to justice, human dignity, and peace.
As we gather on 14 December 2024, let us not only mourn but also celebrate the indomitable spirit of our intellectuals, whose lives and sacrifices will guide us forever. May they rest in peace.
