Mukti Joddhas recount bond of ’71 during Vijay Divas celebrations

Kolkata: “I am a freedom fighter and got Abdul Quader Mollah hanged,” the frail cancer-survivor from Bangladesh told a large gathering at Fort William, the Army’s Eastern Command headquarters in Kolkata on Saturday. Mollah, also known as the ‘Butcher of Mirpur’, was convicted for atrocities committed during Bangladesh’s Liberation War of 1971 and hanged in 2013.The speaker was Bangladesh MP and Mukti Joddha Quazi Rosy, leading a team to Kolkata for Vijay Divas celebrations.
“We fought for Independence and Indian soldiers helped us. We couldn’t have gained independence in 9 months had they not been there. It took Vietnam 9 years to gain independence. Indians provided us shelter, fed and clothed us and we shall remain ever grateful. Today, we are providing food and shelter to the Rohingya but that is nothing compared to what India did for us. Shopkeepers in Kolkata would give us free food and medicine. I stand here today for what India gave us,” Rosy said.
Others also shared their experiences. “We do not tolerate efforts by a section in Bangladesh to spread anti-Indian sentiments,” said Md Anwar Hossain Pahari. Md Harun-ul-Rashid recollected how his team of 76 Mukti Joddhas were entrusted with protection of the crucial Agartala airport.
Capt Abdul Majed Miah, a Pakistani Air Force pilot, entered India and was provided with basic guerilla warfare training at north Bengal’s Murti camp.
“We would train 1,200 Mukti Joddhas in guerrilla warfare in 21 days and push them into Bangladesh. Finally, I entered with 2,000 freedom fighters to carry on the fight,” Miah, a senior flight operations inspector with the Civil Aviation Authority in Dhaka, said.
“I regret that I wasn’t old enough to participate in the great war. It is a privilege to hear first-hand accounts from the Mukti Joddhas. Had we not received the support from them, we couldn’t have succeeded. I hope that the co-ordination and camaraderie that existed between the two people extends to the future generations. This legacy needs to be carried forward,” Lt Gen M M Naravane, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command, said. Major Gen A K Sanyal, GOC, Bengal Sub Area, referred to the Pakistani rule over Bangladesh as and ‘evil tyranny’ and called the War of Liberation an example of synergy for a just cause.