Ahmad Istiak

Jashore’s fight for mother tongue began in February 1948, and during the course of the language movement, it eventually became the home to the second Shaheed Minar after Rajshahi in February 1952.

Like other parts of the country, the demand for Bangla as a state language was made also in Faridpur, where the Language Movement began in 1948.

February 21, 1952. Rajshahi. The day had been a whirlwind of strikes, protests, and meetings.

From the first week of December 1971, freedom was already in the air. Pakistan was losing ground across Bangladesh to the joint forces, composed of the Mukti Bahini and the allied Indian forces. One by one, different regions were being liberated from the occupation forces.

While the armed freedom fighters fought valiantly on the battlefield during the 1971 war, a quieter yet equally crucial battle was being waged on the medical front.

The floating guava markets in the southern districts of Jhalakathi, Barishal and Pirojpur are so picturesque that they have in recent years started drawing tourists, along with the traders.

The remote village of Jangaliagati in Kamarkhanda upazila, Sirajganj, was the birthplace of the Palashdanga Jubo Shibir (Palashdanga Youth Camp) -- a regional force that defied all odds and persevered, significantly contributing to the liberation struggle of 1971.

The Aftab Bahini, led by Aftab Ali, a subedar in the 3rd East Bengal Regiment, was a formidable regional force that operated along the Brahmaputra and Teesta rivers during the 1971 war.

One of the largest training camps for freedom fighters during the Liberation War was set up in Shibbari of Gangarampur in West Bengal by George JM Das, a retired Bangalee soldier of the East Pakistan Rifles (EPR).

Ahmad Istiak.Through a combination of well-executed tactics, bravery on the battlefield, and overall masterful guerrilla warfare, a local resistance group shaped the outcome of the war in the Cumilla region..The Pathaan Bahini, led by Zahirul Haque Pathaan, a Bangalee subedar in the

Through swift mobilisation, strategic brilliance, and devastating attacks against the Pakistani army, the Halim Bahini of Manikganj distinguished itself as one of the most effective regional forces that fought in the Liberation War.

During the Liberation War, two powerful regional forces challenged the Pakistani army in Tangail.

Akbar Hossain, the chairman of Sreekol union parishad in Magura’s Sreepur upazila, led a force to be reckoned with against the invading Pakistani army during the Liberation War. While officially named Sreepur Bahini, this force was known to locals as Akbar Bahini.

During the 1971 Liberation War, dozens of regional forces emerged across Bangladesh. Just as the freedom fighters trained under the sub-sectors and the Bengal Regiment fought valiantly, these regional forces also put up tough resistance against the Pakistan forces. In the month of victory, we bring you the stories of some of these heroic forces.

In the early days of the 1971 Liberation War, a formidable resistance movement emerged in the Rajshahi region, led by Ohidur Rahman, a prominent figure in the Purba Banglar Communist Party

House 677, Road 32 (old), Dhanmondi, Dhaka. A seemingly ordinary two-storey house. 

This is a loose translation of a melodious Urdu poem that once used to reverberate through the empty lanes of old Dhaka deep into the Ramadan night.

After president Ayub Khan was forced to resign in the face of the 1969 mass uprising, General Yahya Khan assumed office on March 25. He immediately moved to consolidate his power by dissolving both national and provincial assemblies, effectively scrapping the constitution, and declaring martial law across Pakistan.

In the early 1960s, another covert group codenamed “Nucleus” emerged in the scene to further the cause of an independent Bangladesh alongside the Inner Group, East Bengal Liberation Front, and Apurba Sangsad.

The 1940s witnessed the rise of some of the first movements for self-determination in East Pakistan. Politicians, journalists, and intellectuals like Moazzem Ahmed Chowdhury, Abdul Aziz Bagmar, Sirajul Alam Khan, and many others played a pivotal role in these early struggles for liberation.