FFs, Martyred Intellectuals: Govt publishes partial lists

With the country observing the golden jubilee of Bangladesh's independence, the government yesterday published a partial list of freedom fighters containing 1,47,537 names.

The most prominent name on the list is that of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, followed by those of the four slain national leaders Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmad, AHM Quamruzzaman and M Mansur Ali.

In a press briefing, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque also revealed another partial list, containing 191 names of martyred intellectuals who lost their lives at the hands of the Pakistan army and their collaborators in the Liberation War.

Mozammel said both partial lists will be uploaded to the ministry's website.

He said names of self-confessed killers of Bangabandhu and Khandaker Mushtaque Ahmed, who grabbed the presidency and declared martial law after the assassination of Bangabandhu and overthrow of his government on August 15, 1975, will remain on the list.

Mozammel said late president Ziaur Rahman will also be on the list.

"But we will mention their misdeedsin brackets beside their names," he said.

A committee of Jatiya Muktijoddha Council is looking into the legal aspects of revoking gallantry awards given to Ziaur Rahman. The government had already stripped the gallantry awards of killers of Bangabandhu.

"We keep their names as freedom fighters. They fought the Liberation War.

"We have cancelled the gallantry award of Bangabandhu's killers for their misdeeds. Ziaur Rahman was a sector commander -- he was chief of the Z force, if we say he did not fight the Liberation War it will be distortion of the facts," he said.

Mozammel said the final list of freedom fighters will be published by June 30 after further scrutiny of the list of 35,000 names in the civilian gazettes as those were not approved by the Jatiya Muktijoddha Council.

According to the ministry, there are 37,387 freedom fighters in Dhaka division, 30,053 in Chattogram, 17,630 in Khulna, 15,158 in Rangpur, 13,889 in Rajshahi, 12,563 in Barishal, 10,558 in Mymensingh and 10,264 in Sylhet division.

He said all freedom fighters will get certificates and freedom fighters who are alive will get identity cards.

"We hope that with the publication of the final list, confusion regarding freedom fighters' list will end," Mozammel said.

He added that it is implied that after the publication of the final list, all previous lists will be cancelled.

The minister said the government took the step to prepare a final list after a law was passed in parliament in 2018 finalising the definition of freedom fighters.

He said in the list, the government gave priority to freedom fighters named in the list sent to Bangladesh by the Indian government and those in the "Lal Mukti Barta" prepared by the Awami League government during its 1996-2001 tenure.

The Indian government in 1973 had sent a list of 69,509 freedom fighters who received training in that country.

MARTYRED INTELLECTUALS' LIST

Regarding publication of the list of martyred intellectuals, Mozammel said, "Although we observe Martyred Intellectuals' Day on December 14, we could not make a list of them. We are starting publishing the list."

He said 152 names of martyred intellectuals have been taken from postal stamps issued in the name of martyred intellectuals at various times, and the rest from names available at the ministry.

The nation is still in the dark about how many of these luminaries faced martyrdom because of a lack of a comprehensive and final list.

On November 19 last year, the ministry formed a committee to make and scrutinise the list of names.