People of Pabna remember 1971's first resistance fight

The first resistance fight against the occupation troops in Pabna in March-April 1971 is one of many stories that makes our Liberation War glorious. Mass people of Pabna, including women and children, stood up against trained Pakistan occupation troops in front of 'Pabna Telephone Exchange Building'. A two day long fight left over two hundred dead and also made a major contribution to freeing Pabna from the occupation troops. 

It was during these few days, from March 29 to April 9, that the heroism of the masses surfaced as they battled the trained Pakistanis forces with whatever they could find and without any training. They succeeding in driving the enemy out! But, the victory was short lived. Although, the local resistance forces drove the Pakistani Army out, they were hit back harder, and the occupation forces took hold of Pabna yet again on April 10, 1971. 

The residents of Pabna took preparation to fight against the Pakistan army just after Bangabandhu's announcement on March 7 according to the local freedom fighters. Students were trained at schools and colleges while people became alert. When the occupation troops entered the district headquarter early of March, 26, people became united to resist the force. Seeing their indomitable spirit and their insatiable thirst to fight back, the incumbent Deputy Commissioner at the time, Nurul Kader Khan, organized the people and provided access to the weapons depot of the Pabna Police line in order to arm the locals. 

The retaliating mass was so big that the provided weapons were not enough to arm everyone. Even women had taken to the streets with household items including machetes and knives. The EPR force had also joined in with the cause. A big battle took place in front of the Pabna Telephone Exchange Camp, starting on March 27 and ending on March 28.

The two days of the bloody battle claimed the lives of 28 to 30 Pakistani soldiers. On March 29, in a desperate move, the Pakistan force administered an air attack to save the rest of their troops. About 200 soldiers were left behind in Pabna with their fates sealed at the BSCIC Camp. Around five to six people were martyred during the air strike. 

The troops thought it to be safe to retreat from Pabna using the Pabna-Ishwardi road after the air strike had ended. They could not have been more wrong. They were hunted down during noon in Dashuria and Gopalpur in Ishwardi Upazila. A bloody battle broke out between the local people of Pabna and the Pakistani soldiers that lasted up to midnight. There were no prisoners and no one was spared, and Pabna was freed temporarily.

Freedom fighter Baby Islam recollected the heroic memories of the day, and said "Thousands took to the streets on that fateful day. We had raided the laboratories of the Pabna Zila School along with others in the area for chemicals. Sodium bulbs were used to put together deadly concoctions which we threw at the occupying forces. We produced our own bombs. We had to resort to such methods for lack of proper weapons. We fought to protect the worth of our own lives, and to protect the worth of our motherland." Islam continued saying, "Many valuable lives and personalities were lost at the price of our success during the first phase of the war. Eminent personalities such as the veteran lawyer Advocate Amin Uddin, Physician Amonendu Dakhhi, business man Sayeed Talukdar and many more were martyred."

The people of Pabna paid with their lives, but they stood strong. The initial victory was short lived, and the Pakistani forces returned in greater numbers. When all hopes had seemed to have fleeted away, July 14 brought a new dawn to these heroic people. Other freedom fighters from around the area had come to join their battles to free them of the curse of the Pakistani military. They were freed at last from the grip of the occupation forces on December 18, 1971 according to local freedom fighters. 

"It is true that the Pakistan occupation troops along with their local collaborators carried out a number of massacres in the district from April 10 to December, but the people of Pabna are still proud of thei heroic resistance," said Habibur Rahman Habib, commander of Pabna Muktizudhha Shangshad. "The memories of the heroic movement of the mass people of Pabna in March 1971 must be remembered," he added.