Leaders and activists of various political parties, representatives of socio-cultural organisations, students and people from all walks of life on Sunday paid rich tributes to the martyred intellectuals at the Rayerbazar Martyred Intellectuals Memorial in the capital, marking Martyred Intellectuals Day.
From the early hours of the day, people began placing floral wreaths at the memorial under the banners of different parties and organisations to honour the memories of the nation’s brightest sons who were killed in 1971.
As the morning progressed, a large number of visitors gathered at the site. During visits in the morning, the presence of school and college students and general people was more noticeable than that of political party activists.
Freedom fighters, BNP leaders and activists from different thana and ward units, Dhaka University Central Students Union (DUCSU) leaders, students from Dhaka University halls, Dhaka College, Dhaka Commerce College, Residential Model College and several other educational institutions, along with political and voluntary organisations, paid homage at the memorial since morning.
Rakib Uddin, a student of Dhaka University, said the Pakistani occupation forces, with the help of their collaborators Rajakar and Al-Badr, killed the nation’s brightest sons in the final days of 1971. “We came here to lay flowers to remember them with respect,” he said.
Dhaka College student Arib Rahman said the nation would never forgive the collaborators of the Pakistani forces, as many teachers, journalists and writers were killed with their assistance.
Dhaka University student Abir Hossain said that during the final phase of the Liberation War in December 1971, the Pakistani forces realised they would lose the war and planned mass killings to weaken the country intellectually, socially and culturally.
He said that on the night of December 14, with the help of local collaborators, the occupation forces abducted the nation’s best sons from their homes and killed them after brutal torture.
“As long as Bangladesh exists, the nation will remember its martyred intellectuals with due respect, and the spirit of 1971 must live in the hearts of every citizen,” he added.
Former Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan also paid tribute to the martyred intellectuals at the Rayerbazar Boddhobhumi in the morning.
Meanwhile, security at the Rayerbazar Martyred Intellectuals Memorial has been tightened. Alongside police, members of the Detective Branch and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) have been deployed. Visitors are entering the memorial through archway scanners, while the entire area has been brought under CCTV surveillance.
