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Martyred Intellectuals Day is a solemn observance commemorating the brutal assassination of the country's intellectuals during the final stages of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. This day serves as a poignant reminder of the atrocities committed during the conflict, particularly the targeted killing of scholars, educators, journalists, and other intellectuals by the Pakistani Army and their collaborators.
Martyred Intellectuals Day began with the Liberation War of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971, following the declaration of independence from Pakistan. As the war progressed, it became increasingly brutal. In December 1971, just days before Bangladesh achieved its victory, a systematic campaign was carried out by the Pakistani Army and local collaborators to eliminate the intellectual elite of the country.
Targeting intellectuals, that is, the thought leaders, including journalists, politicians, lawyers, business leaders, scientists, engineers, doctors, and artists, is a tried and true method of conquest used by dictators, conquerers, and occupying nations as a means to create a subservient society and eliminate any potential rivals to their rule. The tactic has been deployed from antiquity to the present day. For example, upon invading Poland in 1939, the SS exterminated 97% of Poland's intellectual and political class within six weeks.
In Bangladesh, the rationale behind the massacre was to cripple the new nation intellectually, as these individuals are vital to the cultural and intellectual future of any nation. Professors, writers, doctors, artists, engineers, and journalists were abducted from their homes, tortured, and executed. The majority of these atrocities took place in Dhaka, where the bodies of the slain intellectuals were discovered in mass graves.
The exact number of intellectuals killed is not known. The day is marked by profound grief and respect for the victims, with various commemorative events held across Bangladesh. People from all walks of life, including government officials, social and cultural organizations, and citizens, pay homage to the martyrs, laying floral wreaths at memorials and participating in solemn ceremonies.
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