Mujib Bahini
| Mujib Bahini Faction of Liberation Army |
|
|---|---|
| Participant in the Bangladesh Liberation War | |
| Active | December, 1971 |
| Ideology | Nationalism Secularism Democracy[citation needed] |
| Leaders | Serajul Alam Khan and Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani, Tofael Ahmed, Abdur Razzaq, MP |
| Area of operations | Bangladesh |
| Strength | 5000 |
| Allies | India |
| Opponents | Pakistan, Mukti Bahini[1] |
Mujib Bahini was an armed force formed during the Bangladesh Liberation War to fight against Pakistan in 1971.[2] The force was mainly composed of activists drawn from the Awami League and its student front, the Chhatra League. At its height it had reportedly 5000 members.[3][2] It was organised with the active assistance of Major General Sujan Singh Uban of the Indian Army. Student League leaders Serajul Alam Khan and Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani, Tofael Ahmed,[4] and Abdur Razzaq, MP were the organizers of this special force. It is alleged that this force was formed during the concluding part of Liberation War according to the policy of Awami League and the ally, India, aimed against the leftist freedom fighters to bar them from taking the lead in the War.[5]
1971 War of Independence
It is alleged that this force was formed during the concluding part of Liberation War according to the policy of Awami League and the ally, India, aimed against the leftist freedom fighters to bar them from taking the lead in the War.[5] It is accused of being involved in hooliganism and looting after the end of War of Independence.[6]
Professor Serajul Islam Choudhury of Dhaka University opined that Mujib Bahini sowed rift between Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Tajuddin Ahmed and contributed to his downfall.[1]
After 1971
After the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, the Mujib Bahini was merged with the auxiliary Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini, which became infamous for its own human rights abuses.[1]
Recollection of former members
Zainal Abedin, a former student leader and a freedom fighter who crossed over to India in 1971 and joined the Mujib Bahini, reminiscing about how the Indian handlers and RAW agents treated them
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Our Indian handlers and trainers indicated that they treated us (the Freedom Fighters) not as friends but as agents. The real Indian face lay bare after the surrender of Pakistani forces, when I saw the large scale loot and plunder by the Indian Army personnel. The soldiers swooped on everything they found and carried them away to India. Curfew was imposed on our towns, industrial bases, ports, cantonments,commercial centres and even residential areas to make the looting easier. They lifted everything from ceiling fans to military equipment, utensils to water taps. Thousands of Army vehicles were used to carry looted goods to India. History has recorded few such cruel and heinous plunders. Such a large scale plunder could not have been possible without connivance of higher Indian authorities.[7]
Some former members were rewarded by the Indian government and decided to become Indian citizens themselves. Bimal Pramanik, the director of Centre for Research in India-Bangladesh Relations, was a former sector commander of Mujib Bahini. He fled Bangladesh in the aftermath of Mujib's assassination in 1975 and shifted to Kolkata in 1976; he has been living in the city since then.[8]
References
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