Freeze body: Rare images of Bangladesh’s Liberation War on show

By Sahidul Hasan Khokon: An image paints a thousand phrases.

An exhibition showcasing never-before-seen images of Bangladesh’s wrestle for freedom in 1971 and the charismatic management of the nation’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is doing precisely that. It is being held within the Liberation War Museum in Dhaka and Guimet Museum of Paris in France.

The Paris exhibition began a month again, whereas the one in Dhaka will go on until December 24.

Five a long time after Bangladesh received its freedom, famous French photojournalist Anne De Hening is within the Bangladesh capital with 16 of her telling and highly effective images, all shot throughout the 1971 Liberation War. There have been 11 different photos shot by her throughout the first council of the most important social gathering of the nation, Bangladesh Awami League, after freedom and with Mujibur on the helm.

In one body, Bengali freedom fighters confronting Pakistan’s brutal military with bows and arrows painting the overwhelming response to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s March 7, 1971 name for freedom.

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This uncommon photograph brings to the fore three realities. One, the Bengalis have been probably not ready for an armed motion as a result of their wrestle till that time was restricted to democratic road protests. Two, though they weren’t well-equipped, they responded overwhelmingly after they have been known as to combat “with whatever you have”. Third, it rubbishes the Pakistani propaganda that the Bengali wrestle was simply an “Indian conspiracy”.

It additionally lays naked the British colonial invention of the army superiority of “martial races” — right here have been non-martial Bengalis responding with death-defying braveness in opposition to “martial” Punjabi and Pathan troops, closely armed and with orders to kill indiscriminately.

“See these young men walking with old rifles slung across their shoulders; others practicing to defend themselves with bows and arrows, including a child; families boarding trains to escape the massacre, leaving behind everything that made up their lives — that was extremely moving; everything was done in silence, there was a great dignity in all these people but if you see the anguished look on their faces, you could see what they knew could happen to them if they stayed,” mentioned Anne, in an interview now posted on YouTube.

Anne, then simply 25, had captured in her digital camera the wrestle, the primary nationwide council of the Awami League — and a photograph of the then Awami League president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman “giving speeches before a gathering of party leaders”. These stand as a marker of “victory of freedom over oppression”, added Anne.

Driven by the instincts of a struggle correspondent, Anne, now in her seventies, fashioned a crew of three photographers in Calcutta (now Kolkata), who would sneak into then East Pakistan, take images and return to the bottom to inform the world in regards to the barbarity unleashed by the Pakistan Army.

“There is a photo of a street where they have black flags on bamboo poles to demonstrate against the massacre that started in Dhaka. It encapsulates what war is all about,” says Anne, pointing to a specific image on the Dhaka exhibition.

Breaking via the “iron curtain” imposed by the Pakistan Army on the entry of international correspondents apparently to blackout their horrendous acts of mass murders and rapes, Anne discovered a option to {photograph} these struggle crimes.

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“News had not been out of the country for a while and you know in these circumstances, when a place is closed to journalists, there is something to hide. So it’s your job to document what is being hidden,” mentioned Anne, in a video out there on YouTube.

Pointing on the atrocities of the military, the photographer mentioned, “You just had to walk through the streets and you could see poorly-equipped people gearing up. However, they expressed a will and determination to achieve freedom for their country, which was extremely moving.”

After Independence, Anne flew again to Bangladesh in 1972 and photographed the primary nationwide council, beneath the management of Mujibur Rahman. “Seeing him on stage giving a speech for the first council of the Bangladesh Awami League was a strong testimony to the triumph of freedom over oppression,” provides Anne.

The emergence of Bangladesh, in keeping with Anne, has a lesson to supply. “It should inspire the feeling that courage and determination can get you a long way — it couldn’t have happened but it did because in these photos you can see the determination and courage the people had,” she underlines.

LASTING IMPRESSION

The exhibition at Guimet Museum has garnered rave critiques and so has the Dhaka present.

Explaining the influence of the exhibition in Guiment, Ann Alexandra Fain, Executive Director, Asia Now Paris Asian Art Fair, revealed the present is having a long-lasting impression on the guests.

“It’s about photo journalism but at the same time, it’s also about moments so intense, so fragile and so powerful, that everyone feels touched. People stepping away from the exhibits will definitely carry away something from Anne’s photos,” Alexandra commented on the occasion.

The Samdani Art Foundation and the Centre for Research and Information (CRI) collectively compiled these images to convey again the recollections alive earlier than the general public.

ANNE MEETS MUJIB’S FAMILY

Emotions ran excessive as Anne met Bangabandhu’s daughters Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, granddaughter Saima Wazed and grandson Radwan Mujib Siddiqui at Mujib’s residence in Dhanmondi 32 on December 19, 2022, and reminisced these days of wrestle.

As images of the assembly began doing the rounds on social media, Netizens welcomed the initiative. Many who visited the continuing exhibition have been posting images from the museum. “Selfie with Mujib” is one posted with a photograph from the museum which confirmed Mujib filling his cigar.

Offering a glimpse into the nation’s historical past, the images on the exhibition additionally showcased its charismatic chief. After the assassination of the nation’s founding father, a lot of his images have been destroyed by successive governments.

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‘MUJIB PROVIDES GUIDANCE’

Elaborating on the initiative, Radwan Mujib Siddiqui , a CRI trustee, mentioned: “He (Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) had a very brief period as the leader of independent Bangladesh and so he was unable to fulfill a lot of his visions. But, I think for the current and future generations, his sacrifice would still provide guidance in how we should build Bangladesh in the future.”

Radwan, who’s credited with introducing interactive initiatives for the youths, together with the nation’s first graphic novel on Mujibur Rahman, mentioned: “From a very early stage in his life, he had a strong sense of justice, a very strong sense of what’s right and what’s wrong. Throughout his life, he always stood for the oppressed and the weak. Our fight for independence was driven by a very forward-looking, progressive ideology, social justice, equality and secularism.”

On Anne’s go to, Radwan mentioned: “As she crossed the border, she was welcomed by a group of freedom fighters. They told her ‘look we want you to take photos, then go and tell the outside world what’s happening here’.”

“She spent some time with the freedom fighters and then came back. She wanted to meet the man that everybody had said had inspired them to go to war and fight for freedom,” mentioned Radwan.

“He (Mujibur) had a connection with people, and he could represent them the way politicians are supposed to really represent the interests of a country or a population,” he added.

He mentioned, “Bangladesh has come a long way in the last 51 years, but there’s still a long way to go to fulfill Bangbandhu’s dream of Shonar Bangla.”

Edited By:

Tirtho Banerjee

Published On:

Dec 22, 2022