Historic Goalando Resistance Day today
Moynul Haque Mridha, Rajbari
Today, April 21 is Goalando Resistance and Genocide Day.
On this day in 1971, at the beginning of the war of independence, the invading forces came to occupy the important Goalanda Ghat in the Goalanda subdivision across the Padma River, but they faced resistance from the freedom fighters. Then the Pakistani forces carried out a massive massacre of unarmed people. On this day, during this war, the Pakistani forces entered the cities of Rajbari and Faridpur.
It is known that at dawn, the invading army arrived in the Kamardangi area of Ujanchar Union of the then Goalando subdivision in a gunboat and a K-type ferry from Arichaghat. There, with the help of the local people, a group of EPR, Ansar and Mukti Bahini created resistance with light weapons. A frontal battle began. But in the face of the heavy weapons of the Pak army, the resistance of the Mukti Bahini collapsed within a short time. At that time, Ansar commander Mohiuddin Fakir was martyred by a bullet from the Pak invading army. Then the Pak army surrounded the neighboring Baliadanga village from all sides and carried out a massive massacre.
Fakir Mohiuddin, Chabed, Habil, poet Tofazzal and many others were martyred in the war. That day, Bahadurpur and Goalanda Bazar were set on fire by the Pakistanis.
There, freedom fighters from Baliadanga village, Jindar Ali Mridha, Nayeb Ali Bepari, Matiar Begum, Joynuddin Fakir, Kader Ali Molla, Hamed Ali Sheikh, Kanai Sheikh, Fulburu Begum, Molayem Sardar, Burujan Bibi, poet Tofazzal Hossain, Amjad Hossain, Madhav Bairagi, Ahmed Ali Mandal, Khodeja Begum, Karim Molla, Amod Ali Sheikh, Kuran Sheikh, Moksed Ali Sheikh, Nishikant Roy, Machem Sheikh, Dhalaburu Begum, Aleya Khatun, Bahez Pagla and many others whose names are unknown, were martyred by the bullets of the invaders. Since then, this day is considered as Goalanda Resistance Day by the local freedom fighters and the common people.
In this regard, Abdus Samad Molla, former commander of Goalando Upazila Muktijoddha Sangsad, said, "April 21st was Wednesday. I still shudder when I think of the early morning attack on Goalando by the Pakistani army and the massacre committed against unarmed people. Although our resistance with light weapons did not last long, our armed struggle essentially began that day."
Locals said that in the early hours of April 21, 1971, the invading forces, accompanied by a gunboat, a K-type ferry, a few speed boats and a helicopter, tried to land in Bahadurpur village of the then Goalanda Mahakumar Ujanchar Union from Arichaghat. Then, freedom-loving ordinary people, EPR, Ansar, EPR commander SDO Shah Farid, the then Thana Chhatra League president Fakir Abdul Jabbar and general secretary Keramat Ali Pramanik led a resistance war against the well-equipped Pakistani forces.
Meanwhile, Yusuf Ali Master of Bahadurpur, Ujanchar, donated land to build a memorial at the site of the April 21 resistance battle. Later, an initiative was taken to build a memorial on that land. The initial foundation stone work was done with two lakh taka received from the district council. Those concerned said that at least 24 to 25 lakh taka is required to complete the entire work.
Engineer Sheikh Jewel Bahadur, the convener of the monument construction implementation committee, said that the construction work began in February 2019. The initial foundation stone work was done with Tk 2 lakh received from the Rajbari District Council. Another Tk 24 to 25 lakh is needed to complete the entire work.
He further said that once the construction of the memorial is completed, the new generation will be able to know about the events of April 21, 1971. Along with this, they will also be able to understand the brutal massacre and cruelty of the Pakistani army. We want to inform everyone about the cruelty of Pakistan. However, unfortunately, due to lack of funds, it is not possible to complete the construction work.
