On this day in 1971, country’s renowned academicians, doctors, engineers, journalists, artists, teachers and other eminent personalities were dragged out of their homes, blindfolded and taken to unknown places and then brutally tortured and slaughtered.
Their bodies were later dumped at Rayerbazar, Mirpur and some other killing fields in the capital.
Sensing an imminent defeat, the Pakistani forces and local collaborators like Al-Badr, Al-Shams and Razakar forces committed the cold-blooded mass murders aiming to annihilate the country's intelligentsia and cripple the emerging Bangladesh intellectually.
Among the martyred intellectuals are Prof Munier Chowdhury, Dr Alim Chowdhury, Prof Muniruzzaman, Dr Fazle Rabbi, Sirajuddin Hossain, Shahidullah Kaiser, Prof GC Dev, JC GuhaThakurta, Prof Santosh Bhattacharya, Mofazzal Haider Chowdhury, journalists Khandaker Abu Taleb, Nizamuddin Ahmed, SA Mannan (Ladu Bhai), ANM Golam Mustafa, Syed Nazmul Haq and Selina Parvin.
President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led the nation in paying tributes to the martyred intellectuals on the occasion.
First the President placed a wreath and then the Prime Minister another at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial at Mirpur in the morning.
They stood there in solemn silence for a while as a mark of profound respect to the memories of the illustrious sons of the soil.
Flanked by the party’s central leaders, Sheikh Hasina, also the President of Bangladesh AwamiLeague, laid another wreath at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial as the party chief.
Sheikh Hasina then went to Dhanmondi in the capital and placed a wreath at the portrait of Father of Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh MujiburRahman in front of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum marking the Martyred Intellectuals Day.
Family members of the martyred and freedom fighters placed wreaths at Martyred Intellectuals Memorial and people from all walks of life paid tributes by placing wreaths at the memorial in Mirpur and Rayerbazar Killing Ground at Mohammadpur from 8:30 am.
Besides, different socio-cultural and political organisations observed various programmes, including seminars and discussions, on the occasion.
Bangladesh Television and private television channels aired special programmes highlighting the significance of the day.