Dispute among family members of the July Uprising martyrs over right to benefits is hampering the government's assistance distribution programme, according to officials.
Disagreements between wives and parents of the martyrs have led to administrative delays and complications, said officials of the the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs and the July Uprising Directorate.
They said the authorities are struggling to disburse both one-time financial assistance and monthly allowances due to these internal conflicts.
"Who gets how much — that’s now the biggest issue," said Liberation War Affairs Adviser Faruk-e-Azam.
"Some complain the wife is getting more, others say the parents are. The martyr’s parents argue that a wife may remarry, but they’ve lost their child forever. Meanwhile, the widows claim they too lost everything with the death of their husbands," he said.
According to officials, the family feud has escalated to the point where separate WhatsApp and Facebook groups have formed — one supporting the parents, the other backing the widows.
These groups often arrive at the ministry en masse lodging complaints against each other, they said.
The ministry follows the Muslim Family Law Ordinance, 1961 for Muslim families and the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 for Hindu families to determine the rightful recipients of the aid.
However, many family members are opposing to the legal framework being applied, officials said.
“Even when we calculate based on religious laws, many are not satisfied. So we’re having to go case by case which is wasting both time and manpower,” Faruk-e-Azam told UNB.
“When money becomes the focus, people tend to forget the martyrdom and sacrifice. But the government’s goal is to honour and preserve the spirit of their ultimate sacrifice,” he added.
The government is providing each martyr’s family a total of Tk 30 lakh in savings certificates — Tk 10 lakh was disbursed last fiscal year, and Tk 20 lakh is scheduled for this fiscal (2025-26).
Besides, each family is entitled to a monthly allowance of Tk 20,000.
So far, the government has officially recognised 844 martyrs.
Among them, 774 families have received the first Tk 10 lakh installment. The remaining 70 families are yet to receive the initial installment due to unresolved inheritance issues which has also stalled the second phase of disbursement.
“We are distributing funds according to established rules but these internal disputes force us into daily negotiations,” said Md Mashiur Rahman, Director General of the July Uprising Directorate.
He noted that just last Thursday, 59 widows came to the ministry together to press their claims while parents of martyrs had previously done the same.
“Each martyr has multiple heirs. Determining who gets what share is time-consuming, and this is slowing down the entire process,” he said.
Meanwhile, the government has also initiated assistance programmes for the injured victims of the July Uprising.
As per official classification:
Category A (critically injured): 493 individuals will receive a one-time grant of Tk 5 lakh and a monthly allowance of Tk 20,000. Of this, Tk 2 lakh has already been disbursed, with the remaining Tk 3 lakh to be provided this fiscal year.
Category B (seriously injured): 908 individuals will get a one-time grant of Tk 3lakh and Tk 15,000 monthly. Tk 1 lakh has been paid in advance.
Category C (moderately injured): 10,642 individuals will receive Tk 1 lakh one-time and Tk 10,000 monthly.
All injured individuals, regardless of category are entitled to lifetime free medical care, opportunities for treatment abroad, and guaranteed rehabilitation support.
Eligible members of the martyrs' families will also be given priority for employment in government or semi-government sectors.
Liberation War Affairs Secretary Israt Chowdhury said, “Once we complete the aid disbursement we will move on to the rehabilitation phase. Our goal is to directly transfer funds to beneficiaries’ accounts through Sonali Bank.”
She added, “We are hoping to begin disbursing monthly allowances in at least one division by next week. The quicker families provide the necessary information the faster we can proceed.”
Regarding reclassification of injury categories, the secretary said, “If someone wishes to move from Category C to Category A that assessment will be made by the Ministry of Health.”