Name:
Mosammat Feroza Islam
Father’s name:
Husband: Mohammad Nazrul
Islam
Vill: Nanadanpur, P.O.: Puthia. P.S.: Puthia
Dist.: Rajshahi
Education: S.S.C
Age in 1971: 22 yrs
Occupation in 1971: Housewife
Present Occupation: Housewife
Q.
Do you remember anything about 1970?
A. Yes. That was an election year. Sh. Mujib won the elections. Even after his election victory
the West Pakistanis refused to hand over power to him. Then in an address to
the nation he told the gathering to get prepared with whatever weapons they had
(sticks, knives etc) for independence war. ‘The
struggle this time,’ he said, ‘ is the struggle for
independence’.
Q. In the night of Mar 25,1971 the Pak army
attacked
A. Yes I did.
Q. What did you hear?
A. Everyone said like this: The Pak
army killed all the students of the students’ residences of
Q. Were you attacked during 1971 liberation war?
A. Yes.
Q. When?
A. On 28 Nov. They burnt our house down. They burnt everything.
Q. Who did it?
A. The Razakars
beat up my father and mother-in-law and burnt down the house.
Q. Who were the culprits?
A. The Razakars,
they beat up my mother-in-law and then they set fire to our house.
Q. Were there Pakistani soldiers with them?
A. No. They were all Razakars. There were no Pak
soldiers with them. But there were some of our own villagers; chairman and
members of the local peace-committee were also with them. They burnt down our
entire household. They beat up my father and mother-in-law. Then they tied one
of my brothers-in-law with rope with his hands behind his back and beat him so
mercilessly that his whole body was covered with blood. They broke his leg. One
of my husband’s elder brothers was our next-door neighbor. He was at his home
at the time. They caught hold of him and beat him mercilessly and then dug a
grave with the bayonets of their rifles in the middle of the courtyard and buried
him alive. He was screaming, ‘Please don’t bury me, please don’t….’. But they did it.
Q.
Buried him alive?
A.
Yes. He was killed brutally. Then they took away my two brothers-in-law
and killed them. Till to-day we have not found their dead bodies. Some of the
villagers and relatives lifted my elder brother-in-law from his grave and
buried him elsewhere.Next day, Nov 29, I left home
and as I was on the way some Razakars caught me near the iron bridge. I was passing that
way. I had my nine day old baby girl on my waist. They snatched my baby and
threw her off into the river. And then they started raping me. I begged for
some water to drink. They didn’t give me water. I ran into the river and drank
some muddy water from the rive. The Razakars beat me
again. Then I fainted. One of our neighbors managed to rescue me. After I
became somewhat better some men of the village and the peace committee chairman
came to see me. The chairman’s name was Ahad Molla. When I told them my story he rebuked the fellows and
then I was put on a van against my wishes and I went to my mother’s home. The
enemies also raided this village.
Q. Pakistani soldiers?
A. Yes, they came but didn’t find me. My uncle locked the house from
outside and helped me get away. They looked for me but didn’t find me. Then
they left.
Q. Where did you go?
A. Dupghata, near
Q.
Do you know the names of the Razakars who captured you?
A. One of them was Abdur Rahman. His father’s name
was Mujibar. The other fellow’s name was Mohammad
Tara. He was from Tarapu village. Another fellow was
named Tausi. His father’s name was Kwasiuddin. Then there was another fellow named Shafer from
Gopalhati village. There was another Razakar whose name
was Abdul. Nurul Islam, a peace committee chairman
from Bhalukgachi, was also among them. There were
more but I don’t know their names.
Q.
What else the Razakars did?
A. They looted all our belongings and then set fire to our houses. They
loaded three boats and took away everything we had. My bed room cot is simply a
piece of charcoal. It is still in my room. I kept it as it is. They took away
all our domestic animals; they even cleaned our cocoanut trees and all other
fruit trees. They spared nothing.
Q.
During the liberation war did you cooperate with the freedom fighters
in any way?
A. The Muktis used to come to our house
during operation; I used to cook for them, feed them. Often they spent the
nights in our house. Sometimes they stayed even during the day and then at
around 2 or 3 am they would go out for operation. They used to come frequently
and I used to feed and shelter them.
Q.
In your area did the
A.
No, they didn’t. The Razakars did.
Q.
What else did they do in your area?
A.
When they came they first started shooting all around. They came at 4
am in the dawn and sprayed bullets all around. The bullets were dropping to the
ground like fireflies. We all got out of our rooms. It was Ramzan time (Muslim month of
fasting). When we were about to have our early morning meal they started
shooting. Then it became dawn. None of us had any food. Men folk started
leaving in any direction they thought safe. Only some remained including one of
my brother-in-law. A little later he took my eldest daughter with him and left
the house when one of the Razakars told him to return and promised that no harm would
be done to him. He returned and entertained the Razakars with fruits and coconuts
picked from our trees. And then he started preparing for cooking meals for them
when they started beating him up tying him with a piece of rope.
Q.
Have you seen this with your own eyes?
A.
Yes, I saw it from my hideout in the garden. Then my brother-in-law
begged for some water and my mother–in-law took some water in a bowl and went
to him when the Razakars
started beating her with the butt of the rifle. My brother-in-law then started
begging not to beat her. ‘Kill me and shred every bit of my flesh into pieces
but please do not beat my mother,’ he begged of them. Then the Razakars started
beating him again and they took everything and left the house taking my two
brothers-in-law with them. Before they left they set fire to the house. When we
returned there was no place to take shelter. In the night we had to sit around
in the courtyard. We had no food in the house. That is how we observed Roja (religious
fasting). Our neighbors brought food for us. We had no appetite for food, no
utensils of any kind, we used banana leaves instead. And then we left for Rajshahi.
Q.
Who in your family became shaheed (martyr)?
A. My brother-in-law Barjahan became shaheed. The Razakars took
away my brother-in-law and killed him. We do not know till to-day where he was
taken and killed. My nephew Abdul Barek was also
taken away by them, and so also my elder brother-in-law Abdur
Rahman who was mercilessly beaten up and buried
alive.
Q. Do you remember when did the
Muktibahini
come to your village?
A.
Yes. In the month of July.
A. It was very favorable.
Everybody in those days supported Awami League.
Everyone respected and liked the Muktibahini. They were given shelter by everyone. People
cooperated with them in any way they could. When the Razakars burnt down our houses
and took away our relatives, and buried my brother-in-law alive, then our
hearts broke down.
Q.
After the war what was the condition of roads, schools, mosques, madrashas etc in
your area?
A.
All the shops along the roads were burnt down. There was hardly
anything to be seen. The military burnt down everything between Jhalmalia hat and Rajshahi. Many
homesteads were also burnt down. A lot of people were shot and killed by the
military. Comparatively more Hindu homes were burnt down and looted. The nearby
Rajbari (Palace) in which there was a temple
with lots of precious articles was looted completely.
Q.
Who did the looting?
A.
The Peace Committee fellows, the Razakars. They also tortured the
Hindu women. Many of them were lined up and shot. We have seen these with our
own eyes.
Interviewer: Moloy Bhowmick
Date of Interview: June 19, 1997
Translator: Dr. Faruq Aziz Khan