Howard Zinn competently said, “There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.” There was chaos. There was bloodshed. There was carnage. The Bangladesh Rifles mutiny was a carnage that took place on 25th and 26th February 2009 in Dhaka by a large section of jawans of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), a paramilitary force mainly tasked with guarding the borders of Bangladesh. The rebelling BDR soldiers took over the BDR headquarters in Pilkhana, Dhaka killing a total of 74 people, including 57 army officers along with the BDR Director-General. Our people strongly believe that “Peelkhana Massacre” on those 2 days in 2009 was the outcome of a long and deep-rooted conspiracy. Thirteen years are on, but the mystery still remains brought to light. For love of country, they accepted death.
For those interested in the dark side of human nature, mass murderers hold an understandable fascination. Seemingly ordinary people who turned out to be capable of acts too monstrous to comprehend, many killers like that of the BDR massacres have shown not one shred of remorse for anyone but themselves once finally apprehended. I do not know what I am supposed to write or feel it made me totally benumbed. My tears are dried out from my eyes. I still cannot believe what I saw or heard that terrible two days of February 2009 after our glorious Liberation War of 1971.
Our debt to the heroic men in the service of our
country can never be repaid. They have earned our
undying gratitude. We shall never forget their sacrifices
I was in our office early morning on that day and suddenly, my Dhaka University Class-mate, friend and the first batch trained guerilla freedom fighter in the prestigious Dehradun Military Academy, India, during our liberation struggle in 1971, Mr. Md. Mujibur Rahman phoned me up and broke the fierce news that the BDR soldiers staged a violent mutiny killing army officers. He also communicated with me that BDR chief along with so many senior army officers were already brutally murdered by those soldiers. I was then affrighted as my cousin’s husband Colonel Enshad Ibne Amin was serving in BDR on deputation from the Bangladesh army.
I checked with my close relatives over cell phone about the fate of Col Enshad and opened the TV channels and almost all TV channels were live telecasting this very sad episode. My cousin Dr. Royena, paternal uncles and paternal younger auntie were standing nearby the BDR Headquarters with deepening concerns. Their whole day and night passed away with tearful eyes, but no trace was found out of Col Enshad, a former bright star student of illustrious Fauzderhat Cadet College and a perfect gentleman senior army officer.
The next day, his disfigured dead body with bullet wounds along with the BDR Director General Maj Gen Shakil Ahmed was excavated from the earthbound. 74 murdered dead bodies of army officers were discovered during the two days of 25th and 26th February in 2009.
I was terrified and shocked by watching what was happening inside the Pill Khana then. The real thing was far more pathetic than we expected. The very next day Premier Sheikh Hasina gave her speech before the nation via TV and Radio channels and ordered the BDR jawans to surrender or the Government will take a severe action against them. After that, they surrendered with the weapons. But as soon as the bodies came out from the sewerage one after another and the mass grave was found, the people were horrified. Everybody including my relatives was nearly collapsed by watching the horrific scene. The bodies were so ruined that they couldn’t be identified unless some identification marks in the body or with some IDs.
I vividly remember the bloodshed about the carnage of BDR, which people tend to forget, was one of the worst massacres in human history after our 1971 war. I don’t know how and why people could do such brutal acts to their own people? How come this massive murder happened inside the most secured organisation? The family of those officers who were killed, they will carry out the tears till the last of their lives. 13 years ago, so many brilliant army officers were slaughtered. Above all, the massacres achieved their goal. To this day, the families of victims left have not recovered. They are living with stories, loss, and trauma that they are afraid of telling.
The killers wanted us to be afraid; they became so much inhuman that they threw away their kindness; they wanted us to bury our love and burn our hope; and their aim was to take all our light! They thought that their carnage would defeat us. They were so ignorant that they did not understand that our souls and our near and dear ones’ souls are old friends. They were so ignorant that they did not understand that when they cut our own men and women, we were bleeding.
They were so ignorant that they did not understand that we would never be afraid of; and we will never be silent for life is ours! I repeat and have to say that these two days of February thirteen years back of the BDR tragedy represent a black page in the history of Bangladesh. On 2 March 2009 a state funeral was held for all fallen army officers, who were buried with full military honours and I attended that observance with all prayers at the National Army Parade Ground, Dhaka.
With many of its officers among the dead, the people might resist the amnesty and push for the legal penalty for mutiny: death by hanging. And as ever in Bangladesh, with its long history of coups and counter-coups, there is speculation that such a rebellion would not be possible without the backing of a certain strong quarter. To me, it seems like we have been through another 1971 war.
The people who were involved in this mutiny and led this massacre killing, they all should be punished with no reservations. Our nation as a whole both the Government and the people should strictly aim to that.
It is one of the darkest chapters of our own history. These are truly scenes from hell, written also on the darkest pages of human history. Our debt to the heroic men in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. We shall never forget their sacrifices.
Theirs are the tombstones that the nation must rally around. Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay, but we can honour their sacrifices. We echo that our pain will heal only when the killers will be executed. We want the real mastermind behind the killings to face justice.
We also hope for justice exists for survivours and victims' family members. As I write this piece in memory of BDR martyrs, my eyes are getting moist, tears are blurring my vision, my heart is bleeding, I cannot write anymore! May God grant the martyrs to rest in peace in Heaven.
Anwar A. Khan is an independent political analyst who writes on politics, political and human-centred figures, current and international affairs
