The government does not have a list of intellectuals killed during Bangladesh’s 1971 War of Independence but is preparing one, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque has told Parliament.
Replying to a query on Thursday, he said the ministry was trying to compile a complete list and hoped to publish it by June this year.
Pakistani occupation army and their collaborators had killed numerous intellectuals during the nine-month-long Liberation War.
Scores of intellectuals had been picked up from their homes and killed two days before the victory.
Since then, Bangladesh observes Dec 14 as the Martyred Intellectuals Day.
The minister said construction of five complexes in five Upazilas had been completed under the Tk 10.78 billion Muktijoddha-complex project, which will be completed by June next year, the minister said. The project aims to set up one complex in each Upazila.
Already, construction is underway in 58 Upazilas.
An initiative to set up ‘Muktijuddha Sritisoudha’ (Liberation War Memorials) at 265 spots across Bangladesh is also underway.
Haque said a scholarship named after the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, had been introduced for the descendants of the freedom fighters.
Those who have passed Higher Secondary Certificate examinations in 2012 will be the first batch to get the scholarship.
The ‘Muktijoddha Kalyan Trust’ (Freedom Fighters’ Welfare Trust) will give Tk 1,000 to each student per month for pursuing higher studies, he said.
Besides, two students will be given this scholarship each year for pursuing PhD in Bangladesh on the Liberation War.
Source: Bd news24
