Halim's harrowing memory of 1971

Sixty-one-year-old Halim still feels the horror when he remembers November 10 of the year 1971 when he and his family experienced the worst incident in their life.

On that day, seven of his relatives, including his father Soleman Majhi and brother Shah Alam Majhi, were brutally killed by the Pakistan army in Borchakathi village under Nesarabad upazila of the district for helping the freedom fighters.

“Food would be cooked in our house and we would take it to Binna High School in the upazila, where freedom fighters took shelter,” said Abdul Halim.

The Pakistan army raided the village around 9:00am on November 10 with the help of collaborators as the matter came to their knowledge.

“I along with some other men and women of our house hid behind a bush in the nearby garden at Majhi Bari,” said Halim, who runs a tea stall in front of his house now.

“We were caught by the Pakistani army as one of the women began to cough,” he added.

The soldiers picked up 15 other men from near Shohagdal union land office and tied them with a rope. Fortunately, Halim was tied at the end of the rope.

“As one of my hands was free, I could untie my other hand. I fled when only one soldier was on guard. But my father, brother and uncle were killed on the spot along with the other men,” he added.

The villagers recovered seven bodies of his relatives from the spot that they brought to his house. All the bodies were buried in one grave beside the canal of the village. The grave is known as Shat Bektir Ek Kobor (seven in one grave) in the area.

No step has been taken to preserve the grave of those brave sons of the nation. None of their family members gets any facilities from the government as martyrs' family, Halim said.

“The Pakistani army killed my father and brother for helping the freedom fighters,” said Nuruzzaman, son of martyred Soleman.