When Words Became Weapons

Charampatra by M R Akhter Mukul used to be very popular.

It was 1971. Fifteen-year-old Shajeda Ali, sitting with her parents and some of her distant relatives were trying to catch the frequency of a radio station called Shwadhin Bangla BetarKendra on the radio. “During those months, I remember my father used to remain glued to his radio sets, and so did we,” Shajeda Ali recalls her early teen days of wartime.
“I remember him struggling with the knobs on the radio attempting to hear the broadcasts from Shwadhin Bangla Betarkendra, especially the latest war news bulletins and Charampatra, a very popular programme. Azrail a dhaoaise, Kufa lagse, khel shuru hoise- those were some of the catchphrases we used to pick up from Charampatra.”
Like Shajeda Ali and her family, millions of Bangladeshis from all over the country used to be mesmerized with that 8-10 minute monologue of Charampatra, presented by a charismatic and gifted public speaker called M. R. Akhter Mukul. 
In a satirical tone he used to mock the Pakistani army while praising the bravery of our freedom fighters. An added attraction was the Mukul's use of local dialects which made this programme popular among the villagers. Through storytelling, he would narrate the latest war related news or the heroic raid of the troops of liberator bombers over an enemy-held territory. He used to simplify the critical political situation and military tactics for the general people all over the country. Airing almost every day during the war days, those ten minutes of dramatic commentary came to an end on December 16 like this- “aaij sholoi December. Charampatrar shasher din apnago Bandar namta koiya jai. Bandar nam M. R. Akhter Mukul.” 

Source: Photo: archives

The Kalurghat radio centre was discarded when it was bombed by the Pakistan Air Force on March 30.

Charampatra was not only an attempt to escalate the combat efficiency of our freedom fighters by boosting up their morale and enthusiasm, but also this programme worked as a tonic for the 65 million Bangladeshi living in a volatile condition. Charampatra also won over 15 million Bangladeshis who had to take refuge in India and also among the Bangla-speaking native Indians. 
Similar to Charampatra, other programs like Agnishikha, Pindir Prolap, Darpan, Bajrakantha, Pratidhdhani, Kathgorar Ashami used to be the source of inspiration for the fearless freedom fighters from the battle fields as well as for the nation. 
 “Jallader Darbar by Kalyan Mitra was another very popular satirical short drama of that time,” says Kamal Lohani, a veteran journalist who played a significant role in organising Shwadhin Bangla Betar Kendra.
Different characters of the play like Badshah Kella Foteh, Durmukh Khan or Nabab used to reflect the war time scenario. For instance, Durmukh Kella Foteh's character was a parody of PresidentYahya Khan, whose army ruthlessly killed the civilians of the East Bengal. 
Sometimes the nation used to tune in to listen to Bajrakantha and Slogans. That segment used to depict portions of Bangabandhu's speech which bolstered the morale of the nation. 

Another popular package was Agnishikha, an assorted programme with a set of sub programmes like Darpan (talk in Bengali), Oikatan (patriotic songs), Recitation, Ranaveri (reports from sectors), Kabikantha(self recited poems) etc. 
Wherever our freedom fighters serve during the war, a radio used to accompany them. That was the only means of getting news and entertainment from back home. Therefore inspirational songs were as important as the news bulletin. “The cooperation we got from the Bengali speaking people living in Calcutta was overwhelming,” Lohani reminiscences. “There was a time, when we wanted to give our listeners a break from the old recorded songs, thus we were in need of some new inspirational set of songs. While we were looking for a lyricist, Gobinda Haldar, a low-income fellow living in Calcutta appeared like a saviour with two exercise books loaded with 24 to 30 songs. That is how we got the three revolutionary songs like Mora ekti phool ke bachabo bole judhdho kori shur, Purbo digonte shurjo uthechhe, and Ek shagor rakter binimoye.”
Radios have always served as a great source of power to transmit propaganda among the war-torn countries. Bangladesh could also recognize that radio broadcasting could motivate the freedom loving nations. News circulation was a crucial role of this radio centre. 
Kamal Lohani defines the duty of the shobdo shoinik (the people who fought with words) as multi-faceted. “I

Kamal Lohani played a significant role in organising Shwadhin Bangla Betar Kendra.

was in charge of the news desk, but my work was not confined in news collecting and reading,” he says. “We had to perform work whatever was required to do at that moment. Our workstation in Baliganj circular road, was nothing fancy, rather it was a small stuffy room. The recording studio was not soundproof, so outside noises and disruption were always there. We used to collect news by monitoring Voice of America, BBC, Pakistan radio, Akashbani and thus we used to broadcast 3 news bulletines in Bengali, English and Urdu thrice a day.”
 “Each and every day working with Shwadhin Bangla Betar Kendra was historically significant. From the early morning of 16 December as we started to sense victory, we had got the order of playing martial songs and circulating triumphant slogans. I am fortunate enough that I was entitled with the responsibility of writing and reading the news bulletin on our victory. The 1 minute news bulletin had only two sentences in it. The first sentence began with cursing the Pakistani arm forces stating that we won the battle. The following statement was about their surrendering to us. The news bulletin was followed by the victorious song Bijoy nishan urchhe oi, (song written by Shohidul islam and music composed by Shujeyo Shyam),” says the man who gave this historic piece of news to the nation.

Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra was adorned with a new name Bangladesh Betar as soon as Indian Government gave formal recognition to independent Bangladesh and its provisional government on December 6, 1971. On December 22, 1971 Bangladesh Betar started its new journey in newly born independent Bangladesh and helped to strengthen the spirit of the nation.