Mujibnagar (), formerly known as Baidyanathtala (Boiddonathtola) and Bhoborpara, is a town in the Mujibnagar Upazila of

Meherpur District Meherpur District () is a northwestern district of Khulna Division in southwestern Bangladesh. It is bordered by West Bengal, India in the west, and by the Bangladeshi districts of Kushtia and Chuadanga to the east. Pre-independence Meherpur was ...

Khulna Khulna (, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of the Khulna District and the Khulna Division. It is the divisional centre of 10 districts of the division. Khulna is also the seco ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. The Provisional Government of Bangladesh was formed on 10 April 1971, however, sworn in on 17 April 1971 in this place by the elected representatives of the Bengalees (mostly belongling to Awami League), that led the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

, who were leading the

guerrilla war Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism ...

for the independence of Bangladesh (then

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

) from

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

in 1971. The place was renamed Mujibnagar by the proclamation of independence, in honour of then imprisoned Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who had declared Bangladesh independent. The actual capital of the government while in

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

was

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

. A memorial complex covering has been built at the site where the ministers of that first government took their

oaths Traditionally, an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths is to give an affirmation instead ...

Formation

Statue representing the signing of the Pakistani Instrument of Surrender at the Mujibnagar Memorial Monument and Complex

Following the failure of last-ditch talks on the formation of a government, Pakistani president

Yahya Khan Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (4 February 191710 August 1980) was a Pakistani army officer who served as the third president of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971. He also served as the fifth Commander-in-Chief, Pakistan, commander-in-chief of the Pakistan ...

ordered the Pakistani Army to launch

Operation Searchlight Operation Searchlight was a military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army in an effort to curb the Bengali nationalist movement in former East Pakistan in March 1971. Pakistan retrospectively justified the operation on the basis of ant ...

to suppress the nationalist movement. On March 25, 1971 the leader of the Awami League

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

signed an official declaration and called upon the people to resist the occupation forces through a radio message. After he was arrested by Pakistan Army and moved to a jail in

West Pakistan West Pakistan was the western province of Pakistan between One Unit, 1955 and Legal Framework Order, 1970, 1970, covering the territory of present-day Pakistan. Its land borders were with Afghanistan, India and Iran, with a maritime border wit ...

, M A Hannan,

Ziaur Rahman Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...

broadcast the announcement of the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur on 26 March and 27 March respectively and exhorted the Bengali people to resist the Pakistani state forces. The senior political leaders of the Awami League congregated at the town of Baidyanathtala, which was mainly a mango grove located in Meherpur, when it was a sub-division of

Kushtia Kushtia () is a city located on the banks of the Gorai River in Bangladesh. It serves as the headquarters of Kushtia District and is considered the cultural capital of Bangladesh. The city is known for its Tiler Khaja (sesame sweets), kulf ...

. The area was still one of the few remaining liberated zones along the borders of

. The venue was selected by a 10-man high powered scouting team of the Indian Air Force, Indian Army Artillery, BSF Scouts, and RAW, and East Pakistan Rifles officers, authorised personally by Indira Gandhi. The venue was guarded by a 200 strong detachment of the District Police including District Armed Police, led by the SDPO, and the Ansars/VDP. Perimeter security was established by three Platoons of the EPR and a 100-strong straggling force of local

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

volunteers and retired/on leave Army regular soldiers, commanded by Major Abu Osman Chowdhury. The Indians had brought 2 Battalions of BSF armed with 3-inch mortars and Heavy Machine Guns and an Army Artillery battery (eight 25 Pounder Guns and counter battery radars) to ringfence the area from any Pakistani intrusion and provide fire support to the EPR and Mukti forces. Outside the Indian perimeter, at Chapra, waited two

Commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

Platoons of the Indian Para SF with 4 Chetak helicopters, and a standing Air Patrol of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

consisting of six

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...

s. Inaugurating the government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh on April 17, the national anthem ''

Amar Sonar Bangla "" (, ) is the national anthem of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. An ode to Mother Bengal, the lyrics were written by Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, while the melody is derived from Baul singer Gagan Harkara's " Ami Kothay Pabo Tare ...

'' was sung in chorus. Although Sheikh Mujib was declared the first

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, Syed Nazrul Islam was appointed

acting president An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or visiting abroad) or when the post is vacant (such as for death Death is the en ...

and hoisted the flag of Bangladesh.

Tajuddin Ahmad Tajuddin Ahmad (23 July 1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician. He led the Provisional Government of Bangladesh, 1st Government of Bangladesh as its Prime Minister of Bangladesh, prime minister during the Bangladesh Liberation W ...

was appointed the first

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Footnotes

References

Mujibnagar
*

* {{cite book , last=Miah , first=Sajahan , year=2012 , chapter=Proclamation of Independence , chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Proclamation_of_Independence , editor1-last=Islam , editor1-first=Sirajul , editor1-link=Sirajul Islam , editor2-last=Jamal , editor2-first=Ahmed A. , title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh , edition=Second , publisher=

Asiatic Society of Bangladesh The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh is a non political and non profit research organisation registered under both Society Act of 1864 and NGO Affairs Bureau, Government of Bangladesh. The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh was established as the Asiati ...

Significance of Mujibnagar

External links

Mujibnagar Memorial Monument PictureSheikh Hasina on Mujibnagar Day
Populated places in Bangladesh

Mujibnagar Mujibnagar (), formerly known as Baidyanathtala (Boiddonathtola) and Bhoborpara, is a town in the Mujibnagar Upazila of Meherpur District in Khulna, Bangladesh. The Provisional Government of Bangladesh was formed on 10 April 1971, however, swo ...

Formation

See also

Footnotes

References

External links