To mark ‘Victory Day’ on December 16, Hri presents a photo-essay on the life of Shaheed Baqui, one of the few freedom fighters who had been photographed from early years to his death.
Baqui was born in his ancestral home at Bikrampur, a historical place not very far from Dhaka, on 19 June 1950. He was the sixth among seven brothers and sisters and grew-up in the warmth of a large family. In his final year at school he made a scrapbook pasting different photos and paper-cuttings with his comments.
Baqui’s father Md. Abdul Bari had a family photograph taken on the occasion of his birthday. The meticulously dressed father with his wife at his side and seven sons and daughters standing behind, showed how proud he was of his family.
In his scrapbook, Baqui pasted various photos including that of scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose, Fellow of Royal Society of Science and an illustrious son of Bikrampur. In this, he also pasted the photo of Sarojini Naidu, who earned great fame as a social reformer, author and political activist. Underneath Baqui wrote a short caption: “She is the famous lady Sarojini Naidu. She had established the Brahmangaon High School.”
In 1967, Baqui passed the school final exam from Brahmangaon High School. The students appearing in the exam had their group photo taken on the school ground. Baqui wrote the caption: “On the above photograph are present 75% of the students who appeared in the S.S.C exam. Our headmaster Mr. Siddiqur Rahman and English teacher Subodh Kumar Roy are also there with us. The addresses of few students are noted below.”
Baqui studied at Dhaka College, a leading educational institution of the country. It was his blooming period. The photo shows Baqui with his young friends having an encounter with history at Lalbagh Fort, built during the Mughal period. Salek, Ehsan, Monir and Baqui are seen from the left.
The Glittering Reality of the West Vs Grim Life in the East: Baqui, after completion of his HSC exam in 1969 undertook a journey to Karachi and few other places of West Pakistan. The disparity between Eastern and Western Pakistan became obvious to him and caused much anguish. In his diary he made a candid statement about that.
Baqui became a student of political science at Dhaka University in 1970. The youthful exuberance of the first year students is reflected in the happy faces of Baqui and his classmates. Present in the group photo are (from left) Shirin Sultana, Shahjahan, Nasima Karim, Baqui, Nazma Karim and another unnamed friend.
On the night of 25 March, 1971, the Pakistan Army launched its attack against the Bengali people in what was then East Pakistan, and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, before courting arrest, declared the independence of Bangladesh. As the atrocities continued, so began the resistance. Like many other youth, Baqui also had no hesitation in responding to the call of the motherland. On 18 April, 1971 Baqui left home leaving behind this letter addressed to his mother. He went to India to get trained as a guerrilla fighter.
After receiving training for a short period, Baqui and his group returned to Dhaka, and began their operation under the very eyes of the occupation forces. He carried out several heroic operations and soon became a unit commander in Dhaka. He developed a clandestine network in and around Dhaka. He grew a beard to conceal his identity and with caution visited their house from time to time to meet his mother. The youthful guerrilla commander showed great courage, but also took great risks. In November he took a photo of him from a studio at Shahjahanpur. He later met his sister at their ancestral home in Bikrampur and told her about the photo, which he kept concealed under the chest of drawers at the Dhaka house.
On the winter night of 3 December, 1971 the all-out war between India and Pakistan broke-out and Indian Forces with their full might joined the Muktibahini. The Joint Forces of India and Bangladesh were rushing towards Dhaka and the Pakistan Army in the Eastern theatre was doomed. Baqui and his guerilla group got impatient to do their utmost to usher in the victory. In a moment of slackness, he and his co-fighter Babul were captured by the Pakistan Army on 4th December. They were tortured, brutally murdered and dumped at a road-side ditch in Khilgaon, not very far from his house. With hands tied behind, eyes blind-folded, the two dead bodies were lying in a pool of mud and blood. |
There are a number of perspectives and interpretations on the histories of the Subcontinent. The various archives found in different parts of the Subcontinent serve as important means of understanding and appreciating regional history. Archives Southasia emerged from Hri’s commitment to highlighting the importance of archiving and garnering greater recognition of the individual archives.
Even as the importance of historical and social archiving is beginning to be recognised in Southasia today, it would be fair to say that the immense importance of archives for the overall advancement of society is not recognised. Moreover, the resources set aside to undertake this important activity of collecting and cataloguing documentation are largely limited to government-run national or state archives, the running of which is ‘politicised’ across the region. Meanwhile, historical records at the district level or lower, whether governmental or private are almost wholly neglected.
To bring these crucial stores of historical information to the fore, we are working on connecting a number of private collections across the region. The purpose of bringing these archives together is manifold. To begin with, none of these scattered private collections have any link with each other today. The direct consequence of this isolation is the fact that all the source material remains underutilised, if at all used. The link between the archives will also create spaces for cross-border fellowships of archivists, among other exchanges, to take place, thus recreating the past social, academic and economic exchanges that took place in the region in the past.
As a first step, we began listing the various private archives and collections of Southasia, listed in the Archives Southasia Database on its website; this is an on-going process aimed at being a useful service, especially for research in Southasia. Hri also organised the first-ever meeting of archivists from across the region, which acted as a unique platform to work toward ensuring that archives do not become morgues. Archivists, scholars and collectors from Bangalore, Chennai, Dhaka, Ernakulum, Kathmandu, Kolkata, Lahore,Mumbai, New Delhi and Yangon, shared experiences and valuable insights on the possibilities of making archives dynamic spaces to not only re-look at history, but redefine it.
Inspired by the rich diversity and depth of experience and knowledge in the group, we hope to continue the work and facilitate more exchanges in the future.
![]() |
SO FAR FROM HOME
|
![]() |
Visit Nepal Art Council | 8-10 Dec
DO NOT MISS the ongoing exhibition and watch this space for more individual stories
|
![]() |
And The Earth Shook
A month after: An update from Kathmandu that witnessed colossal destruction of iconic buildings and the intangible cultural heritage.
|
|
PORTRAIT OF A MARTYR
To mark ‘Victory Day’ on December 16, Hri presents a photo-essay on the life of Shaheed Baqui, one of the few freedom fighters who had been photographed from early years to his death.
|
![]() |
Cultural riches mired in sludge
In the aftermath of the floods in Jammu and Kashmir, cultural artefacts suffered heavy damage but disaster management policies do not address cultural losses.
|
«StartPrev1234567NextEnd» | |
Page 1 of 7 |
![]() |
|
Archives Southasia Database lists more than 470 collections across eight countries in Southasia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka). These are spread over more than 40 categories, and several sub-categories.
Browse Database
|
![]() |
8 December 2015 |
![]() |
Fernando Botero’s contribution to the city of Medellin is not just the very
13 October 2015 |
![]() |
The Judicial Historical Archives allows a peek into centuries-old notions of
10 September 2015 |
![]() |
9 September 2015 |
![]() |
Nepal is still reeling with shocks and aftershocks after the earthquake on 25th
26 April 2015 |
"Hri" - a sound or a vibration, the utterance of which awakens the empathy that is an inherent part of every sentient being. Regionalism must no longer remain a prisoner of platitude, since there is a consensus that geopolitical friction, poverty and pressing environmental issues as well as cultural and social dislocation must be addressed through the regional framework. There is a need to revive and energise discussions of regionalism on the platform of mainstream politics, public information and research, with a dynamic Southasian sensibility.
|