A group of students threw shoes at the Razakars’ (collaborators’) Monument on the Dhaka University campus to mark Martyred Intellectuals’ Day.
Students from various academic years participated at the event, which took place in front of the monument near the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu) building in the capital on Sunday.
The students expressed their anger towards the collaborators by throwing shoes at the monument.
During the event, they also signed a public signature board titled “Silent Hatred,” expressing their disdain for the war criminals.
The board displayed slogans such as “1971 collaborators, leave Bangladesh now,” “Collaborators, go to Pakistan,” “How do genocide supporters engage in politics?” “The children of collaborators are the scoundrels of this era,” and “Collaborators are the lowest form of scum in history.”
One of the organisers, Arafat Chowdhury, a student from the Department of Law, said, “This event was organised to express our hatred for those who brutally killed the intellectuals of this country in 1971. Our goal is to ensure that the brutality of the Pakistani forces is not forgotten by the nation and future generations.”
Sufi Hashim, a student who participated in throwing the shoes, said, “I hold the utmost contempt for those who ruthlessly killed the people of this country. Those who kill innocent people like birds are not Muslims in my eyes.”
Another organiser, Abu Tayeb Habildar, told the media, “This monument was established in 2007 in the presence of several sector commanders. We were involved with the organisers back then. We thought perhaps the students would eventually forget about the collaborators and this monument. However, today, seeing the spontaneous participation of the students, I am extremely happy. I too have come here to express my hatred.”
Behind the monument, photographs of individuals convicted of war crimes in 1971, including Matiur Rahman Nizami, Al-Badr leader Ashrafuzzaman Khan, Chowdhury Moinuddin, and former military chief of East Pakistan Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, are preserved.
