'I want to spread the liberation war history among the youth’
Aninda Atiq first came to know about the Battle of Kushtia in 1971 after reading a report by US journalist Dan Coggin and decided to make a documentary on this. This expatriate film-maker had never deviated from his determination. For over a long period of time, he has researched on this, collected rare photographs and video footage, interviewed eyewitnesses, heroic freedom fighters and warriors. The work of that documentary is finally over. The Battle of Kushtia will be screenedtoday, Saturday, in the auditorium of the Liberation War Museum in the capital. It took more than six years to complete the documentary. Aninda Atiq shares the story behind this documentary. He was interviewed by Sozib Mia.
Q :
Your movie is being premiered at a historic moment…
It certainly is a historic moment. We are celebrating the golden jubilee of our independence. To mark this occasion, the Liberation War Museum has arranged a special weekly programme from 9 to 16 December. ‘The Battle of Kushtia' will be screened as part of this special programme on Saturday at 5.00pm.
Q :
How have you become interested in making the ‘Battle of Kushtia'?
I was born in Kushtia. In 1994, I migrated to the USA with my parents when I was a tenth grader. I didn’t know much about the history of the liberation war. Incidentally I came in touch with Liberation War Museum’s trustee Mofidul Haque and filmmaker Manzare Hasin Murad. It was him who asked me to make a short documentary on veteran photographer Abdul Hamid Raihan. That was in 2010. I was working with Abdul Hamid Raihan. I found the report of Dan Coggin while I was studying the facts and figures of 1971 on the internet. Dan’s report titled ‘Pakistan: Battle of Kushtia’ in Times magazine was based on the resistance in Kushtia in March 1971. I was struck by the much talked about report.
Q :
Then…
As a man from Kushtia, I became more interested in learning the history of the liberation war after that. I started reading related books. Each book was referring to many more books. Then I started my personal research and decided to make a documentary on this.
Q :
What is in the documentary?
The greater Kushtia region includes Kushtia, Meherpur and Chuadanga. I have tried to highlight the history of the liberation war of this region in the documentary. There are detailed descriptions of four bloody battles and to get the necessary information about those battles, I had taken interviews of many people including Colonel (then Major) MA Osman Chowdhury had to be interviewed. Their experiences not only reflect on the story of the war, but also the heroic tales of many locals, the story behind the scenes and the brutality of the Pakistani invaders and razakars.
For example, at the beginning of the documentary there is an interview with a woman. Her name is Daria Begum. She is the wife of Chhalim Uddin Biswas, chairman of Bangshitala area, five-six kilometers away from Kushtia Sadar. This chairman's family had a special role in the liberation war. Refugees from the freedom fighters, who used to go that way, used to stay at the house of Chhalim Uddin Biswas as a 'transit point'. Daria Begum used to cook and feed these people. In the bloody battle that took place at Banshitala, the daughters of Daria Begum also passed arms to the freedom fighters. As a result, their house was set on fire. I have heard more such tragic stories while working on documentaries. But the experience of facing Daria Begum will be especially remembered.
Q :
Didn’t you face any difficulties working here coming from the USA?
I have shot in three phases starting in 2013. I used to come from the USA for long stints. I came for six months in the first phase. I was working in an advertising agency at the time. But it was not possible to get such long term leaves on a regular basis. As a result, I lost my job. Then I came back again in 2015 and 2017. I had roamed the streets of Kushtia, Chuadanga and Meherpur with the camera. Once I was on the road for two and a half consecutive months. I had an interview with everyone I got. Taking the interview of a number of people had helped me a lot to match the statements of different interviewees.
Q :
There was also the financial aspect...
If anyone really wants to do something, money will not be a problem. At first, I came on my own. My wife Anika Haque helped me the next time. She collected donations from her university for me. I got help from Saifuddin Ahmed in the third phase. Actually, I have done all things on my own, which gave me an extra advantage. From research to editing, everything is done by me.
Q :
Did you have any contact with Dan Coggin?
Yes. We even developed a good friendship. He was in San Francisco. I had heard a lot of stories about the days of the war from him. He wanted to come to Bangladesh. The Liberation War Museum also took initiative in this regard but he died before his wish was fulfilled.
Q :
The production of the documentary is completed? What is next?
The only goal is to reach more people with the documentary, to make it available for the people of Kushtia and spread the documentary among the students of schools, colleges and universities. I want to make them interested in the liberation war. Due to different reasons, we have become indifferent about the glory and history of the great liberation war. I want to convey the proud history of the liberation war among the youth.
Dan Cogan's 'Battle of Kushtia'
“The peasants and the urban people are fighting with the occupying forces of 80,000 troops in West Pakistan, which has led to a fierce war in East Pakistan. Reports indicate that more than two lakh civilians have been killed by heavily armed West Pakistani forces. However, the army has also suffered a major setback in the face of strong resistance from angry farmers.”
This is the beginning of a report published in Time Magazine on the resistance war in Kushtia. This report, titled "Pakistan: Battle of Kushtia", was published on 19 April 1971 by Dan Coggin, a US journalist. Dan Coggin was the first foreign correspondent to cover the liberation war.
Coggin was at the Hotel Intercontinental in Dhaka on the night of 25 March. Through the windows of the hotel, he witnessed the brutal killings of the Pakistani army. Like other foreign journalists, he later had to leave the hotel and go to India. Within a few days, however, he secretly entered Bangladesh again. Sarajagano wrote a report on the battle of Kushtia. Aninda Atiq named his documentary, Battle of Kushtia, after the Dan report.
Dan Coggin died on 22 January, 2012.
This report appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu