Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday termed the slogan āWho are you? Who am I? ā Razakar, Razakarā, chanted by the anti-quota protesters in the government jobs, as āvery regrettableā saying that they didnāt feel ashamed to call themselves Razakars.
āThey didnāt know how the Pakistani occupation forces and Razakar Bahini [collaborators with Pakistani military in 1971] had resorted to torture in the country ā they didnāt see the inhuman torture and bodies lying on the roads. So, they donāt feel ashamed to call themselves Razakar,ā she said.
The prime minister said these, while addressing the signing ceremony of annual performance agreements for the 2024-25 financial year at her office.
āI felt sorry, when I heard yesterday [Sunday] the students of Ruqayyah Hall calling themselves razakars. Do they know what had taken place on March 25, 1971? Some 300 girls were killed and 40 others were raped and taken to the Pakistani camps,ā she said.
Referring to some gruesome incidents carried out by the Pakistani occupation forces in 1971, Sheikh Hasina said that the female students didnāt see these oppressions on the streets.
āWhat country are we in? What spirit do they believe in? What lesson did they learn?ā she asked.
Sheikh Hasina said that the Liberation War was a matter of pride. People left their houses and fought for the independence by risking their lives at a call of founding president of the country and achieved the victory.
Even, they who were in Razakar, Al-Badr and Al-Shams Bahini unleashed inhuman torture on the people, she said.
āWe have to march ahead with the spirit of the Liberation War after taking lesson from it.ā
The prime minister said that the pro-liberation force Awami League had changed the country with massive developments in the last 15 years after assuming power time and again.
āBangladesh is now a changed country in the last 15 years. Bangladesh has reached a dignified position on the global stage.ā
She called upon all to play their parts to take the country ahead towards prosperity.
āOur only target is to establish the spirit of the Liberation War. Lakhs of martyrs shed blood as lakhs of our mothers and sisters were violated. We wonāt forget their contribution. We have to keep it in mind,ā she continued.
She said that her government had taken legal action against the war criminals, who were involved in mass killing, looting, violation of women, forming Razakar Bahini and peace committee and giving the Bahinis firearms, she continued.
āMany of them were hanged following the trials and thus the repressed people got justice,ā she said.
Sheikh Hasina said that it was the most unfortunate to hear the slogan from the girls that they were Razakars despite the fact that the women were badly violated by the Razakars during the War of Liberation in 1971.
At the same function, the APA award for FY2022-23 and integrity award for FY 2023-24 were distributed among the government offices for excellent performance in APA implementation and rendering services respectively.