The President of Bangladesh, Mohammed Shahabuddin, has said that the unwavering courage and steadfast resistance displayed by the martyred intellectuals in the struggle against all forces of darkness remain unparalleled and eternally memorable in the nation’s history. He made these remarks in a solemn message issued on Saturday evening, on the eve of Shaheed Intellectuals’ Day, observed annually on 14 December.
Describing the day as one of profound sorrow, the President said that 14 December stands as one of the most tragic chapters in Bangladesh’s national narrative. On this day in 1971, he recalled, the Pakistani occupying forces and their local collaborators carried out a systematic and brutal massacre of the nation’s finest minds in a final attempt to cripple the intellectual backbone of the emerging state.
“I remember with the deepest respect and gratitude those radiant sons of the soil—the martyred intellectuals—whose supreme sacrifice hastened our struggle for liberation,” the President said. He offered prayers for the eternal peace and forgiveness of their departed souls, emphasising that their contribution to the nation transcends generations.
The President noted that intellectuals are among the principal architects of a nation’s progress and development. Through the practice of free thought, creative endeavour, innovation and the nurturing of democratic values, they help shape a knowledge-based and enlightened society. It was precisely for this reason, he observed, that the occupying forces—standing on the brink of defeat—resorted to one final act of barbarity before their surrender.
In a chilling reminder of that dark episode, the President said that across Dhaka and other parts of the country, renowned academics, writers, physicians, scientists, philosophers, engineers, lawyers, journalists, artists and political thinkers were abducted and murdered. The aim, he said, was to leave the newborn nation intellectually impoverished. “The wound inflicted by the loss of the nation’s finest children at the very dawn of independence is one that Bangladesh continues to bear even today,” he added.
Reflecting on the broader significance of Shaheed Intellectuals’ Day, the President stressed that remembrance must go beyond ritual mourning. He urged citizens, particularly the younger generation, to internalise the values for which the martyred intellectuals stood—humanism, secularism, freedom of thought and social justice.
“The true fulfilment of their sacrifice,” he said, “lies in our ability to follow the ideals and path they left behind and to build a new Bangladesh—one that is non-communal, grounded in the spirit of the Liberation War, free from discrimination, and prosperous and humane for all.”
The President concluded his message by calling upon all Bangladeshis to renew their collective commitment to these ideals, asserting that only through such resolve can the legacy of the martyred intellectuals be honoured in both word and deed.