March 28 is ‘Rangpur Cantonment Siege Day’ and an unforgettable day for the people of Rangpur. The armed struggle of the Liberation War started on March 26, just one day after the official start of the War of Liberation. On this day in 1971, the freedom-loving protestors of Rangpur surrounded the Rangpur Cantonment with sticks, bows and arrows and gave birth to a unique history.
March 3, 1971. The whole of Rangpur became the scene of protests with processions and slogans. Protesters were shot indiscriminately. Three more people including Kishore Shanku were martyred. They were the first martyrs of independence in Rangpur. Rangpur became turbulent through their blood. Freedom-loving people continue to organize armed struggle. As part of this, the freedom-loving people took the historic decision to encircle Rangpur Cantonment in March 28.
Drums were beaten in various markets of Rangpur calling for joining the siege. And people spontaneously joined the procession. People from all classes in Rangpur teachers, farmers, workers and mass people prepares for the attack with whatever they have. The tribal people of Rangpur also started preparing with bows and arrows. The archers Santals of Oraon community of Mithapukur upazila played a significant role in this. They joined the siege with bows and arrows, spears, lances and spears.
People from different areas of Rangpur started organizing from Sunday morning, March 28, 1971. As time goes on, the heat and excitement seem to increase. Before 11 o'clock in the morning, the sound of the trumpet fell all around. Thousands of people from different areas of the district including Mithapukur, Baldipukur, Manjai, Ranipukur, Tampat, Palichara, Burirhat, Gangachara, Shampur, Damdama, Lalbagh, Ganeshpur, Damodarpur, Paglapir, Sahebganj started gathering. They were holding sticks, arrows, bows, spears, lances and axes in their hands.
Talking to Rangpur Metropolitan Freedom Fighter Commander Sadrul Alam Dulu about this. He said that the liberation war started in Rangpur on March 3. On that day Bangabandhu called a strike all over the country. Shanku Samajdar, a seventh class student, was shot dead while trying to remove a signboard written in Urdu on the house of the then non-Bengali Sarfaraz Khan. When this news spread, Rangpur turned into a terrible city. The highway became rough. The war of liberation started in Rangpur through that incident of that day. Then comes the terrible March 25. On the same day, 11 people including Shanti Chaki, Khurram, Muharram, Jorrej, Dulal, Gopal Chandra, Uttam Kumar Adhikari, Satish Hawladar and Durga Das were abducted from different parts of the city. Then on 3 April they were shot dead at Dakhiganj Shashman.
On March 28, the people of Rangpur woke up with a new consciousness. Inspired by the spirit of independence, people from different parts of Rangpur attacked Rangpur Cantonment with sticks, bows and arrows and spears. In the history of the War of Liberation, the incident of attacking the cantonment of the Pakistani hyenas with bamboo sticks and bows and arrows is rare in the history. Such an incident happened on that day by the brave people of Rangpur.
The freedom loving people of Rangpur started the great war of liberation through the siege of the cantonment. This is their first battle against the Pak aggressors on March 28. But sad but true, the recognition of that sacrifice of that day has not yet considered nationally. However, a monument called 'Rakta Gaurab' was erected in 2003 in the historic Nisbetganj area where the self-sacrificing people were last gathered during the siege of the cantonment, which still stands silently.
Rangpur Cantonment Siege Day is celebrated on this day every year with various programs initiated by the local people. Today, on the occasion of 28th March, a day-long programme has been organized in Nisbetganj in memory of the martyrs.
