<i>'I have come to motherland to pay tribute to intellectuals'</i>

15 December 2009, 17:00 PM

A RU Correspondent

Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay addresses a discussion on Martyred Intellectuals Day at RU Shahid Shamsuzzoha Hall.Photo: STAR

Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, eminent Bengali author of the Subcontinent on Monday said any important event in 'epar Bangla' (Bangladesh) always has a big effect on in 'opar Bangla' (West Bengal) and so, Martyred Intellectuals Day is also a mourning day for the people of West Bengal. He was speaking as chief guest at a discussion on Martyred Intellectuals Day at Shaheed Shamsuzzoha Hall of Rajshahi University (RU). Shirshendu said, the tyrants and autocrats always fear pro-people, freedom-loving intellectuals. For this reason, the intellectuals were killed in Bangladesh by Pakistani occupation forces during the liberation war in 1971. The day is equally mournful for the people of West Bengal, he added. “I am not on a pleasure trip here. I have come to my motherland only to pay tribute to the martyred intellectuals. I always do so when anything important happens here." Praising the hospitality and warmth of Bangladeshis he said, "People here always showered me with love and affection.” Shirshendu urged the new generation to study the historical events like the Martyred Intellectual Day and take lesson from the torchbearers. RU vice-chancellor Prof Abdus Sobhan presided the discussion while pro-vice-chancellor Prof Muhammad Nurullah, former pro-vice-chancellor Prof Wazed Ali and Shaheed Shamsuzzoha Hall provost Dr Martuza Khaled addressed it. After the discussion, Shirshendu inaugurated a three-day film festival on the Liberation War at Shaheed Shamsuzzoha Hall gallery which will conclude today. Besides teachers and officials, several hundred students of the university joined the lively programme. Shirshendu Mukho-padhyay was born at Bainkhara village in Bikrampur, Bangladesh. After the 'partition' of India in 1947, he along with his family moved to Kolkata in West Bengal.