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The government has launched an initiative to prepare verified lists of freedom fighters, martyrs and Biranganas (women who suffered sexual violence during the 1971 Liberation War), with an emphasis on documentary evidence and multiple levels of verification.
The Ministry of Liberation War Affairs held a consultation meeting on Wednesday to determine strategies and procedures for compiling accurate lists of those associated with the Liberation War.
The meeting, chaired by Liberation War Affairs Minister Ahmed Azam Khan, was attended by State Minister Ishrak Hossain, ministry officials, freedom fighters, academics, researchers, journalists and other prominent individuals.
Participants stressed that the lists should not be prepared on the basis of emotion, assumptions or isolated information. They called for cross-checking official and military records, wartime documents, eyewitness testimony, local-level information and research-based data.
The meeting also emphasised the urgent need to preserve testimonies from eyewitnesses and people with direct experience of the Liberation War, as many years have passed since 1971.
Speakers proposed collecting information at the village, union, upazila and district levels by involving local freedom fighters, families, eyewitnesses, administrators, researchers and students. The information would then be compiled into a reliable national database.
They also called for preserving the sources, documents, testimonies and verification methods behind every name included on the lists so that the database can serve as a credible resource for future generations and researchers.
Participants stressed that the list of martyrs should cover not only freedom fighters killed on the battlefield but also civilians—including teachers, students, intellectuals and women—who were killed by Pakistani forces and their collaborators during the war.
At the meeting, Liberation War Affairs Minister Ahmed Azam Khan said allegations of irregularities and the inclusion of non-freedom fighters in previous lists had undermined the credibility of the recognition process.
He said the government was committed to ending such irregularities and preparing accurate lists of genuine freedom fighters, martyrs and Biranganas.
“The Liberation War is our pride, our national identity and one of the greatest achievements of our nation. Preserving its history accurately and presenting it authentically to future generations is a moral and historical responsibility of the state,” the minister said.
He added that freedom fighters, historians, researchers, academics, journalists and relevant institutions would be involved in the process to ensure greater accuracy and credibility.
State Minister Ishrak Hossain said there should be no ambiguity in recognising genuine freedom fighters, martyrs and Biranganas. He called for the verification process to be completed with the highest degree of caution, impartiality and dedication.
The initiative is aimed at creating a comprehensive and evidence-based national record of those who participated in, sacrificed their lives during, or suffered in connection with Bangladesh’s Liberation War.
