Q&A: Remembering a war, for the next generation’s sake
By Maria Islam
My mother, Shahnaz Chowdhury, was five at the time war broke out in Bangladesh in 1971. She was here in the U.S. with her father, who was on a World Bank scholarship to study civil engineering. She was in Boston, which back then hosted a modest Bengali Muslim community. Bengalis would get together to support the community.
This year, as we approached Bangladesh’s 48th Victory Day, I sat down with my mother — and a few other Bangladeshi Americans from Boston to Texas— to learn about how they remember the war, and what it’s meant to them to experience the victory in the diaspora.
What do you remember about the war?
Shahnaz Chowdhury: We were in Boston and I had just started pre-school. My father had earned a World Bank scholarship to be able to attend universities in the west (in the United Kingdom and the United States) to study Civil Engineering. There was a modest Bengali Muslim community in Boston at that time, and Bengalis from what was then East Pakistan would get together to create a community.
As talk of war in Bangladesh reached us and the violence was escalating, my father and his network of Bengali Muslims started organizing around the United States to create awareness about the war. They would be up late at night, everyone wanting to contribute in some way for their motherland. Aside from creating awareness about the war by speaking on it themselves, they were also trying to raise funds to send home. I remember my youngest mama (maternal uncle) came all the way from Oklahoma where he was attending university himself, and he made his famous gulab jamun (Indian dessert) to sell at the MIT square. Every week someone would make some sweet dish or specialty to sell in Boston. They would pool their money and contribute to war efforts. My father felt that Americans were a lot more sympathetic and supportive than the British to the plight of Bangladesh. American students from nearby universities would gather and protest for Bangladesh, which was heartening.
The generations that came after the war have different ways of interpreting and living the victory. Here are some of their accounts:
LINK: What does Bijoy Dibosh mean to you?
“My other uncle was captured and taken to Pakistan. He ended up marrying in Pakistan and living there. My family in Bangladesh received letters from him over the years but no one ever saw him again.” — Ivana Ahmed
Read more accounts here.
LINK: How have you commemorated Victory Day living abroad?
“Growing up, we observed Victory Day through the arts, such as natok (plays) and attending melas (carnivals/fairs) in the area.” — Brishty Khan
Read more accounts here.
LINK: Does Bangladesh’s independence inform your American political identity?
“My family’s sacrifices have influenced my commitment towards social justice and fighting for the rights and representation of others.” — Muniba Hassan
Read more accounts here.
All interviews were conducted by the author. Some of the answers were edited for clarity purposes.
Glossary:
Amader desh shadhin — our country is now liberated
Bijoy Dibosh — Victory Day of Bangladesh, marked Dec 16, 1971
Dada — paternal grandfather
Desh — country
Mama — maternal uncle (mother’s brother)
Mela — carinval/fair
Mukti bahini — resistance force that fought against West Pakistan’s occupation
Nana — maternal grandfather
Nanu — maternal grandmother
Natoks — plays
Shoheed — martyr
This article was updated owing to a correction in Ivana Ahmed’s account.
