Tale of A Blooded River: Chuknagar Genocide Memorial Complex, Chuknagar, Khulna

Military Institute of Science and Technology

Project idea

Bangladesh got to be free after 9 months of liberation war. In 1971 numerous killings happened by the Pakistan armed forces and their supporting Razakar, Al Badr, and Al Shams.
Pakistan Army had targeted villages which has large Hindu populations. The massacre of Hindus started on April 1, 1971. People of Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Rampal, Fakirhat, Batiaghata, and Dumuria started to move to India via Chuknagar. Chuknagar is a small town near Dumuria upazila of Khulna, adjacent to the Indian Border.
On Thursday, May 20:
The people of Atlia union, the football field, Patkhola beel, Ghangrai river, and Bhadra river banks are waiting for boats and guides. One of the boatmen had a quarrel with the Bihari Khans about the price of crossing the river (খেয়া পারাপার). The Khans informed the Razakars (local collaborators of the PAK army) and Razakars informed the PAK army. On 20th May, around 11:00 am, a group of 10-30 PAK military personnel equipped with semi-automatic rifles and light machine guns came on around a Jeep car and truck. They stopped at Jhautala (then known as Patkhola) at the left corner of the Chuknagar Bazaar and continued firing until 13:00 pm. More than 12,000 people were killed in about 3-4 hours on May 20 of 1971. This incident was unknown to the world until 1995.
Commemorations are venturing stones to the past, and the long haul- they connect the generations.
The main target is to pay tribute to the innocent souls of genocide victims of Chuknagar massacre. Recognizing and memorizing the supreme sacrifice of mass people for their motherland through this venture. War survivors are passing way with the flow of time. So, we must facilitate the war survivors and collect their valuable words and also develop the war researchers by providing special training. Finally, we also have to arrange conference lectures and competitions on genocide and create an own character through the venture.

Project description

Commemorations are venturing stones to the past, and the long haul- they connect the generations.
The essential noteworthiness is to teach new generation with history of autonomy, so that they can feel pleased of their homeland and get permeated with soul of patriotism and generous majority rule ideas. The dedication will speak to our tribute to the martyrs of liberation war. It will offer assistance us to protect and learn the supreme history of liberation war. Our heroism and love for motherland will be appeared to the world through the project.

“Recalling the Oblivion” is the concept of the project design. The design consideration is to create an experience of the day of 20th May 1971(Chuknagar Genocide) in a symbolic way.
The entrance of the complex indicates a road to a destination of hope. If a visitor starts his/her journey through the straight walk, after walking for a while the visitor will find a solid wall that stands as an obstacle and there is a “Mukto Moncho (মুক্তমঞ্চ)” (rooftop of the museum and it is an amphitheater) on the left side of the visitor which indicates the lost crowd of Chuknagar genocide. The solid angled wall also directs the visitor to the red channel and the visual representation of the killing field/ বধ্যভূমি (the circle-marked zone and is constructed along the direction of Chuknagar bazar which became a killing field on 20th May 1971). There is a red channel adjacent to the circle which indicates the blood flow of the martyrs and the channel meets the red ghat of the complex (This is a representation of the situation of the Chuknagar Genocide when the dead bodies were thrown into the Ghangrai river and the water became red). The scattered masses of the complex represent the ruined fragmented village of Chuknagar. The series of Palm trees is evidence of history. These trees are standing here before the liberation period (opinion from Ershad Ali Morol who is a survivor of the Chuknagar Genocide). Every facade and passage of the complex seems to represent the sudden attack on 20th May. The entrance of the museum mass starts with a narrow down ramp which indicates a road of uncertainty and there is a sudden termination point and the ultimate exhibition hall starts. The hall of victims is open to the sky and it signifies the lost souls of the genocide and represents a vacancy in our heavy hearts. The ramp took us to the ground floor level from the basement exhibition and the sequence of the exhibition signifies the streets of 71, the incidents of genocides in 1971, the refugee tunnel, the tunnel of brutal truth, and the murder of intellectuals of our motherland. The final gallery is “The Gallery of Victory” and this gallery has an open window to the west façade which shows us the oppressions and suppressions are diminished with the setting sun. The audio-visual room is situated at the end of the exhibition hall and the tunnel Light of hope is open to the memory tunnel of the complex and the memory tunnel meets the red circle marked killing field (বধ্যভূমি).
On May 20, when thousands of innocent Bengalis took shelter in Chuknagar to cross the border, thousands of innocent Bengalis lost their lives in a sudden attack by Pakistani forces.
They did not find a place in the land of their motherland. Under the patronage of Razakars and their supporters, their last shelter was this Ghangrai river. The betrayers forced locals to throw their dead bodies into the Ghangrai river and it became the river of blood on that day. Every drop of water is like a martyr's untold suffering, tears are still flowing in our yard. In this project, the "Red Ghat" is a symbol of the blood-stained river of Chuknagar on May 20, 1971.
There is no way we can avoid the history of our independence. The history of our independence is as glorious as it is painful. So, we should come forward to preserve the history of independence. This genocide of Chuknagar of 1971 is the largest one of hundreds of genocides but is still neglected. It is our responsibility to find out the mass graves and protect them to show our respect and remembrance for every martyred soul.

Technical information

Chuknagar is a small town at (22.8333293 North, 89.2946643, East) Dumuria of Khulna, adjacent to the Indian border. It is situated in Dumuria upazilla. The distance from Khulna to Chuknagar is about 40 km(approx.). The site is about 1500 m from Chuknagar Bazar and connected through the Khulna-Satkhira highway with Khulna and connected with the highway through Muktijoddha road which is 20’ in width.
The strong historical background is the main strength of the site. The massacre was happened near the site and now it is known as "Killing field" to the local people of Chuknagar. The area of the site is 9.2 acres (approx.).