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Liberation
War Museum a holding for collection,
preservation and display of the
objects, artifects and all other
materials related to the WAR OF
LIBERATION. It was inaugurated on
22 March 1996 at 5 Segun Bagicha,
Dhaka in a two-storied old-sty1e
building. There is an eternal flame
at the entrance. The following words
are carved on a piece of stone there:
"In the name of the moon and
sun on the sky, in the name of blood-stained
soil of Bengal we vow not to forget
any of our martyrs, any event of
our history". |
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The
museum was established at the initiative
of some community leaders to meet a historical
requirement for preserving the memory
and relics of the War of Liberation. It
is a people's museum established by community
workers. The museum started to operate
as an endeavour to maintain records of
the historic events of liberation struggle
in an objective and authentic way. Responding
to the initiative, many people came forward
to donate mementoes, as well as provide
other supports including funding assistance
to it. It has a board of trustees. The
founding members of the board are Aly
Zaker, Dr Sarwar Ali, Asaduzzman Noor,
Rabiul Hussain, Sara Zaker, Ziauddin Tarek
Ali, Mofidul Hoque, and Akku Chowdhury.
The museum has six galleries the first
of which demonstrates the CUSTOMS AND
TRADITIONS of Bengal as well as the struggle
against colonial control. The second gallery
presents a chronicle of the period of
the Pakistani rule from 1947 and especially,
the political, economic and cultural oppression
on the people of East Pakistan and the
resistance against it. The third gallery
shows relics of the non-cooperation movement
of March 1971, the genocide and resistance,
declaration of independence and the plight
of the REFUGEEs. The three galleries on
the second floor display documents and
materials that show various aspects of
resistance by the people of East Pakistan,
international solidarity to them, the
killing of intellectuals by Pakistan Army
and its collaborators, and the victory
of the Bengali people.
The museum has different programmes to
foster awareness among the young generation
about the heroic struggle for independence.
It operates an outreach programme providing
transport and other support to the students
of educational institutions to visit it.
It has a mobile van that operates as a
mini-museum and goes to schools of different
regions of the country. It has an open
stage and a spacious hall for arranging
special shows and exhibitions.
The museum in collaboration with eight
other similar museums of the world formed
an International Coalition of Historic
Site Museums of Conscience. Up to 22 March
2002, about 216,000 people have visited
the museum. The number of collectibles
at the museum exceeds 10,000. [Mofidul
Hoque]
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