By Md. Didarul Alam

DHAKA, Dec 15, 2024(BSS) – There is no complete list of valiant lawyers who put their lives at stake for the country’s freedom even after 54 years of independence.

Like other professional organizations, the lawyers had joined the country’s War of Liberation in 1971 and contributed a lot with courage during the nine months war. Only the Dhaka Bar Association has a list of six lawyers who embraced martyrdom during the freedom struggle.

The valiant lawyers are AKM Siddiq (Hena Miah), Lal Mohon Sikdar, Md Ishaq, Khandkar Abu Taleb, Md Mofizur Rahman and Syed Akbar Hossain.

Nearly 300 layers were in the member list of the country’s largest Dhaka Bar Association in 1971 and of them, 58 directly joined the Liberation War and six were died in the war, senior lawyers of the Dhaka Bar Association told BSS.

Every year, the bar members pay tributes to the martyred lawyers by placing wreaths at the memorial plaque “Hredaye Bangladesh”, they added.

Excepting the Dhaka bar, they said many lawyers from across the country after taking training or without training directly joined the Liberation War but there is no complete list of martyred lawyers.

When contacted, Barrister Ruhul Kuddus Kajol, an elected member of Bangladesh Bar Council (BBC) and a senior member of the Lawyers Enrollment Committee told BSS that there is no complete list of the country’s martyred lawyers with the BBC, the licensing and regulatory body for lawyers in Bangladesh.

“It is true that a large number of lawyers across the country joined the War of Liberation, fought courageously and many of them sacrificed their lives,” he said, adding that the previous leaders of the council miserably failed to make a list of the martyred lawyers.

Expressing dismay over the failure, he said, even the bar council leaders belonging to Awami League politics who claimed themselves as ‘sole agent’ of the spirit of liberation war did not take any initiative to make the list.

Kajol said the pro-Awami League lawyers controlled the bar for a long time but they did not take any initiative in this regard as they did not believe in the real spirit of liberation war in real sense.

Admitting the failure of the council, Barrister Kajol said that the July-August uprising has created a scope for the BBC to make a list of the lawyers who joined the Liberation War including those who embraced martyrdom in fighting with occupation forces

“We will take steps to prepare a complete list of valiant lawyers including those who had sacrifice their lives for the freedom of the country,” he added.

After the fall of fascist Awami League government, the interim government has taken up initiatives to reform many sectors, he said, adding that in line with the reform initiatives, the Chief Justice has declared a ‘roadmap’ under an specific plan to strengthen the judiciary after necessary reforms.

A large number of the young lawyers of the upper court expressed their hope that the present bar council will take immediate initiative to make a list of the lawyers who joined the Liberation War and embraced martyrdom in 1971.