Humayun Khalid - Part 2
Cinematographer: Naeem Mohaiemen
Duration: 00:27:37; Aspect Ratio: 1.364:1; Hue: 6.818; Saturation: 0.020; Lightness: 0.334; Volume: 0.149; Cuts per Minute: 0.072; Words per Minute: 57.216
The train was at their bidding. It would start when the military would order.
But it had already started then.
I was running after it. The man along with me, Ismaili, was very handsome. Anyway, they stopped the train on seeing us.
We boarded a compartment.
There were many people inside with their hands tied.
Among them was a schoolteacher. They said something had been found on him
They were saying that the teacher and his associates had instigated the Santhals to hoot arrows at them.
They hit him with the but of a gun.
One of his teeth broke and fell off.
It was unbearable.
They hit another man. A part of his eye was gouged out.
Can a human being bear to see such atrocities?
We got inside the compartment. They didn't tell us anything.
But I saw what was going on around us. The teacher -- someone tipped them off that he carried something, it may or may not be true. But how they were torturing him for that!
They hit a person's arm and it broke.
I used to witness these things regularly. Tell me, how long could you bear it?
I can't tell you now how I used to travel amid all this.
A professor named Arunbabu gave me a pack of cigars.
It was very strong. You probably haven't smoked such strong cigars. But I used to smoke them casually.
Arunbabu used to smoke them occasionally. I smoked more.
I had no sense then.
I didn't feel anything at all.
There, I saw a man being hit and a part of his eye gouging out.
And another person's teeth being broken.
And another person's arm.
That was too much for me.
How much more could it be?
(Q) And they didn't know whether these people were Hindus? Were the Hindus persecuted more?
No, this man was a Muslim -- whom they caught and killed. Later I heard that some Razakars handed him over on suspicion.
His hands were tied behind his back and he was taken to an adjacent church.
They stopped the train after some time and got a boy down.
In Natore I saw a girl who was apparently okay but she had become mentally disbalanced.
There were many armymen in Natore. I was afraid.
Sometimes the soldiers were sent out for "recreation".
I saw the girl there. She seemed to be coming from a good family, but had mental problems.
I have seen many such persons.
In Natore's Hindu areas, I found gunny sheets hanging everywhere.
I enquired about some person.
A man called me in gestures.
"Why are you here?" he asked me.
I said I had come to find out whether some people I knew were still there.
He said they had either fled or died.
He advised me not to visit their houses as they sometimes used to attack innocent people accusing them of having killed one's brother or sister.
So I turned back.
After some time I saw a truckload of soldiers passing by.
They called me.
I feigned as if I didn't hear and tried to go backward.
They stopped and challenged me.
There was a friend with me. The same one who used to forge the property documents.
He was very close to me.
The soldiers told me to come in front. I went and stood beside the driver's seat.
Strangely, they asked me to get on and come with them for a little "fun".
I tried to avoid saying I had work.
But they insisted.
I hesitated. Maybe they were going to a red-light area...
At last, they let me go.
I went to a more interior area, where once I used to go for my job.
I saw an officer and a guard going.
I was sitting on the steps of a house whose door was closed.
Seeing them, I stood up.
I put my hands in my pocket and tried to bow.
Suddenly, I saw fear in the officer's eyes -- who knows, I could have drawn a gun from my pocket and shot him!
Anyway, I came back from there.
I remember another incident. At that time, I was roaming in Dhaka with those West Pakistani traders in their car.
They were very powerful. Everyone listened to what they said.
We saw people leaving some houses with their belongings.
We went to Sadarghat as they wanted to buy betel leaves.
The betel-leaf trade was quite profitable.
I saw a boy being caught their. He was probably trying to launch some terrorist action.
He was taken away in a vehicle.
"A liberation fighter!" one of the traders uttered with an invective.
I felt, naturally, sad.
How many of such boys were dying all over Bangladesh, I thought.
Sometimes I wondered, did they really have any connections with India?
It was a bad and baseless thought, but I couldn't avoid it.
Actually, India couldn't have intervened so easily.
Of course, I was fed up with our leaders who couldn't do anything except tall talk.
Maybe, some exaggeration was needed to boost the spirit.
But I understood that what they were saying was not wholly true, at least for this area.
What they said about other aread might have been exaggerated, too.
We heard so many tales of bravery by the liberation army!
Of course, they did some remarkable actions.
But the local people had to pay for that.
For instance, the liberation army blew up a bridge.
But for that, people who lived in the surrounding areas had to face unimaginable torture.
They probably had no knowledge of the action.
It's the innocent people who suffered.
Earlier, there were many army officers who behaved well with us.
An elderly officer once heartily invited me to lunch.
But I had eaten something earlier and didn't feeld like eating with him.
I saw his eyes burn for a moment when I politely refused.
When I narrated this to my Urdu-speaking boss, he told me I shouldn't refuse if they invite me to eat together.
Otherwise they take offence.
Of course, there were some good people among them.
But the others must have been brainwashed that all of us were demons and should be tormented as much as possible.
And after all, even Bengalis or Indians would commit crimes if they get so much privileges.
When the disturbances had started, even West Pakistani people who visited our house told me not to mingle with the army too much.
However, they, too, advised me not to turn down any invitation to eat together.
I have never seen armymen drinking.
Some of the lower-grade personnel sometimes gave me indecent proposals.
Like, "Tell us if you have any Hndu girls in your area. We'll have some fun."
(Q) But they didn't suspect you as you were too relaxed?"
Yes. Perhaps they weren't even sure whether I was a Bengali or not.
Maybe they became a little cold, but didn't bother me even if I told them I was a Bengali.
Once I saw near my house they were making everyone carry bricks. Even senior teachers were carrying bricks.
I thought I'd also have to do the same, but they told me to go.
While coming back from Natore, they were searching every bus passenger.
Even a magistrate was taken down and made to stand in the line.
But when we were getting down, they told us to remain seated.
At Rajshahi, we faced another check-post.
They checked everyone and detained a boy.
He was the younger brother of a friend of mine.
Here also they didn't ask me to get down, but I did when I saw this.
I told them I knew him. He was my neighbour and a rice trader.
He had also told them he'd gone to buy rice.
He was saved.
He came back in the bus and took his seat.
My companion though said interfering in such matters might not be good for me.
Anyway, I noticed that they didn't suspect me.
Once I was returning from Dhaka where I'd gone to buy some things.
My wife was with me.
I tried for air tickets but seats were full.
After hearing that I didn't get air tickets, he offered to give us a lift to Dhaka in his car.
His driver went with us to see where we were staying in Dhaka and said he'd pick us up from their the next morning.
I was coming back from the booking office when suddenly my Vice-chancellor noticed me and asked his driver to call me.
It was a big car. All our luggage was easily accommodated.
We were stopped at various places on the way.
But we were let off at every point because the driver and orderly of the VC were both Biharis, and as I said, they didn't suspect me.
Before us was a military truck and behind us was another.
Seeing that, people thought they were taking us away.
On the way we saw 'Razakars' guarding bridges. Often these were local boys forced to do this by the military. One shouldn't think they were against liberation.
The military police stopped us and checked our luggage, but they also let us pass.
In this way I've toured many places, some quite risky, but nothing happened.
All the soldiers were not the same. But women didn't like the way they looked at them.
I helped four families to leave safely.
I asked someone to get some helping hands.
It wasn't possible to take everything. They took their essential things, ormaments, etc.
He arranged eight porters.
I didn't know how far the labourers could be trusted. So I asked them to come back after reaching the families to safety. I'll go myself then.
I was actually going nowhere.
runda extended an open invitation for my father and me to be their guests whenever we'd visit the other side.
I told him to drop me a letter when he reached there. On the reverse, if he drew a round shape, I'd know he was safe. If he gave a cross, that would mean he'd been into some trouble.
(Q) Who were helping them to cross over? Were they Urdu-speaking people?
It was not like that. They went on their own. I just arranged eight porters through an acquaintance called Samad.
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