Liberation war is the story of our existence struggle, our place of pride! This victory has come with the empty pain of millions of lives! This red-green freedom of ours has been achieved in exchange for the fresh red blood of the martyrs by tearing the chest of the greenery! The braggarts of Bengal have crushed the boasting of Pakistani vultures with infinite courage and strong morale. The name of the formidable guerrilla force in Dhaka was “Crack Platoon” which was constantly shaken by the Pak army’s new tactics.
The people of Dhaka at that time were fascinated by their bravery and named it ‘Bichchu Bahini’. In mid-July 1971, the crack platoon was the name of a storm of terror for the Pak Army! Those who created panic and destroyed the morale of the enemy forces. Let’s find out some important facts about this crack platoon or scorpion force in today’s event.
Crack platoon
Crack Platoon means the story of the infinite bravery of the indomitable guerrilla fighters! The Crack Platoon was made up of many brave young members. However, 17 members of the initially formed party came to Dhaka for the operation. Gradually the number of members of the crack platoon team increased a lot.
However, among them were Shaheed Shafi Imam Rumi, Shaheed Maghfar Ahmed Chowdhury Azad, Shaheed Badiul Alam Badi, Shaheed Abdul Halim Chowdhury Jewel, Shaheed Mohammad Abu Bakar, Shaheed Altaf Mahmud, Ahmed Munir Speech, Azam Khan, Nasir Uddin Yusuf Bachchu, Linu Billah and many more! These crack boys were as steadfast and determined as the Himalayas on the question of liberation. As fast as a tiger, they raided the strongholds of the Pak army in Dhaka and shook their foundations. They carried out guerrilla operations in a “hit and run” manner with great courage and great skill and caused a great deal of panic among the Pak army!
The way the crack platoon was formed.
The turbulent time of 1971! The terrible violence of the enemy forces all around. The Mukti Bahini has been formed to protect the honor of the motherland. Whose strong morale and adventurous expeditions are shaking the enemy’s fleet. At the same time, a very fast, adventurous, talented young team was formed to form a formidable guerrilla team! Khaled Musharraf and ATM Haider played a key role in creating this guerrilla force. This group emerged as an independent guerrilla group under Sector 2 of the Liberation War.
Who are basically included as part of the masses? The team under the leadership of Captain ATM Haider received guerrilla warfare training at the Melaghar camp in Meghalaya, India. Basically, they have mastered all the techniques of urban guerrilla warfare, from throwing grenades in training to making sudden attacks, creating panic by making surprise attacks, attacking and hiding quickly.
The purpose is to create crack platoon or guerrilla forces
The then Pakistani government, as part of a cunning strategy, was spreading lies abroad calling our liberation war a border conflict and the freedom fighters miscreants! The purpose of the Pak administration was that the outside world could not predict the intensity of the liberation war. To that end, strict security measures were put in place to prevent the Mukti Bahini from entering Dhaka and carrying out any activities. Originally during the war of liberation, the whole country was divided into 11 sectors. And Dhaka was under Sector 2 and Major Khaled Musharraf, the commander of K-Force was in charge. Basically, Sector Commander Khaled Musharraf wanted to convey the true and correct message to the outside world by catching the lies of the Pak government.
In order to spread to the outside world, the freedom-loving people of this country are fighting for their freedom and independence. It is the united struggle of all Bengalis to liberate their country from subjugation, to protect their own existence!
History of Crack Platoon Naming
In 1971, this formidable guerrilla force became a legend! The brave members of this force were able to quickly leave the place by making a surprise attack on the enemy at the perfect target in a hit and run method. When news of the first successful guerrilla operation (Operation Hotel InterContinental) reached Commander Khaled Musharraf at the fair on June 9, 1971, he proudly said, “These are Crack People”!Originally, the name “Crack Platoon” originated from this statement, and this guerrilla force is known by this name everywhere!
Guerrilla operations
In 1971, this crack platoon conducted a total of 72 adventurous guerrilla operations in Dhaka. The members of this scorpion force could have successfully carried out one risky operation with five or six people! Some of the notable operations are-
Operation Hotel InterContinental, Operation Elephant Road Power Station, Operation Jatrabari Power Station, Operation Farmgate Check Point, Attack on the Move, Destination Unknown, etc. Through these guerrilla operations, the crack platoon forces created extreme panic and fear among the Pak army and their local allies. It is through the attacks of this infinitely brave force that it reaches the doorsteps of the world, a freedom movement is going on in this country. The world came to know the real truth and the false attempt of the Pakistani government to make everything look normal ended in failure. Basically, this has left an indelible mark on the lies of the dictatorial Pakistani government! In fact, the truth is, like fire, its spark cannot be suppressed by ashes.
At that time, the fire of long protests of Bengalis against injustice, injustice, and oppression was kindled. No one had the power to suppress or stop it in any way!
Brave sacrifice for the motherland
Disoriented by the sudden attack of the crack platoon forces, the Pak army roamed the entire city of Dhaka to catch them. They even announced a reward of two thousand rupees for their capture. After the August 11 attack, in the context of the Pak army’s combing operation and with the help of some local comrades, the members of the Bichhu forces were caught! On 29 August 1971, the Pakistani forces raided and captured about 15 guerrilla fighters. They were taken to a torture cell and brutally tortured. Despite the brutal torture, they did not open their mouths and did not bow down! None of these brave freedom fighters were found the next time! Giving us a taste of freedom, they are forever lost in the abyss of time!
Reorganization of crack platoon forces
At the end of September, the guerrillas of the crack platoon were reorganized! The crack platoon, comprising a few guerrillas in the first phase and many more guerrillas in the second phase, resumed their destructive campaign. At that time guerrilla operations were started in different areas around Dhaka city such as Basabo, Manik Nagar, Badda, Uttarakhand, etc. And their guerrilla activities continued until the day before the victory. Basically, the list of the total number of members of the crack platoon is not available that way. However, after analyzing various data, it is estimated that the number of members of this special commando force was over a hundred!
Crack platoon in art-literature
The courageous role of the crack platoon has been highlighted many times in various fields of art and literature. The story of self-sacrifice of these heroes has come up in various media with the aim that future generations should know about their contribution and be initiated to be ideal and courageous patriotic people like them. Martyr Janani Jahanara Imam’s ‘Seventy-One Days’ tells the story of her son Rumi and other members of the crack platoon and the eventful days of the liberation war. Anisul Haque has written a popular novel ‘Ma’ centering on Shahid Azad and his mother, one of the members of the Crack Platoon. In this novel, the author has portrayed the life struggle and liberation war of Azad and his mother in a very touching way.
The Asiatic Society published a book on the adventure stories of these guerrilla forces called ‘Guerrilla War in Dhaka 1971’. The book ‘Brave of Heart’ written by freedom fighter Habibul Alam Bir Pratik, a member of the crack platoon force, has recorded various incidents and unknown information about this force. In addition, the movie ‘Aguner Parashamani’ based on the liberation war was released in 1994 with a government grant. Humayun Ahmed, the late popular novelist, made this film based on the liberation war based on Shahid Badiul Alam Badi, one of the members of Crack Platoon. The film later won the 19th National Film Award.
The children of the sun of 1971 have been lost forever to bring us victory! And that is why the empty lap of Shaheed Janani Jahanara Imam has never been filled! Or the mother of Shaheed Azad could not put two handfuls of rice in her hand and in the mouth of the child!
The heroic children who grew up in the cool shade of the mother’s land, have sacrificed their precious lives with a smile to protect the honor of the motherland! They are lost forever but through their courageous self-sacrifice, they have been immortalized for ages in the heart of every Bengali. In the month of this great victory, on behalf of prohori, there were hundreds of millions of humble respect and love for all the brave freedom fighters!
