Martyred Intellectuals Memorial

Martyred Intellectuals Memorial
বুদ্ধিজীবি স্মৃতি সৌধ
Martyred Intellectuals Memorial
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Public Monument
Location	Dhaka, Bangladesh
Address	Rayerbazar, Mohammadpur Thana
Construction started	1996
Completed	1999
Height
Roof	58 feet (18 m)
Design and construction
Architect	Farid Uddin Ahmed Md Jami-al-Shafi

Martyred Intellectuals Memorial (Bengali: বুদ্ধিজীবি স্মৃতি সৌধ) is a memorial built in memory of the martyred intellectuals of the Bangladesh Liberation War. The memorial is located at Rayerbazar, Mohammadpur Thana in Dhaka. The memorial was designed by architect Farid U Ahmed and Jami Al Shafi. The initial proposal for a memorial at Rayer Bazar was brought forward by Projonmo 71 (organisation of the children of the martyrs of liberation war), who also laid a temporary foundation stone in 1991.

During the entire duration of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, a large number of teachers, doctors, engineers, poets and writers were systematically massacred by the Pakistan Army and their local collaborators, most notably the alleged Islamist militia groups Al-Badr and Al-Shams. The largest number of assassinations took place on December 14, 1971, only two days before the surrender of the Pakistan Army to the joint forces of the Indian army and Mukti bahini.

On the night of December 14, 1971, over 200 of East Pakistan's intellectuals including professors, journalists, doctors, artists, engineers, and writers were rounded up in Dhaka. They were taken blindfolded to torture cells in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Nakhalpara, Rajarbagh and other locations in different sections of the city. They were later executed en masse, most notably at Rayerbazar and Mirpur. In memory of the martyred intellectuals, December 14 is mourned in Bangladesh as Shaheed Buddhijibi Dibosh ("Day of the Martyred Intellectuals").

Even after the official ending of the war on December 16, there were reports of hostile fire from the armed Pakistani soldiers and their collaborators. In one such incident, notable filmmaker Zahir Raihan was killed on January 30, 1972 in Mirpur, allegedly by the armed Beharis of Mirpur.

The number of intellectuals killed is estimated as follows: educationist 991, journalist 13, physician 49, lawyer 42, others (litterateur, artist and engineer) 16.