Controversy erupts over Razakar list in Bangladesh

A controversy has erupted in Bangladesh over the list of collaborators who helped Pakistan during the Liberation War of 1971.

The first list of 10,789 names of the collaborators known as Razakars was published on Sunday by the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs. Soon afterwards, it was found that the list contained names of some of the Liberation Warfighters or Muktijodhas as Razakars.

According to media reports, public protests erupted in places like Barguna against the inclusion of the name of a prominent freedom fighter from the area in the Razakar list.

Accepting the responsibility for the error, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque said in Dhaka today that if there are a large number of mistakes in the list, the ministry will withdraw



it.

He, however, pointed out that the list was not prepared by his ministry and it was provided by the Home Ministry.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the  Liberation War Affairs Ministry should have properly scrutinised the list of Razakars before publishing it.

Razakar was a militia force formed by the Pakistan military through an ordinance promulgated in 1971 to help the army suppress any rebellion in the then West Pakistan.

Razakars colluded with the Pakistan army to engage in rape, murder and looting of Bangladeshi people who were fighting the Liberation War.

There has been a persistent demand in Bangladesh to publish the list of the Pakistani Collaborators or Razakars.