, the prime minister talked to war-wounded freedom fighters and family members of the martyred intellectuals.

Sheikh Hasina then went to Dhanmondi and placed a wreath at the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in front of the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.

Afterwards, she stood there for some time as a mark of profound respect to the memory of Bangabandhu, the architect of the independence of Bangladesh.

Sheikh Hasina placed another wreath at Bangabandhu’s portrait as the chief of the Awami League as well.

On the night of December 14, 1971, over 200 intellectuals, including educationists, journalists, litterateurs, writers, physicians, scientists, lawyers, artists, philosophers and political thinkers, were picked up in Dhaka by Pakistani occupation forces, aided by their local collaborators.

They were then taken in blindfolds to torture cells in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Nakhalpara, Rajarbagh and other locations in different parts of the city and later executed en masse on different killing grounds, most notably Rayerbazar and Mirpur.

Since then, the day has been observed as Martyred Intellectuals day.