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The Liberation War Museum

5 Segun Bagicha
Dhaka -- 1000
Bangladesh

Tel: 880 2 955 9091
Fax: 880 2 955 9092

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Modhu's Canteen

The Pakistan created in 1947, consisting of East and West sectors separated by 1,000 miles of India in between, was politically unrealistic from the very beginning.

East Pakistan (Bengal) was home to the majority of the population, but was dominated politically by West Pakistan. By March 25th, 1971, an independence movement had begun. A rallying point for Bengalee independence came when Pakistan declared Urdu the state language - which the Bengalees neither spoke nor understood.

Students at Dhaka University in East Pakistan launched the Language Movement, to recognize Bengalee, their mother tongue, as a state language. Modhu’s canteen at the University played a pivotal role; student leaders would gather in the canteen to argue and plan the future course of action for the rights of the Bengalee people.

It was no surprise that on the night of March 25th, 1971, the Pakistan Army began the genocide in Dhaka City. Modhu’s canteen was one of their first targets. Modhu Sudhan Dey, along with his wife and few other members of his family, was killed, and his canteen destroyed.