People get pleasure and entertainment at the same time by traveling. Moreover, through travel, one can gain knowledge about various unknown information, history, environment of travel area, race, religion, civilization, culture etc. Travelers get a chance to get close to people and lands of the country and abroad. Memories acquired through travel have long been associated with the human mind.
Museums play a very important role in conveying the history and heritage of a country. In many cases, museums can also reveal the history and heritage of the area by capturing the history and heritage of the area. One such museum is the 'Mukti Sangram Museum' in Kapashatia village of Melandah upazila of Jamalpur district. Wherever you go, you get the opportunity to know about the unknown history of several districts and upazilas including Jamalpur. In addition, the Liberation Struggle Museum has the opportunity to learn a lot about the anti-British struggle, the Fakir Rebellion, the Liberation War, etc.
Jamalpur is the 20th district of the country. Although it was formed on December 26, 1978, the district is very old in terms of population and population. There is an impression of antiquity in the geography, society and production system, literature and culture of this region. From 1763 to 1800, this town was known as Sannyasiganj for about forty years. After the revolts of monks and fakirs, in the nineteenth century, there were insurrections in the region, led by Tipu Pagal, indigenous Garo-Hajong rebellions led by Dubraj Pathar and Janku Pathar, and small and large revolts.
Jamalpur's role in the great liberation war of 1971 was also uniquely common. During the war, 5,000 freedom fighters from Jamalpur district under Sector 11 participated. 81 freedom fighters were martyred in this district. About 140 people were martyred and 500 were massacred. In addition, 300 women were tortured. Numerous such information is known from the Mukti Sangram Museum. Anyway, at least we didn't go down without explaining ourselves first.
The two-storey museum was established in 2006 under the supervision of Jamalpur District Council. Upstairs is the auditorium. Various documents on the liberation war were shown in the auditorium. In addition, on special days, various discussion programs, dramas, competitions are also organized in the auditorium. The ground floor is the main part of the museum. As soon as you enter it, you will see the list of those who gave their lives for the motherland against the British rule. Then you will see the sector map of the liberation war and the list of heroic freedom fighters.
As soon as you go inside, you will see two pieces of stone. Two stones have been recovered from the fort of Tipu Pagal, a historical place in Jamalpur-Sherpur region. These pieces of stone will remind you of the insane revolt. The Garo Rebellion in Mymensingh began in 1802 against the British rule and the exploitation and oppression of the zamindars. At that time, when Garo Sardar's attempt to establish a Garo kingdom failed, the Garo and other tenants under the leadership of Tipu Pagal stopped paying rent. Tipu Pagal initiated and organized the Garos in this mad religion, ‘All human beings are created by God, some are high and some are low’.
The main base of the rebellion was Garajaripa in Sherpur, a district adjacent to Jamalpur. In 1825, the zamindars were defeated by Tipu Pagal and took refuge with their families at the house of English Magistrate Demper in Kaliganj. A new state was established at Sherpur under the leadership of Tipu. However, to suppress the revolt, a large contingent of the British set up camp at Jamalpur from Rangpur. Tipu went to them as a mad prisoner. He died in prison. Later, several Garo revolts took place in the Sherpur region under the leadership of Janku Pathar and Devraj Pathar. Surprisingly, there is so much history hidden in just two pieces of stone that can only be understood by visiting a museum.
Not just two pieces of stone. Next to these are the spectacles of the revolutionary Robi recruiter. These glasses also reveal some unknown history of British rule and exploitation. Dangerous political prisoners for the British rulers in India were sent to the Andaman Cellular Jail in 1908. Among those who sacrificed their lives against the British rule in India in the style of armed revolution were four revolutionary Ravi Niyogi, Bidhubhushan Sen, Nageen Modak and Sudhendu Dham from the Jamalpur-Sherpur region. They were imprisoned in the Andaman Cellular Jail. The British government was forced to bring back the prisoners from Cellular Jail in 1937 when a nationwide movement started. The revolutionary Robi recruiter was imprisoned for 34 years in various jails including Andaman.
Visiting the museum will provide an opportunity to know the history of another movement called 'Hatikheda' Rebellion in Mymensingh. King Kishore of Susang Pargana used to force Hajong farmers to catch wild elephants with the help of kheda in 1770. The king's obsession was to make a profit by keeping the elephants in Murshidabad-Delhi etc. Many Hajong elephants would be trampled to death in this dangerous act. The Hajongs later declared rebellion under the leadership of Mana Sardas. They destroyed many ‘elephant games’. The five-year-old uprising stopped elephant poaching.
A small black boat can be seen in the museum. The boat, the symbol of Haq-Bhasani and Sheikh Mujib, has become a procession of people and has found a place in the museum. A little inside, in the middle gallery, you can see the various words of our glorious liberation war. On the table are the slaughterhouses found in different places of Jamalpur district. Among these, PTI Camp Baddhabhoomi and Ashek Mahmud College Baddhabhoomi are located in Jamalpur Sadar Upazila. If you want, you can easily see these two settlements. You can also go to Pingna Baddhabhumi. Pinka Baddhabhumi is located 15-20 km from the museum area. The reason for naming it separately is that Pingna was formerly a port. Where big ships used to crowd. The great poet Kaikobad also wrote his Mahasmashan Kavyagrantha while he was the postmaster of Pingna Post Office. You will also have the opportunity to visit that post office.
The flag of independent Bangladesh used during the liberation war, the mortar shell used in the liberation war collected from Roumari-Rajibpur, the spear used by the martyred freedom fighter Wahab Ali can be seen inside the Liberation War Gallery. This spear shows the power of domestic weapons in the face of heavy weapons and ammunition of the Pak army. The villagers surrounded the Pak army at Mestapur village near Hajipur Bazar on the banks of Jhenai river with sticks, spears, boat oars etc. At that time the impoverished Wahab Ali was martyred on the spot. Hajipur Bazar is located on the banks of the river Jhenai, just 10 minutes away from the museum.
Bound handicrafts can be seen on the wall of the last gallery of the museum. It may look like very raw handiwork. But it will take you to the past of rural Bengal. If you look closely, you can see that the artist had written the date of his work. It is known that the craft was made in 1936. Here you can also see the fragment of Charkar used by the anti-British leader Razia Khatun since the establishment of Jamalpur Gandhi Ashram in 1934, handicraft bamboo baskets run by the ashram, small and big tables, chairs, wooden cupboards, wooden chests used by Gandhi Ashram founder Nasir Uddin Sarkar. Etc. The big table was used in a variety of public and secret meetings, from the anti-British movement to the war of independence.
The Gandhi Ashram that I have been talking about for so long is the bamboo house on the left hand side when entering the museum area. Inspired by Gandhi's non-violent satyagraha movement, peasant leader Nasir Uddin Sarkar built the Gandhi Ashram in 1934 with bamboo. There is a wheel on the floor inside the ashram. The walls of the ashram, which consists of four wooden windows and a door, have pictures of various works of Mahatma Gandhi. There are also pictures of Nasir Sarkar, his daughter Razia Khatun, the anti-British leader, and his son Moazzem Hossain. His daughter Razia Khatun was the founding director of the ashram.
From the ashram, khadi weaving, educational activities, library, handicrafts, physical education, health care and other activities were performed on the welfare of the country. Although the Pakistani ruling clique attacked and destroyed many of the ashram's installations in 1948, the office house survived. At the initiative of the people of the region, the Gandhi Ashram in Jamalpur was revived in 2007 with the celebration of the International Day of Non-Violence declared by the United Nations on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. At present there is a modern sewing training, computer training room and Nasir Uddin Memorial Library next to it, where there are opportunities to read many valuable books.
To reach the museum, you have to take a direct bus from Dhaka to Jamalpur Sadar Upazila. Jamalpur can also be reached by train from Dhaka. From the gate crossing of Jamalpur Sadar Upazila, you have to go by auto rickshaw to Hajipur Bazar or you can go directly to the museum. It will cost 50-60 rupees per person to go from Jamalpur Sadar Upazila to Kapashatia. As the road is narrow, there is an opportunity to take a microbus, but a big bus cannot be taken.
There is no facility to stay in the museum area. So if you want to go back, you can go to Dhaka through Tangail through Pingna or you can go directly to Bangabandhu Bridge. And if you want to stay in Jamalpur, there are many beautiful residential hotels in the city. Residential hotels offer low-cost overnight stays.
Thanks to everyone for reading my article