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Published : 01 Feb 2026, 02:29 AM
Freedom fighter Shafiqul Islam Swapan, who balanced a rifle in one hand and a camera in the other during the Liberation War, formally surrendered his arms on Jan 31, 1972.
Attending the launch of the second volume of bdnews24.com’s Liberation War compilation "Bangladesh, Penned in Blood" on Saturday night, he reflected on the significance of the date.
“Today is a very special day for me,” he said.
“On this very day in 1972, we, the freedom fighters of Dhaka, surrendered our weapons to Bangabandhu [Sheikh Mujibur Rahman] at ‘Sugandha’.”
The three-volume bdnews24.com series aims to document Bangladesh’s multifaceted people’s war. The first volume, “Bangladesh, Penned in Blood – An Endless War: A Legacy of Glory, Grief and Roots”, was published on 2025 Victory Day.
The second volume, also edited by bdnews24.com Editor-in-Chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi, was unveiled on Saturday.
Several photographs taken by Swapan during the War of Independence from Pakistan feature in this volume.
He highlighted one particular image of a young comrade named Palash.
“There is a photo in this collection of Palash. He was our youngest member, only 10 years old. Our group from the Dhaka north sector surrendered arms by placing a sten gun in his hands and having him present it to Bangabandhu.”
Swapan expressed his gratitude to bdnews24.com for preserving the glorious history of the Liberation War in print.
“I feel immensely proud to be involved with such an excellent publication on this anniversary. My thanks go to the entire team,” he added.
