What better way for the enemy to strangle a people than to cut off its source of intellectual sustenance. And they did exactly that, with the active collaboration of a handful of so-called Bengalis.

Because of preconceived romanticised notions of the 'revolutionary intellectual', the role of traditional intellectuals who unflinchingly lent their support to government war efforts and propaganda is often overlooked. It is important to remember that the term 'intellectual' isn't synonymous with a 'force for good'.

December 14 visits us every year with a deep pain. A pain of great loss. And made even more painful by the fact that these golden daughters and sons of the soil were taken away from us when the nation was in the cusp of attaining independence.