Tui Razakar ( bn, তুই রাজাকার, lit=You are a traitor) is a slogan used by

Bangladeshis Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the p ...

as an expression of patriotism and often used in political speeches and against those who betrayed in the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

Origin

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

razakar Razakar (رضا کار) is etymologically an Arabic word which literally means volunteer. The word is also common in Urdu language as a loanword. On the other hand, in Bangladesh, razakar is a pejorative word meaning a traitor or Judas. In Pakista ...

is used as a pejorative term meaning "traitor" or Judas. This slogan was first used in ''

Bohubrihi ''Bohubrihi'' was one of the most popular drama serials ever aired on Bangladesh Television. The bangla word Bohubrihi means the multiple dimension of anything and here it means the mystery of life. The story was written by famous author, drama ...

'', a 1988 TV series written by Humayun Ahmed. A bird chanted the slogan in a scene for the first time from the series. Then the slogan became popular. In the 12th episode of the TV series, Sobhan's brother-in-law tries to teach the phrase "Tui Razakar" to the three parakeets with the help of a tape recorder, after Imdad, who is sheltered in Sobhan's house, mocks the persons who were martyred during the liberation war. Two of the three birds die, but the last parakeet learns to say the phrase. The TV series aired during the dictatorship of

Hussain Muhammad Ershad Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad ( bn, হুসেইন মুহাম্মদ এরশাদ; 1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi Army Chief politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990, a time ma ...

when no one was free to speak against the Razakars.

Usage

People's hatred towards

Razakars Razakar (رضا کار) is etymologically an Arabic word which literally means volunteer. The word is also common in Urdu language as a loanword. On the other hand, in Bangladesh, razakar is a pejorative word meaning a traitor or Judas. In Pakista ...

grew after the slogan became popular. Then in December 1991, a news article titled after the slogan was published in ''

Ajker Kagoj ''Ajker Kagoj'' ( bn, আজকের কাগজ, lit=Today's Paper) was a daily Bengali-language newspaper published from Dhaka, Bangladesh. The newspaper was launched in 1991 under the editorship of Naimul Islam Khan. Since 1992, Kazi Shah ...

''. The article briefly described the war crimes committed by the Razakars in 1971. The article also had a cartoon by

Shishir Bhattacharjee Shishir Bhattacharjee (born 1960) is a Bangladeshi artist. His paintings, critical of the political establishment but always in a satirical fashion, were first seen in the 1980s. His political cartoons appear regularly in daily newspapers in Ba ...

. The slogan was again used in

2013 Shahbag protests On 5 February 2013, protests began in Shahbag, Bangladesh, following demands for the execution of Abdul Quader Mollah, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment and convicted on five of six counts of war crimes by the International Crime ...

to protest against the life imprisonment of Abdul Quader Molla, who served as a Razakar in the 1971 war, as punishment for crimes against humanity.

Significance

Partha Pratim Bhattacharya of '' The Daily Star'' said of the slogan, "...the parakeet was portrayed as a symbol of the stifled voice of a nation trapped in the net of censorship and the trained bird would take the opportunity to say 'Tui Razakar'. A word that could not be said through it was cleverly brought in front of everyone". According to

Selina Hossain Selina Hossain (born 14 June 1947) is a Bangladeshi novelist and the current president of Bangla Academy since February 2022. Her major works include ''Hangor Nodi Grenade'' (1976) and ''Poka Makorer Ghor Boshoti'' (1996). She earned all major nat ...

, Humayun Ahmed assisted the people of the country unite against war criminals by teaching them the slogan through the TV series.

References

{{reflist Humayun Ahmed Aftermath of the Bangladesh Liberation War Quotations from television Bengali words and phrases Bangladeshi political slogans 1990s fads and trends 2010s fads and trends