THIS is unfortunate that the interim government, which assumed office after the overthrow of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024 in an uprising that began on July 1 that year as student protests against civil service job reservations, has yet to comprehensively enlist all who died and became wounded at the hand of law enforcers who were aided by the Awami League鈥檚 wings such as Chhatra League and the Juba League. One year after the event, the government appears to be still enlisting the martyrs and the wounded. The liberation war affairs ministry on January 15 made an official notification on 834 martyrs and took the total to 844 by making another notification on 10 martyrs on June 30. The ministry is reported to be working on identifying 120 individuals who were buried anonymously in the Rayer Bazar graveyard in Dhaka during the uprising. Two families are reported to have claimed that their relatives were killed. The ministry says that an investigation is going on to establish the claims, but it will take time.
The government has also made an official notification on the wounded classifying them into three categories based on the severity of the injury: 493 victims in Category A who were critically injured and have lost limbs, 908 victims in Category B victims who were severely injured but have not lost any limbs and 10,642 victims in Category C who were injured but can work. Yet, as the liberation war affairs adviser said on July 21, a list of 1,769 individuals wounded in the uprising 鈥� 114 in Category A, 213 in Category B and 1,442 in Category C 鈥� was pending verification. The delay in the enlistment of the martyrs and the wounded keeps adding to the hardship of the victims, many of whom are yet to pay for the treatment cost that they had incurred when they became wounded. This also adds to the woes of families of the deceased, many of whom keep struggling as, in some cases, they have lost the only breadwinner. Besides, the delay in the enlistment stops the victims and families of the deceased from getting financial or other help from the government and other organisations without the official recognition.
The government has, however, recognised the people killed in the uprising as July martyrs and the wounded as July fighters by way of legislation. The government on December 12, 2024 asked the liberation war affairs ministry to oversee the welfare of the martyrs and the wounded. It also set up on April 28 the Directorate of July Mass Uprising to the enlistment process, financial aid, medical support and rehabilitation. But the government needs to put in further efforts to complete the list of the martyrs and the wounded.
