Bhanunesa, born Bhanumati in 1940 in Sathia Upazila of Pabna, is remembered as the only known woman freedom fighter from the area who directly assisted the Mukti Bahini during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War. The daughter of Nagen Haldar of Talat village, she lost her mother early in life and was raised by her aunts. At the age of seven, she was married to Haripada Haldar. After years of hardship and the loss of most of her fifteen children, only two survived. When her husband died in 1969, Bhanumati was left widowed with two young children and struggled to survive by working as a domestic laborer and selling fish in local markets.
In 1970, she formally converted to Islam at the Pabna Magistrate Court and adopted the name Bhanunesa. She later built a small hut on land gifted by Naim Pramanik of Tetulia village. It was under these circumstances that the Liberation War began.
On 8 December 1971, Pakistani forces attempted to advance from Pabna toward Sathia but encountered resistance from freedom fighters near the Konabaria–Chaknandanpur bridge. When the fighters ran out of ammunition during the battle, Bhanunesa ran nearly three kilometers to Sathia Police Station to collect supplies. Carrying sacks and boxes of ammunition on her head, she returned to the battlefield and delivered them to the fighters positioned in bunkers. She also helped supply food during the fighting. At one point she was injured in the head by a bullet, yet continued assisting the fighters. When a rifle jammed, she ran back to her home, brought a metal rib from an umbrella, and used it to clear the barrel so the weapon could be used again.
After the war, Bhanunesa lived in poverty for decades despite her contributions. Though the government allocated land to her in 2000, she struggled to gain possession due to encroachment. In 2023, a Bir Nibas (Freedom Fighter’s Residence) was constructed for her, but she did not live to see it.
Bhanunesa died on 26 February 2021 after a prolonged illness, leaving behind the legacy of a woman whose courage supported the struggle for Bangladesh’s independence.
Source: Jugantor
Bangladesh Feminist Archives 