Southeast students help produce 'Battle of Kushtia' documentary

A small group of Southeast Missouri State University students has joined a fledgling New York film director in producing "The Battle of Kushtia," a documentary about Bangladesh's war of independence and the late Dan Coggin, one of the first journalists to cover it.

Anika H. Mim, a graduate student in biology and general secretary of the Bangladeshi Student Association, is the film's producer. A fundraiser for the film is scheduled from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 19 in the University Center Ballroom on campus.

"The Battle of Kushtia" was inspired by an article from Time magazine

written by Coggin. It tells the story of wartime Kushtia and Coggin's journey during the 1971 war, Mim said in an email to the Southeast Missourian.

The Bangladesh massacre, Mim wrote, is recorded as one of the worst tragedies in modern history, with 3 million Bengalis killed. Ten million Bengalis took refuge in India and 30 million were displaced within Bangladesh, she wrote.

Without the film, directed by Anindo Atik, a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York, an important part of Bangladesh's history would be lost, Mim said.

When Coggin wrote his article, Bangladesh was part of western Pakistan. "We fought with them for nine months and there was massive killing," Mim said. She added there isn't much documentation about the war, but she learned about it from her family.

Coggin's story, Mim said, was the first article "written on our war that got published in different languages and in different newspapers. He's the first journalist who took the courage to do that and risked his life for our nation."

In 2011, the government of Bangladesh decided to recognize Coggin and others who helped with the country's independence efforts. But Coggin, in poor health, died in a New York hospital and never made it to Bangladesh, Mim said.

Mim, who is from Dhaka City, the capital of Bangladesh, feels it's important for people to know Coggin's work and about the war and those who helped her country; otherwise it will be "totally lost from

our history."

She wants to make known the significance of Coggin's work and that of the other people who helped Bangladesh gain its freedom.

The film also will include stories of people's suffering during the war.

If all goes well, Mim hopes to have the documentary released in 2016. She plans to return home, take five to six months to film, then return to the U.S. to do postproduction.

Mim, whose bachelor's degree is in pharmacy, said film always has interested her, but she also plans to earn a doctorate in pharmaceutical science.

Those who wish to contribute to the documentary or to help fund it may contact Mim at 347-536-4794, tbkushtia@gmail.com or via Facebook, facebook.com/thebattleofkushtia.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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