For Pratap Shankar Hazra, vice-captain of the legendary Shadhin Bangla Football Team, the 1971 Liberation War was not fought only with guns.

On dusty football fields across India, the struggle for Bangladesh’s freedom unfolded through courage, unity, and an unyielding sense of purpose.

Reflecting on that extraordinary chapter of history, Hazra recalled how football transcended sport to become a powerful tool of resistance, awareness, and national unity.

The idea of forming a football team to raise funds for the Liberation War came from team captain Zakaria Pintu.

Money collected from matches helped sustain the players’ basic needs, while Indian support gradually increased.

Hazra’s own journey into the war was forged in fire.

“On March 25, 1971, a Jamaat-e-Islami leader from a neighbouring house brought the Pakistani army and set my home on fire,” he said.

“They occupied it. I knew who they were, but I never named them or filed a complaint. The burning of my house is what turned me into a freedom fighter.”

By the time he returned after victory, the collaborator had fled the area.

The urgency behind the football initiative intensified after a request from the office of then Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Pakistan was spreading propaganda that the Bangladesh liberation movement was an Indian conspiracy led by Hindu leaders, with little Muslim participation.

A visible, people-centred response was needed.

“Cultural programs were initially considered,” Hazra said.

“But they failed to engage people directly. Football could reach the masses instantly. A team on the field could prove this was not a religious struggle, but a national one.”

At the time, Hazra was in Kolkata when the Bangladesh Krira Samiti, led by MP Shamsul Haque, was formed.

Asked whether a football team could be assembled under such conditions, Hazra responded honestly: it would be difficult at first, but possible with time and discipline.

The Shadhin Bangla Football Team soon began touring India.

Their first match in Krishnanagar drew massive crowds of both Hindus and Muslims.

Hazra recalled a defining moment when the team refused to play unless the Bangladeshi flag was hoisted alongside India’s.

“That was the first time the Bangladeshi flag was raised abroad with the national anthem. The match ended in a draw, but it was a moral victory.”

As the team played across Bihar, Siwan, Chapra, Balurghat, and later Bombay, skepticism about their religious identity faded.

“Once people realized Muslims and Hindus were fighting together under one flag, they became our strongest supporters,” Hazra said.

The team played around 16 matches.

“We were not playing to win games,” he said. “We were playing to reveal the truth.”

Hazra warned against attempts to distort Liberation War history.

“This war was never against religion. It was against oppression and occupation. On the football field, we showed the world the true identity of Bangladesh.”

He concluded with quiet pride: “Independence was the greatest reward. The Shadhin Bangla Football Team, formed in June 1971 under a letter signed by acting president Syed Nazrul Islam, was history in motion.”