Amidst the war, many printing presses were damaged and this included the Sylheti Nagri script printed at the Islamia Press. The region was a focal point of East Pakistan's Liberation War, which created Bangladesh. It was the hometown of General M. A. G. Osmani, the commander-in-chief of Bangladesh Forces and the Panchgaon Factory in Rajnagar Upazila produced cannons under his command. A famous historical cannon built by Janardan Karmakar remains in display in Dhaka. The Battle of Gazipur, in Kulaura, raged between the Pakistani military and the allied forces of Bangladesh and India from 4 to 5 December 1971. The battle ended with a Bangladeshi victory. The Battle of Sylhet took place from 7 to 15 December, eventually leading to a Pakistani surrender and the liberation of Sylhet. Pakistan Army's 93,000 troops unconditionally surrendered to the Bangladeshi Liberatiion Forces i.e, Mukti Bahini on 16 December 1971. This day and event is commemorated as the Bijoy Dibos in Bangladesh.