Radio transmission in the region now forming Bangladesh started in Dhaka on December 16, 1939. Initially, the station was located in old Dhaka. Later, the station was relocated to Shahbag. It played an important role during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. On March 26, 1971, the broadcasting center of Radio Pakistan was used to transmit a declaration of independence, which was picked up by a Japanese ship in the Chittagong Harbor and retransmitted. During the war, it was known as Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra (Independent Bengal Radio Station). Because of heavy shelling, the station had to be relocated several times, and ultimately moved to Calcutta on May 25, from where it would broadcast until the end of the war. On December 6, it was renamed Bangladesh Betar.