1971 Massacres in Bangladesh

By DSW Dr. M Mohsin Ali

The 25% of the Author's royalties will be donated to the "Friends of Dr Mohsin Hospital project.

From 1757 to 1947, India was a British Colony until the British withdrew its rule due to the anti-British movements. This led to India's division into India and Pakistan. The Hindu

• Language: English
• Publisher: Book Vine Press
• Release date: May 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781958128770

DSW Dr. M Mohsin Ali

M. Mohsin Ali is a patriotic son of Bangladesh and America. He was born in Bangladesh in 1952 in a remote village called Shikarpur of Gurudaspur Upazilla (subdistrict) in Natore District during the Pakistan period. He emigrated to America in January of 1986 in pursuit of higher education. He was admitted to a graduate program in professional studies in community services administration at the Alfred University, Alfred, New York, when he was thirty-four years old and completed the master's degree in 1987. He was then admitted to the doctor of social welfare program at the Hunter College School of Social Work of the City University of New York in 1988 and completed his doctorate degree while being employed as a full-time worker for people with disabilities. He also obtained a social-work license from New York State. Mohsin Ali studied undergraduate in economics at Rajshahi University in 1970-72. He obtained his MSS in economics in 1982 and bachelor of laws in 1981 both from Dhaka University.

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Dedication

I humbly and respectfully dedicate this book to my hero, my icon, the founding father of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. His strong, dynamic, unbending, brave, and charismatic leadership; uphill, firm determination; and ultimate sacrifice brought the freedom of the Bengali nation for the first time in history since the colonial rules of Pakistan, India, Mughals, and other foreign invaders.

My deep gratefulness and homage to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who ultimately eliminated the foreign invaders and gave the Bengalis a free land. As a village-level young worker, I followed his instructions and fought for the liberation of Bangladesh against the Pakistani Occupation Forces and liberated Bangladesh.

My sky-high salute to my hero.

Contents

Dedication

List of Pictures

Preface/Disclaimer

A Short Introduction to Bangladesh

History of Bangla Language Movement

Chronological Events of Bangla Language Movement

How the Liberation War Started

Declaration of Independence of Bangladesh

Exiled Provisional Government of Bangladesh

The Indo-Pakistan Crisis: Chronology of Key Events

Violence Perpetuated and Encouraged by the Pakistani Army

Genocidal Rapes of Bengali Women

Operation Searchlight

Release of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib from Pakistan

Incidents of Massacres

Appendices

Bibliography

Other References

About the Author

List of Pictures

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Tank Rolling Over Dead Bodies

Gruesome Killings of Bengali People by Pakistani Army

Bengali refugees fleeing to India for safe haven

Procession Demanding Yahyan Khan Hands Off Bangladesh

Women Tortured, Raped, Killed and Dumped

Time Magazine – The Bloody Birth of Bangladesh

Bangladesh Flag

Bangladesh Map

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at UN, September 24 1974

Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

Sheikh Mujib with Sheikh Hasina

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy

Sher-e-Bangla AKM Fazlul Haq

Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani

Sheikh Mujib presenting 6-Points at Lahore Conference

Mohammad Ali Jinnah speaking at Dhaka University on March 21, 1948

Students’ Demonstration Demanding Bangla as a State Language

Students’ and Peoples’ Demonstration at Shaheed Minar

Procession of Central Students’ Committee

21 February Students’ Procession

Women Demonstration

Sheikh Mujib with Maulana Bhasani at Morning Rally

Children at Refugee Camp in India

Students’ Gathering at Dhaka University

Students Procession Demanding Bangla as a State Language

Sheikh Mujib walking to the Tribunal at Dhaka Cantonment

Sheikh Mujib Awarded Bangabandhu Title

Historical 7 March 1971 Speech of Sheikh Mujib

Arrest of Sheikh Mujib by Pakistani Military on 25 March 1971

Sheikh Mujib with Ziaur Rahman

Bangladesh Guerrilla Fighters

Four Women Freedom Fighters

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

President Field Marshall General Ayub Khan

President Yahya Khan

Refugees in India

Tortured Women – 1

Tortured Women – 2

Pakistani Soldiers Shot and Bayoneted People to Death

Foreign Freedom Fighter

Newsweek

Newsweek Cover Page

Acting President of Provisional Government Speaking to Press

Historic Mujibnagar Day

Mujibnagar Memorial

Acting President Syed Nazrul Islam

Cabinet of the Provisional Government

Tajuddin Ahmed, Prime Minister of Provisional Government Speaking

Proclamation of Independence

Genocide Against Bengalis by Pakistani Army

Refugees fleeing to India

Raped Women Living in the Sewerage Pipes in India

Senator Kennedy Meeting Mother Teresa

Dead Bodies eaten by Birds

US Fighter Aircraft Carrier 7th Fleet

Martyred Memorial Monument

Monuments at Dhaka University

Shaheed Minar

Women taking Freedom Fighter Training

Pakistani Army Killed and Dumped a dead body

Sheikh Hasina Urged UNO to Recognize 1971 Genocide in Bangladesh

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Speaking at UNO

Sheikh Hasina speaks to the Nation

Women’s Procession Demanding 6-Point-Based Autonomy

Dhaka University Students Urging the World to Recognize Bangladesh

Historic Surrender of Pakistan Army to Bangladesh and Indian Forces

Destructions in a Small Town by Pakistani Army

Bangladeshis Demonstrators at White House asking Pakistan to Apologize

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan

Martyred Intellectuals Memorial

Genocide of 1971-1

Genocide of 1971-2

Sheikh Mujib with British PM Edward Heath on January 8 1972

Sheikh Mujib Speaking to Press in London on January 8 1972 after release

Sheikh Mujib with Senator Edward Kennedy

Sheikh Mujib with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Victim Mother with Child

Sheikh Mujib observes Exit Parade of Indian Forces on March 12 1972

Sheikh Mujib shaking hands with Indian PM Indira Gandhi

Sheikh Mujib Receiving Indira Gandhi

Mujib 100 Years Celebration

Forced Exodus to India from East Pakistan

Yahya Khan, The Demons

A Woman Witnessed the Horrific Tortures

Commander-In-Chief of Freedom Fighters Gen MAG Osmani

Sheikh Hasina and Sajeeb Wazed Joy with President Barak and Michelle Obama

Sheikh Hasina with President Joe Biden at UNO

Women protest Led by Poet Sufia Kamal

Pains of Tortures

Gruesome Killing

Killing Spree of Pakistani Army and local Razakars

Displaced and Evicted refugees

Chuknagar Memorial

Sheikh Mujib with President Jerald Ford

Sheikh Mujib with Henry Kissinger

President Obama Holding Sheikh Mujib’s Picture

Pakistan Army Checking a Man if He is Circumcised

Women Tortured, raped, Killed and Burned the Bodies

Village Level Freedom Fighters

Indian Army Chief Gen. Sam Manekshaw

Bengali Razakars are Taking Oath Touching Holy Qur’an to Save Pakistan

Gruesome Killing of Bengalis by Pakistani Army

A Woman Guerrilla Fighter

Abducted Captive Women brutally were tortured

Indira Gandhi with President Nixon-1

Indira Gandhi with President Nixon

Concert for Bangladesh

Pandit Ravi Shankar

Stature of George Harrison in Dhaka

Indira Gandhi Visiting the Refugee Camp

Boy and Girls Freedom Fighters

Author Dr. M Mohsin Ali

Indira Gandhi Visiting Refugee Camp

Refugees Going Flocking to India by Bus

Male and Female Guerrilla Freedom Fighters

The Massacres

Pakistani tank rolling over dead bodies; Gruesome killings of Bengalis by Pakistani Army

Bengalis are fleeing to India; People in foreign countries marching for Bangladesh

Women tortured, raped, killed & dumped. Time Magazine Cover Page after liberation of Bangladesh

Preface/Disclaimer

This book, 1971 Massacres in Bangladesh, is written on the basis of the historical facts. This is not a novel of imaginations. This book is written with the true information collected from different sources received through online and practical knowledge. These true massacres were committed more than fifty-one years ago. The true information of the incidents is still fresh in the memories of those who witnessed the incidents committed right before their eyes. Many of the eyewitnesses are still alive. The author of this book is himself an eyewitness to some of these incidents.

This historical information is known to most people in Bangladesh and other South Asian countries. But most people do not know the details. Especially the new generations are not aware of the massacres committed by the Pakistani army against the Bengalis during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. The Pakistan Armed Forces brutally killed three million people, raped more than four hundred thousand women, displaced forty million people, of which ten million were forced to flee to take refuge in India and destroyed multibillion dollars’ worth of properties.

These atrocities and massacres are genocidal committed by the Pakistani military and their local armed collaborators. This information is floating on the Internet—Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia, different websites, social and news media, and in books and articles. This author researched and collected that information and used the information to inform the readers of the world about the genocidal atrocities, tortures, killings, rapes, destructions and massacres committed by the Pakistanis in Bangladesh in 1971. In order to use this information, the writer used the photographs, documents, and quotations, sometimes excerpted as they are for the readers.

The writer is deeply grateful to the sources of information and disclaim that many of the documents and information used and quoted in this book are borrowed from those sources. I request the sources of information to accept my apology and gratefulness for using their relevant photographs, documents, and information to inform the world about the genocides and massacres committed by the Pakistani occupation forces against the unarmed innocent people of Bangladesh (former East Pakistan). I am grateful to Mr. M. M. R. Jalal. I borrowed some documents from his website. I thank Fahim Reza Nur, Khan Shawkat, and Ms. Rawshan Uddin and Rakibul Hasan Resim and Rashidul Islam of Daily Mukto Provat IPTV Channel for helping me collecting some documents. I also thank my beloved wife Mahfuza K. Ali my son Dr. Maroof M. Ali, DO; my daughters Malisa M. Ali, Maliha M. Ali and Mehrin M. Ali for their support and encouragement in writing this and other books.

A Short Introduction to Bangladesh

The Bengal was never ruled by the people of Bengal as an independent nation or country. The history of the last 2000 years revealed that the land known as Bengal was invaded by the foreign traders who later conquered as the ruling authority and ruled the country. The Aryan, Pala, Dutches, Portuguese, Mongolians, Tatars, Huns, Drabirs, Persians, Mughals, East Ethiopians, Middle Eastern, the British, Pakistan, Turkey and more.

Bengal, the deltaic region of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers, is the easternmost haven of Indo-Iranian culture on the Indian subcontinent. Iranian culture was introduced in Bengal from a.d. 1204, when the cavalry of Baḵtīār Ḵalajī, a Turkish officer of the newly implanted Mamluk dynasty in north India, swept into the city of Nādīa and dislodged from power the reigning Sena dynasty of Hindu kings (Raverty, I, pp. 548-60). Bengal was thereupon established as a province of the Delhi sultanate, through which it inherited the broad institutional features of the medieval Iranian world that had evolved under the ʿAbbasids.

Bangladesh, the eighth most populous country in the world, is an independent sovereign country in South Asia. It has a population of about 170 million in an area of 148,460 sq. km (57,320 sq. miles), making it one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Bangladesh has about 5,000 km border with India from three sides. It shares land borders with India to the west, north, and east. It has also border with Myanmar (Burma) to the southeast. To the south of Bangladesh is the Bay of Bengal. Dhaka is the largest city and the capital of the country, which is the nation’s economic, political, and cultural hub. Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh.

After the partition of India in August 1947, Bengal was also divided. East Bengal, later renamed East Pakistan, became a province of Pakistan. The Bengali language movement in 1952, the legislative election of 1954 and 1956, the military coup of Pakistan in 1958, Sheikh Mujib’s Six Point movement of 1966, and the Eleven Points students’ movement of 1969 against Pakistan’s brutal colonial rules, suppressions, oppressions, dominations, exploitations, disparities, and deprivations resulted in the rise of Bengali nationalism movements in East Pakistan.

The landslide victory of the Awami League in the 1970 Pakistani general election proved the unity of the Bengalis under the lone leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. But the refusal of the Pakistani military rulers to transfer power to the Awami League led to the Bangladesh Liberation War against Pakistan from March 26 in 1971. During this war, the Pakistani forces committed heinous crimes of atrocities, mass killings, rapes, burning of properties and created coercive mass exodus from Bangladesh to take refuge in India, making it the world’s worst genocide and massacre after the Holocaust.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (March 17, 1920–August 15, 1975) was born in a remote village of Tungipara of Gopalganj district during the period of British rule. He came from a middle class Muslim family. He was a Bengali politician and statesman who was the founder of Bangladesh. He headed the Awami League and served as the first president of Bangladesh and later as prime minister. He is popularly referred to as Sheikh Mujib (shortened as Mujib), with the honorary title of Bangabandhu (Bangabandhu, Friend of Bengal), and widely revered in Bangladesh as the founding father of the nation. He was assassinated along with his wife, 3 sons and 2 daughters-in-law by a military coup on August 15, 1975. His 2 daughters were traveling outside of the country during this killing spree and they are saved and still alive now. His elder daughter, Sheikh Hasina, is the present leader of the Awami League and the current and 4th 5-year term prime minister of Bangladesh.

Father of Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman liberated Bangladesh and his daughter current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is taking it forward

Preamble

Pakistan was created on August 14, 1947, after the British divided India based on the religions before the British withdrew its 190 years of colonial rules. Muslim-majority areas became Pakistan, and Hindu majority areas stayed with India. Mohammad Ali Jinnah advocated the two-nation theory of the Muslims and Hindus and persuaded the British rulers to divide India and create Pakistan. Jinnah became the first governor-general of Pakistan, and during his tenure, he maintained a powerful central government under his authority. When Jinnah died in 1948, Nazimuddin became governor-general, but the real power lay with Liaquat Ali Khan, the prime minister. When Liaquat was assassinated in October 1951, Nazimuddin succeeded him as prime minister and installed Ghulam Mohammad, a Punjabi, as governor-general. Ghulam Mohammad consolidated a coalition of civil and military forces in the central government and secured a virtual transfer of power from the politicians to the coalition, first by dismissing Nazimuddin.

The United Front—a coalition of opposition parties led largely by a pragmatic leader of undivided India from Bengal, Abul Kasem M. Sher-e-Bangla Fazlul Haq, and by another political legend of undivided India, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy—owned a vast majority of seats in East Bengal in the general elections of 1954. Ghulam Mohammad left office, and Maj. Gen. Iskander Mirza, who had served both as governor in East Bengal and as a central minister, took office as governor-general in 1955. Mirza changed the name of East Bengal to East Pakistan.

Mirza became president and appointed Suhrawardy of Awami League coalition, as prime minister by late 1957. In December of 1957, Firoz Khan Noon became the prime minister, with support from the Awami League.

In 1958, the government of Pakistan came under military control, and Mirza was deposed from power and sent to exile. Field Marshall Gen. Ayub Khan took over the power as president and commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

Leaders of undivided India from East Bengal

Bengali discontent festered, finding a voice in Mujibur Rahman, who was one of the founders of the Awami League in 1949 and became its leading figure after Suhrawardy’s death in 1963. A superb organizer and orator who was jailed repeatedly by the military, Mujib announced a historic six-point demand for East Pakistani autonomy.

The Six-Point Formula of Sheikh Mujib

These six-point demands were placed in a conference of the leaders of Pakistan on February 5, 1966, and formally declared in Dhaka on June 6, 1966, by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

There would be a federal parliamentary system based on direct adult franchise, and representation of provinces would be on the basis of population in the federal legislature.

The federal government will be restricted only to foreign affairs, defense, and currency. And even regarding foreign affairs, the dealings of economic matters would rest on the provinces.

There would either be two different currencies for the two wings or a single one with federal reserve systems for each wing.

The power of implementation and collection of taxes would lie with the provinces. The federal government will be given enough shares to fulfill its tasks of foreign affairs and defense.

There would be separate accounts of foreign-exchange earnings for each wing.

East Pakistan should be given the authority to have a militia or paramilitia force solely under its provincial government.

1969 uprising in East Pakistan

The people of East Pakistan took their grave grievances to the streets and marched to protest against the discrepancies, disparities, deprivation by the Pakistani rulers, demanding provincial autonomy based on the six-points formula and demanding the release of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and others and dismiss the fake Agartala conspiracy case in 1969. The uprising consisted of a series of mass demonstrations and sporadic conflicts between government armed forces and the demonstrators. Although the unrest began in 1966 with the Six-point movement of Awami League, the 11-point movement against the government of President Field Marshall Ayub Khan got momentum in1969 and forced President Ayub Khan to withdraw Agartala Conspiracy Case and acquittal of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his colleagues from the case.

There were some punitive measures taken by the President Ayub Khan against Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Awami League for championing Six-Points to guarantee genuine autonomy in 1966; Sheikh Mujib and other leaders were jailed. On 7 June 1966 students and people of East Pakistan called general strike in protest and dozens of Bengalis were killed by the police. After the 1968-69 uprising the demand of East Pakistan’s autonomy mounted. In 1969 Mujib spoke out for renaming East Pakistan as Bangladesh (Bengal Nation).

Timeline of events in 1969

4 January: Shorbodolio Chatro Shongram Porishad (The All Party Student Action Committee) puts forth its 11-point agenda.

7–8 January: Formation of a political coalition named Democratic Action Committee (DAC) to restore democracy.

20 January: Student activist Asaduzzaman dies as the police opens fire on demonstrators.

24 January: Matiur, a teenager activist, is gunned down by the police.

15 February: Sergeant Zahurul Haq, one of the convicts of Agartala Conspiracy Case, is assassinated in the prison of Kurmitola Cantonment.

18 February: Dr. Shamsuzzoha of Rajshahi University is killed as the police open fire on a silent procession in Rajshahi.

21 February: Withdrawal of Agartala Conspiracy Case.

23 February: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is accorded a grand reception, where he is given the title Bangabandhu (friend of Bengal).[1]

10–13 March: Ayub Khan calls for a round-table meeting with the opposition.

24 March: Ayub Khan hands over power to GeneralYahya Khan, the army Chief of Staff.

East Pakistan, 1969

The scale of the movement was breathtaking: during five months of continuous struggles that began on November 7, 1968, and ended on March 26, 1969, some 10–15 million people had -participated in the struggle across East Pakistan.

Bangladesh Liberation War

The Bangladesh Liberation War was the bloody war of the Bangladesh freedom fighters against the Pakistani occupation forces. Indian forces also participated in support of the freedom fighters. Bangladesh was formerly known as East Pakistan, and the current Pakistan was the former West Pakistan, with a land distance of 1,200 miles over India. The war lasted for roughly nine months from March 26, 1971, to December 16, 1971. The war resulted in Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan. Pakistan was created by partitioning India in August 14 of 1947, with the Muslim-majority areas assigned as Pakistan and the Hindu-majority areas continued to stay in India. The partition from India in 1947 had arisen from the two-nation theory that Muslims and Hindus in India were two separates nations whose people could not live together. Pakistan was the first modern state founded solely on the basis of religion. India got a Hindu majority, and it was multireligious, with Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, and Christians. Indian constitution was secular.

When East Bengal (current Bangladesh) was included in the partition, many thought this was a mistake because of the cultural differences between Bengal and the people of what became West Pakistan. East Pakistani Bengalis opposed the proposal of the Pakistani rulers and started the linguistic-cultural movement. The Pakistani rulers tried to impose Urdu as the official language over Bangla, but the Bengalis took their protest movement to the streets against the Pakistani rulers.

Students from Dhaka University gathered together on February 21, 1952, and decided to break Section 144 (no public gathering) and brought a mass procession, demanding the Bangla to be the state language of East Pakistan. Police fired on the procession and killed a dozen of students. Since then, February 21, 1952 had been observed as the language-movement mourning day of Bangla language. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recognized this day as the International Mother Language Day since 1999.

Sheikh Mujib was presenting 6-Point Demands in Lahore on 5 February 1966.

Bangladesh was founded on the basis of cultural and linguistic identity. Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, and animists, united by a common language and a common culture, struggled for their freedom. Only a few pro-Pakistani families were unaffected by the war. Most people lost their relatives or family members. The Bengali people have been conquered by others but have not had a history of aggression. They have traded, written poetry, sung songs and have developed a rich cultural tradition of which they are proud. However, denied equal rights with West Pakistan and the right to form a government, even though the largest number of seats in Pakistan’s parliament were held by East Pakistani members, they bravely asserted their right to self-determination. The atrocities committed by Pakistani soldiers during this war are regarded by some as genocide.

History of Bangla Language Movement

Following the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan, the East and West Pakistan were separated geographically and culturally. The Bengalis of East Pakistan were predominantly Muslim, but there was a significant number of Hindu (20%) population who used to live in East Pakistan. The rulers of Pakistan who were from the West Pakistan hated the Bengali Muslims in the East Pakistan for being too Bengali and considered their practice of Islam as inferior and impure. The Pakistani rulers did not believe the Bengali Muslims. The west began a strategy to destroy the Bengali language and culture forcibly. Though less than 0.01% Bengalis could speak Urdu, but in 1948, the Pakistani rulers declared Urdu to be the national language of Pakistan. The Bengalis rejected the wish of the Pakistani rulers and expressed their opposition, directly through the student-peoples’ movement on the streets and began the Bengali language movement. The progressive Bengali politicians founded the Awami League and Student League as an alternative to the ruling Muslim League.

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Chronological Events of Bangla Language Movement

Bengali language originated in the seventh century in the family of Indo-Aryan language through a long evolutionary process. According to scholars, the earliest forms of Bengali language have to be traced in the Buddhist mystic songs known as Buddha Gan o Doha. It was the Buddhist mystics who are to be credited for composing the earliest verses of Bengali, the language of the masses, for preaching their religious ideas. During the Buddhist Pala dynasty, the Bengali language enjoyed royal patronage.

Bengali language, during its earliest days, faced sudden setback when in the eleventh century, the orthodox Brahminic Senas coming from the Deccan toppled the Pala dynasty and established the Sena rule in Bengal. The Senas introduced discriminating caste system in the society and made Sanskrit the state language of the country. Use of Bengali language was discouraged not only at the official level but also in religious discourses. The Brahminic pundits issued religious injunctions declaring the use of the Bengali language as a sin deserving exemplary punishment. One such injunctions said, Those who will listen to Astadash Purana and Ramayana in man-made Bengali language shall go to Rourava hell.

Ikhtiar Uddin Muhammad Bin Bakhtiyar Khilji conquered Bengal in AD 1203. Establishment of Muslim rule in Bengal not only brought about a revolutionary change in the then caste-ridden society of Bengal but also opened a golden chapter in the history of the growth of Bengali language and literature. Pursuit of Bengali language and literature received liberal patronage and encouragement from the Muslim rulers.

Dr. Dinesh Chandra Sen rightly asserted, Just as diamond remaining within the coalmine awaits a lapidary, as pearl remaining hidden in the oyster longs for the coming of a diver, Bengali language had been in wait for an august hour, an opportune moment. Muslim conquest brought for the Bengali language that august time, an opportune moment.

Attack on Bengali Language by Pakistan and