On March 25, 1971, the Pakistani military regime led by General Yahya Khan launched a military crackdown on the civilians of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). The campaign, codenamed Operation Searchlight, resulted in the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Bengali civilians and the displacement of millions more. The genocide is considered to be one of the worst in modern history. Let’s get to know in detail.
The Background
Although the Awami League won an absolute majority of 160 seats in the 1970 general election, West Pakistani leaders, including Yahya Khan and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, refused to hand over the power. In protest of this, the movement began to take place in East Pakistan. On March 3, 1971, Yahya called for a session at the National Assembly in Dhaka. But on March 1, he conveyed over radio message and adjourned the session. As a result, people all over East Pakistan erupted in protest, and many were injured in clashes with Pakistani forces on the 2nd and 3rd.
Meanwhile, on the orders of Ayub Khan, large numbers of troops started coming to East Pakistan from West Pakistan from the first week of March. Later, he announced the commencement of the session of the National Assembly on March 25 to calm the situation. However, the purpose of calling his session was to prevent Bangabandhu’s pre-scheduled speech on March 7.
Later on March 7, 1971, Sheikh Mujib delivered his historic speech, and people all over the country took this as a call for independence. Meanwhile, President Yahya Khan arrived in Dhaka on March 15, and he met with Bangabandhu on March 17. The second meeting was held the next day.
Then on March 19, the first armed resistance against the Pakistanis took place at Joydebpur in Gazipur. Due to this, the plan of disarming the Bengali army of Joydebpur 2nd East Bengal Regiment failed.
On March 20, President Yahya Khan held an emergency meeting at the Dhaka Cantonment with the military adviser General Hamid Khan, the military administrator of East Pakistan Tikka Khan, General Peerzada, General Omar, and other senior military officials. There, the ‘Operation Searchlight’ was approved for March 25.
On March 22, Yahya Khan adjourned the session of the National Assembly to be held in Dhaka on March 25. Meanwhile, from 23 to March 24, the Pakistani army carried out massacres in different parts of Bengal. Three hundred and fifty people were killed at Syedpur, Rangpur, and Mirpur in Nilphamari. Many people were injured.
Pakistani Forces Planed Secretly
Troops were being brought to Dhaka from West Pakistan almost every day since the second week of March. It increased even more before March 25. On March 17, Major General Khadim Hussain Raja, GOC of the 14th Division, took charge of the operation. The next day, General Raja and Major General Rao Farman Ali planned the operation.
Declaration of Independence on March 25
Leaders of Chhatra Sangram Parishad Sirajul Alam Khan, Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni, Abdur Razzak, Tofail Ahmed, and many others were pressuring Bangabandhu to declare independence from March 23. But Bangabandhu was waiting for the right time.
On March 24, Bangabandhu made 2-3 drafts of the Declaration of Independence and finalized it with Sirajul Alam Khan and Tajuddin’s consultation. On March 24 Rao Farman Ali announced to arrest Bangabandhu alive on the 25th.
On March 25, at around 10:30 PM, the Pakistani aggressors surrounded Bangabandhu’s house and started heavy firing. Understanding the situation, Bangabandhu declared independence using wireless with the help of police in the early hours of March 26. The announcement was, “The enemy has struck us. Hit them back. Victory is ours. Insha Allah. Joy Bangla” Mujibur Rahman.
Operation Searchlight
Tikka Khan, under the direction of Yahya and Bhutto, launched ‘Operation Searchlight’ in the name of protecting the integrity of Pakistan. The Pakistani administration started disarming the Bengali army and police from the beginning of March so that they do not fall victim to any counter-attack. Many Bengali soldiers were sent on leave and transferred to Pakistan.
A curfew was imposed on the evening of March 25, and preparations were made to carry out brutal violence. At 11:30 PM., Pakistani troops came out of the cantonment and launched Operation Searchlight, massacring Bengalis marching on Farmgate.
The halls of Dhaka University were on the first hit list of the attack. The 17th Punjab, the 22nd Baloch, the 32nd Punjab Regiment, and some allied battalions were in charge of the Dhaka University area. As soon as the curfew was imposed, they entered Dhaka University with tanks, automatic rifles, rocket launchers, heavy mortars, light machine guns and started massacres in the halls. Shahid Sergeant Zahurul Haq Hall, Jagannath Hall, and Salimullah Muslim Hall were the main targets of the attack.
The Pakistani army then attacked the Rajarbagh police line, killing countless policemen. From there, the first resistance against the Pakistani attack began. But the Rajarbagh police line could not survive for long in the face of constant attacks by Pakistanis with modern weapons.
The killings took place at various places, including Rajarbagh Police Line, Peelkhana EPR Headquarters, Dhaka University, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh University of Engineering, Nilkhet, and many other places. When everyone was asleep, the Pakistanis launched a surprise attack. Suddenly, the air in Dhaka seemed to roar with rifles, machine guns, and mortar fire.
The Pakistani aggressors carried out violence all over the city of Dhaka. In just a few hours, the whole of Dhaka was transformed into a place of death. They took control of many important places in Dhaka city and blew up important installations. It resulted in around fifty thousand deaths of innocent people in Dhaka alone. However, according to the Sydney Morning Herald of Australia, on the night of March 25 alone, about 100,000 people were killed in Bangladesh.
Final Words
The Pakistanis wanted to occupy and exploit Bangladesh by carrying out barbaric genocide and arresting political leaders. But that ruthless attack made the Bengalis angrier to snatch their freedom.
Source: United News of Bangladesh
