Khulna: “Chuknagar Genocide Day,” commemorating the country’s largest and worst killings of human beings at Chuknagar during the Liberation War in 1971, is being observed today. To mark the day, local administration and the ‘Chuknagar Ganahattya Smrity Rakkha Parisad’ have organized various programs. These include the placing of wreaths at the Chuknagar Srityshoudha, a memorial built in memory of the massacre victims, and a discussion held this morning.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the eventual victory of December 16, 1971, was the outcome of nine months of sustained armed resistance, but the period was marked by a series of genocides. The Chuknagar Massacre is believed to be the worst, with at least 10,000 people slain in hours. S M Babar Ali, a veteran freedom fighter and senior BNP leader in Khulna, detailed the events in his book ‘Swadhinatar Durjoy Abhijan.’ He described how around 10 am, two trucks carrying Pakistan Army troops arrived at Kautala, then known as Patkhola. The troops, numbering possibly a platoon, opened fire on the public with light-machine guns and semi-automatic rifles.
The book also describes how the invading Pakistani troops took positions on two sides of the local bazaar and began spraying bullets indiscriminately. Many who evaded the bullets lost their lives in stampedes as thousands fled. Md Monirul Islam, an Assistant Professor at Chuknagar Degree College, recounted his memories of the massacre to BSS. As a boy at the time, he and his brother searched for their father at Dibya Rural Secondary School beside the river Bhadra, witnessing bodies lying everywhere. He vividly recalled a female baby’s lip on her deceased mother’s breast, a scene that left a lasting impression.
There are no official statistics on the number of people killed in Chuknagar, but most witnesses estimate the figure to be over 10,000. S M Babar Ali provided an account of the incident in his “Swadhinatar Durjoy Abhijan,” corroborating these estimates.