To restart the Liberation War, the history of the 1971 genocide must be brought to light. March 25: A Stained Night in World History. March 25 remains one of the darkest nights in world history. The brutality and horror of the Pakistani occupation forces on that fateful night serve as a testament to how cruel and inhumane man can be. Under the guise of “Operation Searchlight,” the Pakistani military, like green-uniformed demons, unleashed a massacre on the sleeping Bengalis, killing over 100,000 innocent people in a single night. This horrific event, one of the most gruesome and terrifying in our nation’s history, has been officially recognized as Genocide Day in Bangladesh, alongside Independence Day, Victory Day, and International Mother Language Day. On March 11, 2017, the Bangladesh National Parliament unanimously passed a resolution to acknowledge this day.
To restart the Liberation War: Historians, international journals, and research-based books on the Liberation War reveal chilling details about March 25. If these truths are conveyed accurately to future generations, no one—except those who oppose independence—will ever be able to forgive Pakistan. To keep the spirit of the Liberation War alive, we must highlight what truly happened on that devastating night.
The Horrors of That Fateful Night
At 5:44 PM on March 25, 1971, Pakistani President Yahya Khan left the Presidential Palace in Dhaka for the airport. A minute later, he fled to Karachi after failing in negotiations with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Instead of pursuing a peaceful solution, Yahya Khan gave the order for mass murder. As darkness fell, military convoys loaded with troops, tanks, and heavy weaponry poured out of the cantonments, spreading across Dhaka.
At midnight, American-made tanks rolled into Dhaka University, accompanied by army-loaded trucks. Pakistani soldiers stormed Jagannath Hall and Iqbal Hall (now Zohurul Haq Hall), brutally gunning down sleeping students. In Jagannath Hall alone, 103 Hindu students were slaughtered, while many university teachers were also targeted. Prominent professors, including Dr. Gobinda Chandra Dev, Dr. Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta, Professor Santosh Bhattacharya, and Dr. Moniruzzaman, were mercilessly executed.
To eliminate any resistance from the Bengali police force, the Pakistani military launched an attack on the Rajarbagh Police Headquarters. Despite being outgunned, the brave Bengali police officers put up a fierce resistance before being overwhelmed by enemy tanks and machine-gun fire. By midnight, Dhaka had turned into a city of death, with innocent, unarmed Bengalis being slaughtered in their sleep.
Anticipating the inevitable, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared Bangladesh’s independence in the early hours of March 26, before his arrest. His message was clear:
“This may be my last message. From today, Bangladesh is independent. I urge the people of Bangladesh to resist the occupying forces with whatever they have. Fight until the last Pakistani soldier is driven out of our land and final victory is achieved.”
This declaration was transmitted nationwide through the East Pakistan Rifles (EPR) transmitter and later broadcast from the independent radio station in Chittagong on March 26 and 27.
The Scale of the Genocide
Despite the Pakistani military’s extreme brutality, their plan to crush the Bengali spirit failed. No one has been able to provide an exact count of the victims of the 1971 genocide. Estimates suggest that during the Nazi-Fascist massacres in Europe during World War II, mass killings lasted over four years. However, in Bangladesh, Pakistani forces, along with their collaborators (Razakars, Al-Badr, and Al-Shams), carried out one of the most concentrated genocides in history.
In just a few hours, around 10,000 people were slaughtered in Chuknagar. Nowhere else in world history has such a vast number of people been killed in such a short time. According to Pravda, the Soviet Communist Party’s official newspaper, 300,000 people were killed in the genocide. However, some claim that Yahya Khan himself ordered the extermination of three million Bengalis. The United Nations’ Universal Human Rights Survey, published in 1982, reported that an average of 6,000–12,000 people were murdered daily in Bangladesh in 1971—one of the highest rates in recorded history.
Additionally, over 200,000 women were subjected to inhumane rape and torture, with countless young girls being abducted from their homes and universities. American journalist Susan Brownmiller estimated that more than 400,000 women fell victim to the depraved Pakistani soldiers.
The Betrayal of Justice
Even after 54 years of independence, Bangladesh has failed to secure international recognition of the 1971 genocide. No one has been held accountable for these heinous crimes. One of the main reasons for this failure is the political shift in 1975, when anti-independence forces seized power following the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family. For the next 21 years, these forces not only obstructed justice but also attempted to erase the true history of the Liberation War.
When Sheikh Hasina, Bangabandhu’s daughter, came to power in 1996, she took steps to end the culture of impunity by initiating the trials of war criminals. However, despite massive public support, her government faced opposition from powerful foreign and domestic forces. After returning to power in 2008, Sheikh Hasina’s administration successfully prosecuted war criminals and implemented key national projects, including the Padma Bridge.
Today, the demand for international recognition of the March 25 genocide is stronger than ever. Three global organizations—The Lemkin Institute, Genocide Watch, and the International Coalition for Sites of Conscience—have already recognized the atrocities as genocide. However, the United Nations has yet to do so. This recognition must be achieved, and those responsible for these crimes must be brought to justice.
A Threat to the Liberation War’s Legacy
On August 5, 2024, a political shift once again changed the course of history. The long-hidden allies of the 1971 Pakistani occupation forces used the quota reform movement to manipulate students’ emotions and execute their plan for revenge. Following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s forced departure, Bangladesh’s commitment to the Liberation War’s ideals has been severely threatened.
In the past seven months, the historical house at 32 Dhanmondi, where Bangabandhu lived, has been demolished twice. Monuments of the Liberation War have been destroyed across the country, and history is being rewritten in school textbooks to diminish the role of the war. Even the names of Bangabandhu and the four national leaders have been removed from the list of freedom fighters and relegated to the category of “war associates.”
The Road Ahead
If the genocide of 1971 is not internationally recognized and its perpetrators are not held accountable, the blood debt of our martyrs will never be repaid, nor will the collaborators of the Pakistani army be stopped.
To ensure that future generations uphold the ideals of the Liberation War, we must secure international recognition for March 25 as Genocide Day and counter the conspiracies of anti-independence forces. The horrifying memories of the genocide must be brought to the forefront so that no young Bangladeshi is ever deceived into supporting the enemies of our nation. If the youth of today truly learn the history of 1971, they will never stand with those who opposed our independence.
Writer: Manik Lal Ghosh, Former Vice-President of the Dhaka Journalists’ Union and central executive member of Bangladesh Awami Jubo League.
