[Genocide/1971] Jaffer Raza: "Genocide by Pak Army"

In 1947, two independent states emerged on the face of the world map: India and Pakistan. Pakistan had two wings: East Pakistan and West Pakistan. The two wings had little in common other than religion. West Pakistan dominated East Pakistan in almost all spheres of life, disparaging the numerical majority of the East Pakistani population. Ultimately, Shaikh Mujib-ur-Rehman led the Bengali nation to strive completely for the autonomy of the Bengali nation, culminating with the birth of Bangladesh. However millions were slaughtered in the Bengali independence movement, with the West Pakistan army proving as mercenaries. The purpose of this study is to argue that the events of 1971 can be classified as genocide. This paper will
attempt to show the viciousness of the crimes and brutality perpetrated on the Bengali nation, and will also attempt to prove that the official Pakistani version is far from what really happened. The genocide committed by the West Pakistan army in Bangladesh was by no means justified.

We live in a world today where the death of one hundred people in a plane crash is viewed as a national tragedy, while the death of three million people has escaped the scope of common knowledge. One of the biggest genocides in history has been sidelined and September 11th, 2001 is still in the media limelight. It seems that the death of a single person is a national tragedy and the death of millions remains a mere statistic. What happened in Bangladesh between March 25 and December 16, 1971 epitomized the spirit of the human will, and, yet again proved man's unlimited capacity to be brutal towards his fellow beings. The events which will unfold throughout this paper will further strengthen this claim, as people of one country and religion were perpetrating atrocities on others. This paper will attempt to show the viciousness of the crimes and brutality perpetrated on the Bengali nation at the time of the “Fall of Dhaka” and will also attempt to prove that the official Pakistani version of the event is far from what really happened. The genocide committed by the West Pakistan army in Bangladesh was by no means justified. The purpose of this study is to argue that the events of 1971 in Bangladesh can be classified as genocide. The word
‘genocide’ means “The systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group.”

In 1947, when the British withdrew from the Subcontinent, India and Pakistan emerged as two independent nations. The basis of this division was religion. Pakistan had the unique distinction of being a nation divided into two wings that were separated by miles of hostile Indian territory. This unnatural gulf of territory was naturally going to breed problems for the unity of the country at large. Therefore Pakistan, then the largest Muslim state, had a built-in problem. The two wings had little in common other than religion. Though East Pakistan had a clear majority of the population, the powerful minority of West Pakistan dominated. This domination was unfair and unjust. There was discrimination in every sector of public life. The civil service,
bureaucracy, business, industry, banking etc of East Pakistan were dominated by West Pakistan. Some sources suggest that the first seed of an independent Bangladesh was sown when Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan declared that “Urdu and Urdu only will be the language for Pakistan. ”This was declared at a meeting in Dhaka in 1948 and was not acceptable to the people of East Pakistan. This naturally made the people of East Pakistan agitated. There were immediate protests as Bengali speaking people made up around 55% of the total population in Pakistan. The language problem added fuel to their discontent. There was increasing frustration and mistrust towards the government of Pakistan, on the part of Bengalis. An incident took place where the police opened fire at a students protest march on 21
February 1952. Many innocent students and civilians died. The people of East Pakistan were freedom loving and the blood shed on that day further strengthened their independence movement. So the desire, and then demand, for a separate independent state became inevitable.

Historically, East Pakistan was allocated only 36 % of the total resources and East Pakistanis occupied only 20 % of the positions in the federal government. During the war against India in 1965, East Pakistan was left defenseless. In 1970, a terrible cyclone struck Bangladesh, in which more than 250,000 people died. The government showed a lack of concern for the Bengali people and the East wing was neglected by the Pakistan government. This alienation gave rise to the popularity of the Awami League and its
reflection was seen in the general elections that took place in December 1970 which were won by a huge majority by the party. The Awami League was seen as a platform where the people of East Pakistan could voice their concerns and grievances. Therefore the party won 167 of 169 seats in East Pakistan but none in West Pakistan. The results of the election are a proof of the popularity enjoyed by the party in the Eastern wing. Even though no seats were secured by the party in West Pakistan, it still secured absolute
majority in the Pakistan National Assembly, e.g. 167 of the total 313 seats. As the popularity of the party increased, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became a prominent leader in East Pakistan. At this point there were great differences between politicians of both the wings. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto along with General Yahya Khan refused to accept the majority party, therefore denying them their fundamental and democratic right.

What can be deduced from the above information is that the Bengali people were economically, socially and politically deprived. They did not have the right to self determination. As Pakistani citizens they had an equal right if not more, owing to their greater numbers, to economic well being, political representation and social acceptance. It seems that the distinction between an East and West Pakistani citizen was totally
unwarranted. Discriminating between different races and ethnical backgrounds within the same country is rather unfortunate. The Alienation of East Pakistan was a nail in our national coffin.

After the 1970 elections, Martial Law Administrator General Yahya Khan refused to hand over power to the elected representative Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. . Some efforts had been made for negotiations. Yahya Khan, President of Pakistan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto; Leader of Peoples Party of West Pakistan came to Dhaka to hold discussions with Bongobondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman that lasted a few days. After the failure of negotiations General Yahya Khan On March 25th, 1971 ordered the Pakistan Army to debilitate the Bengali Nation. A decision was taken to crush the Awami league and its supporters. Under General Yahya Khan’s direction the Pakistan Army began the genocide on 25th March, 1971. For the Pakistan army it was necessary to launch a campaign of genocide to eradicate the threat posed by the Awami
league, as their popularity and success was a threat to the administration. "Kill three million of them," said President Yahya Khan, "and the rest will eat out of our hands." A terror campaign was launched to intimidate the Bengalis into submission. Within hours a mass slaughter was carried out in Dhaka, with the heaviest attacks concentrated on University of Dhaka and the Hindu-dominated areas. The Pakistan Army came with hit lists and systematically killed several hundred Bengalis. Death squads roamed the
streets of Dhaka. An approximate number of 7000 people were murdered in a single night. The main targets of the genocide were Bengali military men, Hindus, supporters of the Awami league, students and the Bengali intellectuals. Shiekh Mujibur Rahman was captured and flown to West Pakistan for imprisonment.

A week after Shiekh Mujibur Rahman was imprisoned, half the population of Dacca had fled, and at least 30,000 people had been killed. At the same time Chittagong, had lost half its population. Innocent people of East Pakistan people were taking flight, and it was estimated by some sources that in April approximately thirty million people were wandering helplessly across East Pakistan to escape the grasp of the military. The military intervention of India was due to the influx of ten million refugees from East Pakistan to India, which overwhelmed the latter’s resources.

Almost all villages of Bangladesh were turned into a graveyard by the Pakistan army and its allies such as the Al- Badar gangsters. According to Rounaq Jahan, a Bengali national, "All through the liberation war,
able-bodied young men were suspected of being actual or potential freedom fighters. Thousands were arrested, tortured, and killed. Eventually cities and towns became bereft of young males who either took refuge in India or joined the liberation war. Especially during the first phase of the genocide, young able-bodied males were the victims of indiscriminate killings." Dead bodies could be seen on the streets of Bangladesh, floating down rivers, and near army concentration camps. Mass murders were committed
at places which could not be easily accessed by the journalists. Hindu houses were painted with yellow “H’s”. Hindu’s were robbed of their lands and shops and an organized extermination of the creed was carried out. “I was told by a friend of mine, who was in a concentration camp, about a Hindu prisoner who used to perform 'namaz' five times a day like the Muslims because he could escape torture only during prayer times,” said Maniruzzaman Mia a Bengali national.Along with these incidents there are several other
instances where the brutal and inhumane acts can be witnessed. These couples of examples are a mere reflection of what was happening in the Eastern wing in that period.

Atrocities were committed on the Bengali women as well, in the form of gang rape and murder. It is commonly known as the “Rape of Bangladesh.” Sources suggest that between 200,000 and 400,000 women were raped in the short period. Since the majority population in Bangladesh is Muslim, most women who were raped were Muslims. Rape in Bangladesh had hardly been restricted to beauty or religion as most women were Muslim. Age was also no barrier in this heinous act as girls of eight and grandmothers of seventy-five had been sexually assaulted. Apart from being assaulted on the spot; several Bengali women were abducted and were held by force in the military barracks of the Pakistan army, for nightly use. Another shocking fact that was revealed during the research was that some women were raped as many as eighty times in a night.

After the Pakistan Army cracked down on the innocent people of the then East Pakistan and committed the most heinous crimes against them, the Bengalis stood up as one to defend their freedom and fight for their liberation. Zia-ur-Rahman, a young Major in the Pakistan Army posted in Chittagong, volunteered to fight against this injustice and made the announcement of independence from the Chittagong radio station, on behalf of Bongobondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 27th 1971.

Most of the young and able bodied men, determined to fight back joined the Mukti Bahini, the Bengali liberation army. Such a force was formed to put a halt on the atrocities committed by the Pakistan army as it was a direct consequence to the actions undertaken by them. Thus a Liberation Force was formed in cooperation with the Indian Army, which ultimately turned out to become a disciplined force and defeated the Pakistan Army. On December 16th 1971 the Pakistan army surrendered to the allied forces of the Indian army and the Mukti Bahini. This was the point where the viciousness of the Pakistan army was put to a halt as they were made to surrender. Some sources suggest that it was one of the biggest surrenders in modern history.

The United Nations Human Rights Commission report states that the killings in East Pakistan took place at a rate of between six to twelve thousand people per day. The carnage went on for 267 days, which takes up the total death toll to about 3 million. On the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UNHCR report stated that the genocide committed in Bangladesh was the worst in modern history.

What can be deduced from the above information is that the actions of the Pakistan army in East Pakistan were brutal and barbaric. It was a mass attack on the lives, respect and human rights of the Bengalis. What appears most appalling to me was the fact that the press was never allowed to investigate exactly went on at that time, as the atrocities committed were at places outside the reach of the press. This I feel was a mere tactic used by the authorities so that people are kept as far away from reality as possible. It is indeed sad that the school syllabus designed by the state, to date, contains no mention of such events. What is rather interesting to note here is that the killing of young men could have benefited the Pakistan
army in its cause but the rape of women can only be classed as sheer ruthlessness.

General A.K. Niazi, the Pakistani commander of the eastern command at the time of the fall of Dhaka, claimed that he and his subordinates were innocent. He claims that when he surrendered to General Aurora, he was merely following orders from the GHQ in Rawalpindi. A commission was set up and was called the Hamoodur Rehman Commission to investigate the incident. General Niazi disregards the work of that commission because it was headed by a Bengali Chief Justice. The report of the commission was released later, to be burnt by the Pakistani government. Most sources suggest that the report was unbiased and contained alarming facts and figures degrading the Pakistan army. The main reason for the report being unbiased was that an independent commission was set up and its proceedings were free from outside interference. The “original” report is claimed to be unbiased but the complete report is yet to be made public. Though an incomplete version of the report was published very recently in 1998. The proceedings and findings of the report also suggest that the acts of the Pakistan army can indeed be classified as genocide. But sadly the Pakistanis to date do not accept the events of 1971 and feign innocence.

I feel that hiding the facts from the general public cannot cover up our unjustifiable treatment of the Bengalis. The time has come for the people of West Pakistan to realize that their attitude towards people in the other wing was biased and unjust. It is indeed sad that the people who were involved in such a heinous act remain unquestioned even today. One can only hope that such atrocities will not be committed on other human beings in the future.