The Bangladesh Liberation War, also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence and known as the Liberation War in Bangladesh, was an armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which resulted in the independence of Bangladesh. The war began when the Pakistani military junta based in West Pakistan—under the orders of Yahya Khan—launched Operation Searchlight against East Pakistanis on the night of 25 March 1971, initiating the Bangladesh genocide.
Rajshahi District is a district in mid-western Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rajshahi Division. The metropolitan city of Rajshahi is in Rajshahi District.
Bogra District, officially Bogura District is a district in the northern part of Bangladesh, in the Rajshahi Division. Bogra is an industrial city where many small and mid-sized companies are sited. Bogra was a part of the Pundravardhana territory of ancient Bengal and the ruins of its capital can be found in northern Bogra. Bogra is named after the independent sultan of Bengal Nasiruddin Bughra Khan (1287–1291).
The Bangladesh genocide was the ethnic cleansing of Bengalis, especially Bengali Hindus, residing in East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War, perpetrated by the Pakistan Army and the Razakars. It began on 25 March 1971, as Operation Searchlight was launched by West Pakistan to militarily subdue the Bengali population of East Pakistan; the Bengalis comprised the demographic majority and had been calling for independence from the Pakistani state. Seeking to curtail the Bengali self-determination movement, erstwhile Pakistani president Yahya Khan approved a large-scale military deployment, and in the nine-month-long conflict that ensued, Pakistani soldiers and local pro-Pakistan militias killed between 300,000 and 3,000,000 Bengalis and raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bengali women in a systematic campaign of mass murder and genocidal sexual violence. In their investigation of the genocide, the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists concluded that Pakistan's campaign involved the attempt to exterminate or forcibly remove a significant portion of the country's Hindu populace. West Pakistanis in particular were shown by the news that the operation was carried out because of the 'rebellion by the East Pakistanis' and many activities at the time were hidden from them, including rape and ethnic cleansing of East Pakistanis by the Pakistani military.
Martyred Intellectuals Memorial is a monument built in memory of the martyred intellectuals of the Bangladesh Liberation War. The memorial is located at Rayerbazar, Mohammadpur Thana in Dhaka. The memorial was designed by architect Farid U Ahmed and Jami Al Shafi. The initial proposal for a memorial at Rayer Bazar was brought forward by Projonmo 71, who also laid a temporary foundation stone in 1991.
The Razakar were a gendarmerie and paramilitary force in East Pakistan organised by General Tikka Khan in 1971. They were organised as a counter-insurgency force to fight Mukti Bahini guerrillas in the Bangladesh Liberation War, and played an infamous role in the Bangladesh genocide. The Razakars were disbanded following Pakistan's defeat and surrender in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.
The Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini was a Bangladeshi para-military force formed in 1972 by the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman government. Initially formed to curb the insurgency and maintain law and order the force became involved in numerous charges of human rights abuse including political killings, shooting by death squads, and rape. It was seen as the armed wing of the ruling Awami League and it swore an oath of loyalty to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The Al-Badr was a collaborationist paramilitary force composed mainly of pro-Pakistan people, which operated in East Pakistan against the Bengali nationalist movement during the Bangladesh War of Independence, under the patronage of the Government of Pakistan.
The Al-Shams was a collaborationist paramilitary wing allied with several Islamist parties in East Pakistan, comprising both local Bengalis and Muhajirs. Alongside the Pakistan Army and Al-Badr, Al-Shams has been accused of participating in widespread atrocities against Bengali nationalists, civilians, and religious and ethnic minorities during the 1971 war. Following the war, the government of Bangladesh officially banned the group.
In 1971, the Pakistan Army and their local collaborators, most notably the extreme right wing militia group Al-Badr, engaged in the systematic execution of Bengali intellectuals during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. Bengali intellectuals were abducted, tortured and killed during the entire duration of the war as part of the Bangladesh genocide. However, the largest number of systematic executions took place on 25 March and 14 December 1971, two dates that bookend the conflict. 14 December is commemorated in Bangladesh as Martyred Intellectuals Day.
1971 Dhaka University massacre was the mass murder of students and faculty at the University of Dhaka in East Pakistan by the Pakistan Army, at the beginning of what would become the Bangladesh War of Independence. In March 1971, the Pakistan Army Eastern Wing Commander Tikka Khan launched Operation Searchlight on the orders of Yahya Khan to crush the Bengali nationalist movement. As part of the operation, the army launched an assault on the university campus. It is the deadliest attack on a university in history.
Martyred Intellectuals Day is observed on 14 December in Bangladesh to commemorate the large number of Bangladeshi intellectuals killed by Pakistani forces and their collaborators during the Bangladesh Liberation War, particularly on 25 March and 14 December 1971. The killings were undertaken with the goal of annihilating the intellectual class of what was then East Pakistan. On 16 December, Bangladesh became independent through the surrender of Pakistani forces.
The Crack Platoon was a special commando team of the Mukti Bahini. which was formed in 1971, during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It was formed by young members of the Mukti Bahini, which carried out commando operations in Dhaka and its surroundings and led by Major Khaled Mosharraf. The commandos were mostly students and civilians, who received guerrilla training later in the training camps for Mukti Bahini and then engaged in battle against the Pakistani Army.
Bangladesh Army University of Science and Technology (BAUST) is an army-backed university in Saidpur, Nilphamari, Bangladesh.
Rangpur Cantonment is a cantonment located in Rangpur, Bangladesh. It is the headquarters of 66th Infantry Division of the Bangladesh Army.
Dhapdhup massacre was a pre-planned massacre of over 3500 Bengali Hindus in the Hindu-majority areas around Islampur and Sukhanpokhari in Boda Upazila in the Panchagarh District of East Pakistan in April 1971 by the occupying Pakistan Army in collaboration with the Razakars during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It is estimated that more than 3,500 Bengali Hindus were killed in the massacre within a few hours.
On this day in 1971, the locals in collaboration with Indian allies, captured Durgapur on the border of Netrokona in a bloody battle.
The Sohagpur massacre was a mass killing of 187 civilians on 25 July 1971 in the Mymensingh District of East Pakistan during the Liberation War. The massacre was perpetrated by the Pakistan Army and Al-Badr, a paramilitary force opposing Bangladeshi independence. Following the massacre, Sohagpur became known as the "village of widows."
Feni Government College Boddhobhumi is a mass grave site situated on the premises of Feni Government College, which the Pakistan army, along with its local collaborators, used for torture and genocide during 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
Mujahid Bahini was an East Pakistani paramilitary force during the Bangladesh War of Independence, that fought against the Mukti Bahini and aided the Pakistan Army.
