TITLE: Killing Against Humanity

It was midnight of March 26, 1971. Suddenly there was knocking at the door. “Somebody shouted,” “Open the door”. A student opened the door and a solider of Pakistani Army charged a bayonet on him. He died within a few minutes. That incident took place at Jagannath and Iqbal Halls of the University of Dhaka, where students were mown down mercilessly. Other students were forced to dig a large grave and once that was done, they too were shot. All the bodies were dumped into the grave, which was then bulldozed by the Army.

Outside the campus, the soldiers razed the residential quarters of University teachers. In similar fashion, they blew up the central Shaheed Miner before the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. One the streets, common citizens were murdered at random. Rickshaw pullers died even as they slept on their three-wheelers. In many places house to house search was conducted and most people had run away to the countryside. Many women left in the houses were raped by occupying army. Pak forces also attacked East Bengal Rifles HQ in Chittagong. This formation consisted of loyal Bengalese who had served as a Pakistan Army for about 25 years.

But they were not to be trusted any more since they were known to be sympathetic to Bangabandhu’s movement for autonomy. About a thousand men who were under training to serve Pakistan were lined up and machine-gunned. Even the people who took shelter in mosques were not spared. They were machine-gunned with the remarks that they were not true Muslims and hence not entitled to pray in mosque.

After the Pakistan army took over “Dacca Betar Kendro” In the early hours of March 26, 1971, they renamed the radio station as “Radio Pakistan Dacca” and used to be announcing martial law orders. The Pakistan army’s attempt at silencing the voice of the Bengalese, however, fought back. The war of Bangladesh’s liberation had begun.