1971 killing of Bengali intellectuals explained

1971 killing of Bengali intellectuals
Partof:the 1971 Bangladesh genocide
Location:East Pakistan
Target:Bengali intellectuals
Date:25 March, 14 – 16 December 1971
Type:Deportation, ethnic cleansing, mass murder, genocidal massacre
Fatalities:1,111[1]
Victim:-->
Perps:
Susperp:-->
Numpart:-->
Dfen:-->
Motive:Anti-Bengali sentiment, destruction of Bengali Intelligentsia

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 1971 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.

Black Night of 25 March

See also: 1971 Dhaka University massacre. On 25 March 1971, the Pakistan army launched an extermination campaign, codenamed Operation Searchlight, against the Bengali people in East Pakistan.[2] A number of professors, physicians and journalists were abducted from their homes by armed Pakistani soldiers and their local collaborators, and executed during this operation and its aftermath.[3] [4]

14 December executions

As the war neared its end and Pakistani surrender became apparent, the Pakistan Army made a final effort to eliminate the intelligentsia of the new nation of Bangladesh.[5] On 14 December 1971, over 200 Bengali intellectuals including professors, journalists, doctors, artists, engineers, and writers were abducted from their homes in Dhaka by the Al-Badr militia and the Pakistan Army. Notable novelist Shahidullah Kaiser and playwright Munier Choudhury were among the victims. They were taken blindfolded to torture cells in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Nakhalpara, Rajarbagh and other locations in different parts of the city. Later they were executed en masse, most notably at Rayerbazar and Mirpur. In memory of the martyred intellectuals, 14 December is mourned in Bangladesh as Shaheed Buddhijibi Dibosh, or Day of the Martyred Intellectuals.[6]

After the liberation of Bangladesh a list of Bengali intellectuals was discovered in a page of Major General Rao Farman Ali's diary left behind at the Governor's House. The existence of such a list was confirmed by Ali himself although he denied the motive of genocide. The same was also confirmed by Altaf Gauhar, a former Pakistani bureaucrat. He mentioned an incident in which Gauhar asked Ali to remove a friend's name from the list and Ali did so in his presence.[7]

Notable victims

Many notable intellectuals who were killed from 25 March to 16 December 1971 in different parts of the country include:

Verdict on the killing

On 3 November 2013, a Special Court in Dhaka has sentenced two former leaders of the al-Badr killing squad to death for war crimes committed in December 1971. Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin, based in London, and Ashrafuz Zaman Khan, based in the US, were sentenced in absentia after the court found that they were involved in the abduction and murders of 18 intellectuals – nine Dhaka University professors, six journalists and three physicians – in December 1971. Prosecutors said the killings were carried out between 10 and 15 December, when Pakistan was losing the war in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), and were part of a campaign intended to strip the newborn nation of its intellectuals.[43]

On 2 November 2014, International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh sentenced Mir Quasem Ali to death for war crimes which include the killings of intellectuals. It was proved in the tribunal that he was a key organiser of the Al-Badr, which planned and executed the killing of the intellectuals on 14 December 1971.[44] [45]

Statistics

The number of intellectuals killed is estimated in Banglapedia as follows:

The district wise break-up of the number of martyred academicians and lawyers published in 1972[46] was as follows –

District and divisionAcademicsLawyers
PrimarySecondaryHigher secondary
Dhaka378106
Faridpur271243
Tangail2072
Mymensingh462812
Dhaka Division130551710
Chittagong391671
Chittagong Hill Tracts9411
Sylhet1972
Comilla453314
Noakhali261342
Chittagong Division138731310
Khulna481522
Jessore553154
Barisal50214
Patuakhali31
Kushtia28134
Khulna Division18481156
Rajshahi39835
Rangpur412294
Dinajpur501012
Bogra14122
Pabna43912
Rajshahi Division187611415
Bangladesh6392705941
Martyred academicians (not affiliated to universities) = 968
Martyred university teachers = 21
Total martyred academicians = 989
Administrative districts and divisions mentioned here are as they were in 1972.

Denial of genocidal intent

In a 2018 article Christian Gerlach rejected the claims of coordinated attempt to exterminate the Bengali intelligentsia by using statistical measures: "if one accepts the data published by the Bangladesh propaganda ministry, 4.2 per cent of all university professors were killed, along with 1.4 per cent of all college teachers, 0.6 per cent of all secondary and primary school teachers, and 0.6 per cent of all teaching personnel. On the basis of the aforementioned Ministry of Education data, 1.2 per cent of all teaching personnel were killed. This is hardly proof of an extermination campaign."[47]

Commemoration

See also: Martyred Intellectuals Day and Martyred Intellectuals Memorial. Martyred Intellectuals Day is held annually to commemorate the victims. In Dhaka, hundreds of thousands of people walk to Mirpur to lay flowers at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial. The president and the prime minister of Bangladesh and heads of all three wings of the Bangladesh armed forces pay homage at the memorial.[48]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Khan, Muazzam Hussain . 2012 . Killing of Intellectuals . http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Killing_of_Intellectuals . Islam . Sirajul . Sirajul Islam . Jamal . Ahmed A. . Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh . Second . . 4 December 2015 . 26 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190526180022/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Killing_of_Intellectuals . live .
  2. Book: Ganguly, Sumit . Conflict Unending: India-Pakistan Tensions Since 1947 . Columbia University Press . 2002 . 978-0-231-12369-3 . 60.
  3. Annual Report: Dhaka University 1971–72, Dr. Mafijullah Kabir
  4. Web site: Telegram 978 From the Consulate General in Dacca to the Department of State, March 29, 1971, 1130Z . US Department of State . 25 May 2019 . 21 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200421035938/https://2001-2009.state.gov/documents/organization/48049.pdf . live .
  5. News: Hensher . Philip . The war Bangladesh can never forget . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-war-bangladesh-can-never-forget-8501636.html . 1 May 2022 . subscription . live . The Independent . 19 February 2013.
  6. News: DU set to observe Martyred Intellectuals Day, Victory Day . . 14 December 2012 . 14 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131214080454/http://www.newstoday.com.bd/index.php?option=details&news_id=2331520&date=2012-12-14 . dead .
  7. Book: Mamoon, Muntassir . Muntassir Mamoon . Ibrahim . Kushal . The Vanquished Generals and the Liberation War of Bangladesh . Somoy Prokashon . June 2000 . 984-458-210-5 . 29.
  8. Web site: Rahman, Abul Fazal Ziaur . Banglapedia . en . 2017-08-15 . 16 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170816061402/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Rahman,_Abul_Fazal_Ziaur . live .
  9. Web site: Alam, ABM Nurul . Banglapedia . en . 2017-08-20 . 20 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170820115029/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Alam,_ABM_Nurul . live .
  10. Web site: Khadim, Ataur Rahman Khan . Banglapedia . en . 2017-07-10 . 16 July 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170716041953/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Khadim,_Ataur_Rahman_Khan . live .
  11. Web site: Rahman, Atiqur . Banglapedia . en . 2017-08-13 . 14 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170814055031/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Rahman,_Atiqur . live .
  12. Web site: Haque, Azharul . Banglapedia . en . 2017-03-25 . 26 March 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170326225501/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Haque,_Azharul . live .
  13. Web site: Muniruzzaman, ANM . Banglapedia . en . 2017-08-15 . 26 November 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161126094139/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Muniruzzaman,_ANM . live .
  14. Web site: Choudhury, Ayesha Bedora . Banglapedia . en . 2017-11-07 . 7 November 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171107165017/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Choudhury,_Ayesha_Bedora . live .
  15. Web site: Khan, Fazlur Rahman2 . Banglapedia . en . 2017-08-13 . 13 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170813222646/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Khan,_Fazlur_Rahman2 . live .
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  17. News: My great mentor, Dr Kalachand Roy . 2017-12-14 . The Daily Star . 2017-12-13 . en . 13 December 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171213231224/http://www.thedailystar.net/supplements/martyred-intellectuals-day-2017/my-great-mentor-dr-kalachand-roy-1504426 . live .
  18. Web site: Taleb, Khondakar Abu . Banglapedia . 20 November 2016 . 21 November 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161121103432/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Taleb,_Khondakar_Abu . live .
  19. Web site: Kashem, Khondakar Abul . Banglapedia . 20 November 2016 . 21 November 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161121042229/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Kashem,_Khondakar_Abul . live .
  20. Web site: Rahman, Muhammad Habibar . Banglapedia . en . 2017-07-15 . 2 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170802164821/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Rahman,_Muhammad_Habibar . live .
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  22. Web site: Ali, Mohammad Shamshad . Banglapedia . en . 2017-08-15 . 16 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170816012309/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Ali,_Mohammad_Shamshad . live .
  23. Web site: Shafi, Muhammad . Banglapedia . en . 2017-08-15 . 16 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170816061200/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Shafi,_Muhammad . live .
  24. Web site: Azim, M Anwarul . Banglapedia . en . 2017-08-17 . 18 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170818005925/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Azim,_M_Anwarul . live .
  25. Web site: Qayyum, Mir Abdul . Banglapedia . en . 2017-08-15 . 16 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170816011800/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Qayyum,_Mir_Abdul . live .
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  29. Muktadir, Md Abdul . Chowdhury, Sifatul Quader.
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  33. News: It was matricide . Khan . Tamanna . 4 November 2013 . The Daily Star . 7 November 2013 . 6 November 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131106200142/http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/it-was-matricide/ . live .
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  44. News: Bangladesh Islamist party leader files appeal against death penalty . 14 December 2014 . . 14 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141214160822/http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=255697 . live .
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  46. Bangladesh – The Victory Day Memento published by the government of People's Republic of Bangladesh, 16 December 1972; Editor – Syed Ali Ahsan
  47. Gerlach . Christian . East Pakistan/Bangladesh 1971–1972: How Many Victims, Who, and Why? . The Civilianization of War the Changing Civil–Military Divide, 1914–2014 . 20 July 2018 . 116–140 . 10.1017/9781108643542.007. 9781108643542 .
  48. News: Nation observes new-dimension Martyred Intellectuals' Day . . 14 December 2013 . 14 December 2012 . 14 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131214171437/http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/pm-pays-homage-to-martyred-intellectuals/ . live .

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