Khairul Alam, Dhaka: Today marks the horrific night of March 25, observed as National Genocide Day in Bangladesh. On this night in 1971, the darkest shadows of death descended upon the land of Bengal.
One of the most brutal massacres in human history unfolded in our beloved motherland. At midnight, the savage Pakistani invading forces, armed with modern weapons, launched a sudden attack on unarmed Bengalis across the country, including Dhaka.
The genocide of March 25 was not just a single night of slaughter—it was the cowardly beginning of one of the most heinous mass killings in the history of human civilization.
To commemorate this day, the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs has announced a one-minute blackout program from 10:30 PM to 10:31 PM tonight.
According to Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald, around 100,000 people were killed in Bangladesh on that single night—one of the most horrific atrocities in the history of genocide.
Over the next nine months, the barbaric Pakistani forces and their collaborators sought to exterminate an entire nation, slaughtering three million innocent men, women, and children.
Their crimes—mass murder, rape, looting, and arson—fit the exact definition of genocide as outlined in the UN Genocide Convention of December 11, 1948.
American journalist Robert Payne wrote about that night: “7,000 people were killed that night, and another 3,000 were arrested.”
The military operation, codenamed “Operation Searchlight”, was Pakistan’s planned massacre of Bengalis. Instead of seeking a peaceful resolution, President Yahya Khan chose to implement a blueprint for genocide. The brutality, oppression, and medieval-style savagery unleashed by the Pakistani forces turned Dhaka into a city of terror.
On March 11, 2017, the Bangladesh Parliament unanimously declared March 25 as National Genocide Day.
The world watched in shock as the Pakistani forces carried out their bloody campaign. They attacked Rajarbagh Police Lines, Pilkhana EPR Headquarters, and Dhaka University, massacring civilians and setting fire to buildings. Among the victims were Dr. Govinda Chandra Dev, Dr. Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta, Professor Santosh Bhattacharya, and Dr. Muniruzzaman—nine teachers who were brutally murdered.
That same night, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested. Before his arrest, he called upon the nation to rise and fight for freedom.
The tragic events of March 25 shook the entire nation, but the indiscriminate killing of unarmed civilians could not silence the voices of those who yearned for liberation.
Instead, the horrors of that night inspired Bengalis to leap into the struggle for freedom.