Muzaffarabad massacre

Muzaffarabad massacre
মুজাফফরাবাদ হত্যাকান্ড
Location Patiya, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Date 3 May 1971 (UTC+6:00)
Target Bengali Hindus
Attack type
 Mass murder, Massacre
Weapons Rifles
Deaths More than 300[1]
Perpetrators Pakistani Army, Razakars

Muzaffarabad massacre (Bengali: মুজাফফরাবাদ হত্যাকান্ড) was the massacre of the residents of predominantly Hindu village of Muzaffarabad now under Kharna Union of Patiya Upazila in Chittagong District of Bangladesh on 3 May 1971 by the Pakistani army aided by the local collaborators.[2][3][3][4] An estimated 300 Bengali Hindus, from 5 year old child to 80 years old men and women were killed in the massacre. More than 500 houses were burnt to ashes. According to eyewitnesses, Rameez Ahmed Chowdhury, the then Chairman of Kharna Union, and his aides were responsible for the massacre.[5]

Background

The village of Muzaffarabad is located under the Kharna Union, in the south eastern extremity of Patiya Upazila in Chittagong District. In 1971, Muzaffarabad was one of the many predominantly Hindu villages under Patiya police station. In the 1970 elections, 95% of the voters of Muzaffarabad voted for Awami League.[5] When the army crackdown started on 25 March, many people from Chittagong took shelter at their relative's place in Muzaffarabad.[6] On 16 April, the Pakistani occupation army bombed Patiya and subsequently took control of the southern part of Chittagong district. They camped at Dohazari and Patiya. At Patiya, the Pakistani occupation army camped at the Primary Training Institute. The used to arrest unarmed villagers and torcher them at the camp. Many were killed and buried underneath the PTI grounds.[7]

Towards the end of April, the Razakars from Kharna and Elahabad villages targeted the Hindu village for persecution and loot. As the anti-social elements began to be seen frequently in the village, the elders decided to set up a village defence. Twenty camps were set up along the border of the village, each having twenty men for vigil. In the event of an attack, the men in the camp would set an alarm so that men from the other camps can come together to resist the attackers. The all round vigil at the camps helped the villagers foil attacks from the Razakars more than once. Having failed, the Razakars persuaded the Pakistani occupation army at the Dohazari camp to attack Muzaffarabad.

Events

On 3 May, at the onset of dawn at around 5-20 A.M., while the people of Muzaffarabad were still asleep, the Pakistani military and the Razakars surrounded the village from three sides. There was a light drizzle in the morning.[5] At around 7 A.M., the Pakistani army entered the village in military trucks. At around 8 A.M., they began to go from door to door and started killing the villagers.

Seventy-year-old Rajani Sen was reading the Ramayana for the peace and prosperity of the country. When the Pakistani army and the Razakars arrived at his place, he seated them as guests. One of the Razakars asked Sen to say Jai Bangla. As soon as he had uttered Jai Bangla, a Pakistani soldier put the barrel of his rifle into the throat of Sen and shot him to death.[5] Nabin Sadhu, a 75-year-old hermit who was reciting from the Gita was similarly shot to death. The attackers rounded up the priests of the village and force them to break the images they worshipped. After that, the priests were shot to death.

Social worker Nirmal Sen was dragged along with his father Upendralal Sen to a nearby paddy field. There they were tied together with a gamchha and shot to death. Raimohan, a teacher at the Muzaffarabad High School, who had begun fishing in a village pond, was tied within the fish net along with his son and then shot to death.

The villagers who went into hiding, when the Pakistani occupation army launched the killing spree were rounded up the Razakars one by one. In order to test whether they were Hindu or Muslim, the villagers were asked to recite the kalma. When they failed, they were butchered to death in the manner of zabiha.[5]

Aftermath

The killing spree went on till 2 P.M. in the afternoon. After the Pakistani army left, the local Razakars looted the remaining houses. Targeted killing continued even after the massacre on 3 May. On the 7th or 8 May, Natun Chandra Chaudhuri was brutally beaten to death by few Razakars from Elahabad. A few days later, Baren Ray Chaudhuri, a teacher of the Muzaffarabad High School was killed. He had gone to Joara Munsirhat to buy medicines for his ailing mother. On his way back, he was waylaid and killed by the Razakars near Mohammadpur.

Memorial

Every year the people of Muzaffarabad commemorate 3 May by paying respect to the victims. Lectures, seminars and cultural programmes are held throughout the day in memory of the victims. A new memorial structure has been built in 2010. No initiative has been taken to preserve the mass burial site.[5]

List of persons killed

References

  1. ↑ "মুক্তিযুদ্ধে পটিয়া" [Patiya during the Liberation War]. চট্টগ্রাম জেলা তথ্য বাতায়ন. Government of Bangladesh. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  2. ↑ "আজ মুজাফফরাবাদ গণহত্যা দিবস". Samakal. May 3, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "মুজাফফরাবাদ গণহত্যা দিবস বৃহস্পতিবার". Kaler Kantho. May 1, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  4. ↑ Haque, Muhammad Shamsul (May 3, 2010). "মুজাফফরাবাদ হত্যাকাণ্ডের স্মৃতি". Prothom Alo. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rashid Siddique, Haroon ur (May 10, 2012). "৩ মে পটিয়া মুজাফরাবাদ গণহত্যা দিবস: সেদিনের বিভীষিকার স্মৃতি বয়ে বেড়াচ্ছে অনেকে". Dainik Purbokone. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  6. ↑ "মুজাফফরাবাদ গণহত্যা দিবস উপলক্ষে সভা". Prothom Alo. January 3, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  7. ↑ Rubel, Abdur Rahman (March 15, 2012). "পটিয়ায় একাত্তরের গণহত্যা: বধ্যভূমির কোনো চিহ্ন নেই". Dainik Purbokone. Retrieved June 12, 2012.

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