Genocide in Sylhet

In 1971 the Pakistan occupation army conducted genocides against the freedom fighting Bangalis from the midnight of 25th March to the eve of victory on the 16th December. Probable except the capital city of Dhaka and a few other important cities, they carried out extensive massacres in most of the villages, towns, ports and market-places in almost all the districts of grater Sylhet

It is not possible to give exact statistics of the number of people killed, likewise it is also not possible to give a correct account of how many people were killed by the Pakistan army and how many by their local collaborators. It can however be definitely asserted that the number of people murdered by the Pakistan occupation army and their collaborator was very high. This high rate of genocide in greater Sylhet was probably because Sylhet was the birth place of Col. Muhammed Ataul Gani Osmani. The village of Dayamir, near Sylhet town was his birth place near which the Pakistan occupation army had direct confrontations with the Muktijoddhas or Freedom Fighters at various dates on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway. Beside Sylhet has also a tradition of militancy. Beginning with anti-British National Movement to the Language Movement of 1952 during Pakistan rule, the pioneering role of the people of Sylhet is well known in the political history of the country. Even in the 1930s and 40s when Sylhet was part of Assam, a systematic peasant movement and the armed struggle of the Nankar Ryots against the Zamindari (Land holding) system took place respectively in Sunamgonj and Beanibazar areas. This background is worth nothing for the understanding of the intensity of genocides that occurred in Sylhet during the Liberation war. It need to be mentioned further that when in 1947 the independent and sovereign state of Pakistan was established as India was divided, on the basis of the two-nation theory, Greater Sylhet was not naturally included in it. It is through the Referendum held in July 1947 that Sylhet was included within Pakistan.

The majority of people of Sylhet hoped for more socio-economic development if they joined East Bengali i.e east Pakistan instead of continuing with Assam. But their hope was not fulfilled. As a result there started crystallizing a kind of discontentment and frustration in the minds of the people. This, however was true about the whole of East Bengal as well. Yet the main reason for the intensity of this feeling among the people of Sylhet was perhaps that if they wished, they would have remained with Assam, one of the provinces of the independent India and could exert their influence as before. In Pakistan days despite the abundance of natural resources in Sylhet, the people lagged behind in all spheres of socio-economic life. Perhaps the increasing backwardness of Sylhet, one of the largest districts of East Pakistan activated the people of that region more in the struggle for freedom. Possibly because of this intensity of killing carried out by the Pakistani occupation army and their local collaborators was greater in Sylhet then other regions.

The Pakistan army conducted genocide with the active cooperation of local Al-Badar, Al-Shams and Razakars (collaborators) and the extreme reactionary political parties such as Jamat-e-Islami, Muslim League, Nezam-e-Islami and Pakistan Democratic Party. In most cases, the collaborators supplied the Pakistani army with area-based lists of persons to be killed of persons whose house were to be looted and of persons whose house are to be burnt down. Moreover, following these lists the Al-Badar, Al-Shams and Razakar identified the persons and the houses to the Pakistani army. Thus in a planned way they committed genocides, persecuted women and children, looted properties and set fire to the houses. On the basis of information so far the Sylhet division, the Pakistan occupation army and their local collaborator killed about four thousand six hounded and twenty one people. The targets of the genocide included new born babies as well as centenarians. Beside, helpless women, blind, lame, dumb and even insane persons fell victim to their onslaughts.

Among the slain were not only urbanite lawyers, engineers, physicians, government and non-government employees, intellectuals and teachers, businessman and industrialists, cultural activists and journalists but also half-educated and uneducated youths of the rural areas, peasants and agricultural labourers and labourers form tea gardens. It should be noted that even the Imams of the mosques were not spared. Secondly it may be mentioned that about one thousand and one hundred and twenty persons became crippled as a result of inhuman torture meted out to them daily. The number of persons physically tortured but not crippled was about tow thousands and twenty three; the incidents of rape numbered about five thousands one hundred and forty eight, and houses looted numbered nearly five thousands and two hundreds.