The ‘black night’ of March 25

The ‘black night’ of March 25 returns again tonight (Thursday) evoking painful memories of a dreadful night of massacre and mayhem, the beginning of genocide of millions of unarmed sleeping Bangalees by the Pakistani occupation forces in 1971.

On this fateful night in 1971, the Pakistani military rulers launched “Operation Searchlight” killing some 7,000 people irrespective of their class, creed, sex and age in a single night to thwart the independence movement of the freedom-loving Bangalees from the 24-year-old subjugation and exploitation. Most of the halls of Dhaka University including Jagannath Hall were attacked and teachers-students-employees were dragged out of their quarters and dormitories and massacred in hundreds turning the entire campus into a killing ground.

Several structures including the Central Shaheed Minar, the monument of the historic language movement of 1952, and a good number of buildings located at Shakhari Bazar, Tanti Bazar, FrenchRoad and English Road were razed to the ground as the brutal forces used tanks and fired heavy artillery during the crackdown to silence the voice of Bangalees.

It was to be only the beginning of the killings that continued for long nine months. On March 26, the nation waged an armed struggle against the Pakistani occupation forces following the declaration ofindependence by father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The Pakistani forces arrested the undisputed leader of independence Bangabandhu from his residence at Dhanmondi Road-32 as he through a wireless message called upon the people to resist the Pakistani occupation forces with what they have possessed. Later, Awami League leader MA Hannan and Major Ziaur Rahman (later president of Bangladesh) read out the proclamation of independence on behalf of Bangabandhu, which was broadcast from Kalurghat Radio Station in port city of Chittagong.

Responding to the call and defying all horrors and atrocities, the Bangalee nation, particularly the young generation from across the country, rose in rebellion and took part in the war of independence of their motherland from the clutches of Pakistani military junta while nearly one crore people took refuge in neighbouring India. After fighting a nine-month-long bloody war, the brave Bangalees ultimately freed the country from the occupation of Pakistani forces with the cooperation of the allied forces of India on December 16 in 1971.

Marking the “Black Night”, Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote organised a candle-light vigil at the Shikha Chiratan (eternal flame) at Suhrawardy Udyan in the evening paying deep tributes to the martyrs of the Liberation War and demanding start of the trial of the war criminals immediately. Jote vice-president and film actor Faruque and joint secretary Arun Sarker Rana led the programme in which culturalworkers including actors and actresses of the film and stage took part.

 Operation Searchlight

It all started with Operation Searchlight, a planned military pacification carried out by the Pakistan Army started on 25 March, 1971 to curb the Bengali nationalist movement by taking control of the major cities on March 26, and then eliminating all opposition, political or military, within one month. Before the beginning of the operation, all foreign journalists were systematically deported from Bangladesh. The main phase of Operation Searchlight ended with the fall of the last major town in Bengali hands in mid May.