The Bangladesh Genocide became a significant issue when Pakistani army officers and their military personnel were accused of war crimes. What does mass murder mean or Genocide? How it is defined is very important. Genocide is the most heinous crime committed by human beings in the eyes of the law.
Genocide is not a very old word. It was recently attached to the International Court of Justice. But despite being a recent addition, people have been committing such heinous crimes for a long time.
In December 1948, the United Nations held an international conference on genocide. The best lawyers and academics in the world were there. You might define genocide in a certain way.
Genocide means one of the following crimes; That it be intentionally done to every group, community, nation, tribe, society, and part or all of the country.
They are broadly included as;
1. Kill members of a group.
2. Harmful physical and mental harm to members of any group.
3. The planned destruction of property in whole or in part by members of any group.
4. Imposition of measures such as birth control to destroy generations of a group or nation.
5. Forcing children from one group to join another group.
This convention states that if this genocide is committed in time of war or at any other time, it shall be tried by an international court. Two facts are closely related to the crime of genocide
It is not necessary to prove that the leader of the ruling party expressed an intention to commit genocide or that the genocide was organized by his subordinates. Even if the head of the ruling party had no intention, the crime of mass murder organized by his government representatives as head of government could not be avoided. It is normal. The reason is that the Supreme Commander could not give proper instructions to prevent genocide. Such cases were decided by competent judges in the United States and England during the Nuremberg war crimes trials and the Me Lai massacre in Vietnam, which was linked to the Bangladesh genocide.
Does Bangladesh Genocide really a genocide?
The genocide law states that when the purpose is motivated and planned to eliminate a country’s political leaders, religious leaders, intellectual communities, or members of any group, this is called genocide. In this regard, there is clear evidence in Bangladesh that massacres were organized which is called the Bangladesh Genocide. A clear plan was drawn up to de-intellectualize East Pakistan. And this evil plan worked and the West Pakistan Army killed the Bangladeshi Buddhists, leaving Bangladesh with a defenseless, semi-educated population.
Even Mr. Bhutto’s boastful statements are proof of this. Such crimes can be reduced in the future by discovering the incident through careful investigation. In the past, many junior army commanders were acquitted of such threats by Me Lai’s trial. If all civilian Pakistanis revealed the true side of history, the war criminals could be brought to justice or their names are forgotten forever from the minds of the Pakistani public. The actual events remained largely unknown in the controlled media and communications system of the era and must be uncovered and brought to daylight.
In 1971, details of mass killings in East Pakistan became known. It is easy to understand that this is the Bangladesh genocide given the scale and scope of the outright killings of that era. Where some non-humans have planned something good to achieve a specific purpose. The indiscriminate murder of ordinary citizens of East Pakistan in 1971 is a crime that cannot be debated. The indiscriminate killing of all small and big towns of East Pakistan or the repression of Bengali Liberation Forces by the Pakistan Army or Pakistan Army agents on the ground is unprecedented. All these events were clearly witnessed by the foreign nationals staying in East Pakistan at that time, especially the missionaries, and publicized by the international media from time to time which was evidently declare the Bangladesh genocide as one of the worst genocide in world history.
Here are some examples of the Bangladesh Genocide from the New Headlines:
The New York Times published the news about the Bangladesh Genocide as Pakistani soldiers burned houses to prevent the resistance forces from hiding, resulting in circling vultures and scavengers feeding on the bodies of peasants.
The actual news about the Bangladesh Genocide was: The New York Times, April 14, 1971; “Pakistani soldiers are burning houses to deny the resistance forces or hiding places. As the smoke from the thatch and bamboo huts billowed upon the outskirts of the city of Comilla, circling vultures descended on the bodies of the peasant, already being picked by dogs and crows”
Globe of Rio de Janeiro, April 17, 1971: “The order now prevails in East Pakistan is the order of death, the order of cemeteries. A city was burned, the fire lasted three days, and those who could flee from the town, only the dead remained.”
The Sun, April 26, 1971: “In one village 21 men were killed and in another 25. They were ordinary farmers, not a political agitator. Their crime was to vote for the Awami League.”
The Sunday Australian published the news about the Bangladesh Genocide as East Pakistan has experienced a violent army campaign, making it comparable to the unluckiest countries such as Poland or Vietnam.
The actual news about the Bangladesh Genocide was: The Sunday Australian, June 06, 1971; “East Pakistan has had more than its share of disaster. It now ranks with Poland or Vietnam as the unluckiest country of modern times. It’s barely six months since the cyclone devasted vast traces of the countryside and left thousands of people dead or homeless It is two months since the vengeful army of West Pakistan moved in to crush the local secessionist forces and begin their ritual campaign of killing and destruction.”
Washington Daily News, June 30, 1971: “In its treacherous attack starting March 25, the Pakistan Army has so far slaughtered 20,000 Bengalis and sent six million refugees fleeing for their lives into India”.
