“But why are you killing them? And why pick on the Hindus?”
“Must I remind you, how they have tried to destroy Pakistan? Now under the cover of the fighting we have an excellent opportunity of finishing them off.”
What is Bengali Hindu Genocide?
The Bengali Hindu Genocide refers to the systematic extermination of the indigenous Bengali Hindu people of East Pakistan during the military regime (1958-71) reaching its peak during the Bangladesh Liberation War, through incarceration, confiscation of properties, forced exodus, massacres, genocidal rape, forced conversions and destruction of religious and cultural heritage.
TIMELINE
Traverse the timeline and view the key events in the various phases of the Bengali Hindu Genocide
OVERVIEW
Go through the various sections below to get an overview of the Bengali Hindu Genocide
Property Laws
Learn about the discriminatory property laws that were used to confiscate properties
Massacres
Learn about the massacres – methods that were used, major massacres and eminent victims
Rape
Learn about the atrocities on women – rape, abduction, sexual slavery, forced marriages
Forced Migration
Learn about the biggest mass migration of modern era, mass deaths at the refugee camps
Perpetrators
Learn about the perpetrators of the genocide, the various organization and individuals
RESOURCES
Browse through a collection of primary and secondary sources on the Bengali Hindu Genocide
Photographs
Have a look at the rare photographs of the victims, refugees and the destruction
Footages
Have a look at some of rare footages of the killings, destruction and the refugees
OPINIONS
Observations made by the policy makers, media and jurists during and after the Bengali Hindu Genocide
Moslem soldiers in East Pakistan will snatch away a man’s lungi (sarong) to see if he is circumcised, obligatory for Moslems; if he is not, it usually means death… Commented one high U.S. official last week: “It is the most incredible, calculated thing since the days of the Nazis in Poland.”
Time
Pakistan troops were painting large yellow “H” signs on Hindu shops, so as to identify the property of the minority which had become a special target… Not since Nazi Germany were so many citizens of a country publicly marked with religious labels and symbols.
Edward M Kennedy
US Senator
The oft repeated phrase ‘Hindus are enemies of the state’ as a justification for the killing does not gainsay the intent to commit genocide; rather does it confirm the intention. The Nazis regarded the Jews, as enemies of the state and killed them as such.
International Commission of Jurists
REMEMBRANCE
Annual commemoration and memorial’s design for the Bengali Hindu Genocide
Genocide Remembrance Day
On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the destruction of the Ramna Kali temple, 27th March has been unanimously adopted as Bengali Hindu Genocide Remembrance Day.
Genocide Memorial
At the genocide exhibition held the 50th anniversary of the fall of the genocidal regime in 1971, a miniature prototype of the genocide memorial modelled on the Ramna Kali temple was unveiled.