The forgotten genocide: 1971
During the year 1971, Operation Searchlight was launched by the Pakistani government in an attempt to suppress the movement for an independent state by the East Pakistanis, now known as Bangladesh. This military campaign was authorized in response to the escalating violence between East and West Pakistan.
Regrettably, this genocide remains one of the most extensively documented yet overlooked atrocities, particularly in the Western world. In fact, it stands as the most severe genocide since the Holocaust of World War II. The conflict led to the Bangladesh War of Independence, with the Bengali army confronting the Pakistani military. However, countless innocent civilians fell victim to the violence.
Estimates suggest that up to three million Bengali individuals lost their lives, and a shocking number of 400,000 women were subjected to rape, leading many to perceive this tragic event as an act of ethnic cleansing. Moreover, the crisis resulted in approximately 10 million people becoming refugees, as depicted in the image above.
While both sides committed atrocities during the war, the Pakistani army's actions were significantly more devastating. Certain officials within the West Pakistani government held prejudiced views, considering the Eastern Pakistani Hindus and Muslims as "inferior" and thus believed they should be "eliminated."
It is important to acknowledge that these events occurred a mere 52 years ago, a stark reminder of the relatively recent nature of this tragedy.
