Char Bhadrasan massacre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Char Bhadrasan massacre চরভদ্রাসন গণহত্যা | |
|---|---|
| Part of Bangladesh genocide | |
| Location | Char Bhadrasan, Faridpur, East Pakistan |
| Date | May 1971 (UTC+6:00) |
| Target | Bengali Hindus |
Attack type | Mass murder, Massacre |
| Weapons | Rifles |
| Deaths | 50–60 |
| Perpetrators | Pakistani Army, Razakars |
Char Bhadrasan massacre (Bengali: চরভদ্রাসন গণহত্যা) refers to the massacre of around 60 unarmed Bengali Hindu residents in Char Bhadrasan in Faridpur district of East Pakistan by the Pakistani occupation army and the Razakars in the middle of May 1971.[1][2][3] Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, the leader of Jamaat-e-Islami led a team of Razakars and Pakistani army to the Hindu-dominated villages of Baidyadangi, Majhidangi and Baladangi where they massacred 50–60 unarmed Bengali Hindus. The attackers set fire to 300–350 Hindu households forcing them to flee the country.
Char Bhadrasan is located on the southern bank of the Padma. The area is dominated by sandbanks along the river, which are known for changing their course over time, submerging existing sandbanks and creating new sandbanks in the process. The word Char literally means a sandbank. The villages of Baidyadangi, Majhidangi and Baladangi, located on these sandbanks were Hindu villages inhabited by the peasant and fishermen castes.
On the evening of 25 March, the Pakistani occupation army launched the Operation Searchlight. As the army took control of Dhaka and began to proceed towards the districts, the local collaborators began to organize pro-Pakistani paramilitary organizations like the Al Badr and Al Shams to resist the freedom fighters.