'71’: Burning witness to genocide, yet unrecognized

Abdus Salam, a resident of Senhati village in Khulna’s Dighalia Police Station, joined the Liberation War of 1971. He fought in Sector 9. On April 30, 1971, Pakistani army surrounded Abdus Salam's house, collaborating with the razakars (collaborators). Abdus Salam's wife took refuge in the nearby forest with her four-month-old baby Rehena in her arms to save her life. However, they couldn't evade the final assault. Pakistani soldiers captured the mother. Then, seizing the four-month-old baby from the mother's arms, the ruthless soldiers unleashed their violent wrath. They mercilessly trampled the tender body of the infant under their sturdy boots. The father was away at war, and in his absence, these remorseless soldiers barbarically murdered an innocent child, a poignant testimony to the ultimate brutality of the Pakistani army in 1971. The cloth that four-month-old Rehana was wearing during the assassination is now preserved in the gallery of the Liberation War Museum. Standing in front of this dress at the Senali Border, one can't help but shudder at the sheer brutality it witnessed.

One of the barbaric genocides of the 20th century led to the emergence of Bangladesh. After gaining independence on December 16, 1971, the horrifying extent of atrocities became increasingly evident across the 147,000 square miles of Bangladesh. The Pakistani occupation forces unleashed hellish brutality and conducted a ruthless genocide. Following the massacre perpetrated by the Pakistani army, many had begun to gather various pieces of information after the night of March 25. At that time, Consul General Archer Kent Blood of the American Embassy in Dhaka sent a telegram on March 27, 1971, titled 'Selective Genocide' to Washington. In it, he mentioned that the Pakistani army had been conducting 'Selective Genocide' in Dhaka since the night of March 25. Afterward, the term "genocide" gained even more prominence in the context of Bangladesh's Liberation War, emphasized by journalist Anthony Mascarenhas. In 1971, Mascarenhas worked as an assistant editor for the Karachi-based "Morning News." Due to his job, the Pakistani military authorities granted him a visit to East Pakistan. Although the primary purpose was to produce a favorable report for the authorities, Mascarenhas produced an extraordinary report titled "Genocide," published in the "Sunday Times" on June 13, 1971. Additionally, during the Liberation War, filmmaker Zahir Raihan created the documentary "Stop Genocide." This short film of just 20 minutes depicted the ruthless brutality of the Pakistani army.

Let's delve a bit into what "genocide" signifies in the present world. What are its scope and magnitude? And how much of what the Pakistani military committed in 1971 qualifies as part of "genocide"?

In today's global civilization, "genocide" unquestionably stands as a heinous crime. Efforts abound across the world to ensure accountability for this crime and to combat genocide through various initiatives. The plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar brought the term "genocide" to the forefront once again in 2018. The United Nations and various human rights organizations have labeled the atrocities against the Rohingya as "genocide" and have urged swift action on the matter. Yanghee Lee, the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, recently designated the crimes committed against the Rohingya as genocide.

The term "genocide" is intricately linked with a Jewish-Polish lawyer named Raphael Lemkin, who is credited as the originator of the term "Genocide." Lemkin's life was marked by experiences of genocide, war, and violence. During the First World War, Raphael Lemkin's family suffered severe losses in battles between Russia and Germany. Their home, farm, and property were destroyed. Despite this, he managed to study law at the University of Lwów in France. Later, he pursued a career in law in Poland. Alongside his professional work, he engaged in discussions and studies related to various aspects of barbaric massacres.

In 1933, Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany. That same year, Lemkin sent a research paper to the Fifth Assembly of the League of Nations in Madrid. In this paper, he proposed a clear idea for international jurisdiction for acts of persecution during wartime barbarism. However, this proposal was not adopted in 1933.

If that proposal had been accepted at the time, perhaps the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany would have been known to the world beforehand. During the Second World War, Raphael Lemkin's family faced another tragedy. In the Holocaust, he lost 49 members of his family, including his parents. However, he managed to survive the genocide. When the Second World War began, Lemkin traveled 14,000 miles, crossing Russia and Japan, before reaching the United States via the Pacific Ocean. He started teaching at the university.

The Polish lawyer Lemkin spent a considerable amount of time dealing with crimes such as homicide, genocide, and various other offenses. It was during legal discussions in Poland that he closely examined several words. To convey the concept of mass killings or atrocities during wars or conflicts, he used the terms 'Barbarity' and 'Vandalism'.

Based on his experiences during the Second World War, Lemkin published a book in 1944 titled 'Axis Rule in Occupied Europe'. In this book, Lemkin explained the origin of the word 'Genocide'. The term 'Genocide' is essentially a combination of two words. The English word 'Genocide' has its roots in Greek and Latin. The Greek word 'Genos' means 'Race or Tribe', and the Latin 'Cide' means 'Killing', as he elaborated. This explanation later found its place in various academic books.

According to his definition, genocide refers to the systematic destruction or annihilation of a national or ethnic group. Generally speaking, genocide does not merely denote the sudden destruction of a racial or ethnic group and the killing of all its members; rather, it signifies a specific plan of action targeting certain acts. This plan aims to destroy the fundamental basis of an ethnic group, causing the group to be inclined towards its own destruction. An appropriate example of this could be the Bengali genocide of 1971.

The primary objective of such plans is to disrupt national or ethnic groups from various political and social institutions, including culture, language, national identity, religion, and economy. In addition to this, personal security, freedom, health, and dignity are undermined, even leading to lifelong destruction, as another aim of such plans.

Genocide fundamentally occurs against a particular nationality. The related actions are directed against every individual member of the nation. In this context, individual status is not considered; rather, every individual is confronted with these aspects as a member of the ethnic group.

Turning back to 1971, prior to the Liberation War, Pakistan had sought to suppress the Bengali nation systematically. This culminated in a barbaric genocide starting on the night of March 25. Apart from direct killings, another aim of the war was to create a new nation by destroying the Bengali ethnicity. Additionally, there was a deliberate targeting of Bengali women for rape, with the intention of undermining the Bengali nationhood. Furthermore, Bengali language and culture were under attack. All in all, 1971 stands as a textbook example of genocide. Despite this, various global institutions, including the United States, have yet to officially recognize it as genocide. From their perspective, events such as the Holocaust of Jews during World War II, the forced labour camps in Soviet Russia, the genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda, the killings and displacement of Rohingya, the Armenian genocide of 1915, are recognized as genocide, but the barbaric genocide that occurred in Bangladesh remains unrecognized, despite being an epic of boundless tragedy.

Let's go back to the United Nations Genocide Convention of 1948. In this convention, a total of 19 articles were drafted to define genocide. The phrase repeatedly emphasized during the convention was "Never again." We must undoubtedly proclaim "Never again" in the face of heinous crimes like genocide. However, it is imperative to obtain international recognition for the barbaric genocide of 1971 before that.