Bangladesh Liberation War: Conflict that led to the independence of the majority-Bengali country
The Bangladesh Liberation War (Bengali: মুক্তিযুদ্ধ Muktijuddho) was a revolutionary war for the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.
The war was between East Pakistan (later with the help of India) and West Pakistan and lasted nine months. West Pakistan is called Pakistan today.
Ten million refugees left the country,and 30 million people left their homes. Between 300.000 and 3 million people were killed. Many Bengali women were raped, and there are documented cases of forced prostitution. Between 200.000 and 400.000 women were raped. Pakistan's religious leaders openly supported the crime by labelling Bengali freedom fighters as "Hindus" and Bengali women as "the booty of war". But in reality, more than 80 percent of the Bengali people were Muslims at that time. The Pakistani Army committed genocide on larger parts of the Bengali population. This is known as the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities today.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's party won the Pakistan elections of 1970 and the military junta that ruled the country decided he must not be Prime Minister. The resulting war started on 26 March 1971 and finished on 16 December. A category 3 cyclone also happened during the war.
Ghulam Azam and Motiur Rahman Nizami were convicted for war crimes. Azam died before a final hearing. Nizami was executed for his crimes in May 2016.
Sources
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