On a closer study, a few facts emerge out of the appalling human disaster that overtook the 'down trodden race' (Ayub Khan in Friends Not Masters) of Bangladesh. Firstly, Hindus, as a religious community, have been discriminated against during the entire period of genocide; barring a few exceptions, they have been eliminated wherever found, their house burnt, property looted and temples destroyed. Conditions of life having been made intolerable for them, those who could escape the first onslaught had either fled the country or were wandering from place to place within Bangladesh herself. Even such humble classes of peoples among the Hindus as sweepers and scavengers could be hardly found occupied Bangladesh. Secondly, students were another major group among the Bengalis who were inevitable targets of the army. Not only were two Dacca University students' residential Halls raided on the 25th March and all the students therein killed but, at a later date, the 'saviours of Pakistan' felled the Banyan tree in the courtyard of Dacca University Arts Faculty under the shade of which students used to hold meetings. Tikka's men were half way through the destruction of Madhu's restaurant, rendezvous of the students of Dacca University, when somebody stopped them by saying that the building was the birthplace of the Muslim League. Thirdly, two other groups, of people with whom the Pakistani army went berserk were the EPR Jawans and the Police, the only among the Bengalis who had some kind of fire arms in their hands. Fourthly, the urban proletariat and the village folk having no political affiliation at all could not also escape the wrath of the army. The villagers suffered most at the later stages of the army operation.
Lastly, though not of the least importance, is the systematic elimination of the intelligentsia in Bangladesh: teachers, doctors, engineers, writers, Journalists, lawyers, etc. Dacca University teachers, among others, seem to have been 'specially' treated by the Punjabis: the genocide in Bangladesh began, as it were, with the cold?blooded murder of Dacca University teachers on March 26 and came to an end with the elimination of 9 others (and the University doctor), on the eve of liberation on December 14. If Farman Ali's grand strategy would have succeeded one knows not how many would we have lost in the process. For, it appears that he had made out a blue?print of the wholesale elimination of the teachers, students and all men with ideas in Bangladesh. The plan only began to be executed when, thanks to General Maneck Shaw, the Indian army reached Dacca.
One keeps on asking as to why the army rulers of Pakistan should have resorted to this wanton destruction of life and property, arson, loot and rape. It should be remembered in this regard that many times in the past also they took to arms, albeit, on a limited scale. In 1971 the Punjabi vested interests threw off their masquerade and came out in their true colours as in the landslide victory of the Awami League in the 1970 election they could sense the end of their exploitation of this region. Therefore, they used their bullets as a last bid, to nullify the ballot, and thereby to 'ensure' what they call 'complete and absolute integrity of Pakistan' (Yahya Khan on March 6, 1971). Which in simple terms means the continued colonial exploitation of Bangladesh by the Punjabis.
The pernicious racial prejudice of the ruling coterie of West Pakistan is no less responsible for the senseless killing of the innocent people of Bangladesh. No better evidence of the supposed 'racial superiority' of the West Pakistanis over the Bengalis is available than some statements in the political autobiography of Ayub Khan, One?time President of Pakistan. This gentleman, while glorifying the various traits of the character of the people of West Pakistan in his book, paints the people of Bangladesh as those descending directly from the aboriginal Indian tribes, and therefore, by implication, are stunted intellectually and are uncivilized. For him, the Bengalis have always been under the domination of others and therefore are psychologically incapable of being their own masters. (Ayub Khan: Friends Not Masters, p. 1237) Imagine the President of a country being so scornful of the majority of his own people! This outlook is typical of a large section of the West Pakistani people. And no wonder, that the 'master race' from the West would exercise their natural right to treat the 'slaves' the way they like!
In their attempt to annihilate the Bengali nation the army was able to enlist the support of a handful of people belonging to the Jammati?Islami and the Muslim League by raising the bogey of Indian domination and whipping up the frenzy of religious communalism and cultural separatism. There are also evidences that suggest the involvement and complicity of a big power in the most heinous ever crime against humanity committed by the Pakistani army.
Two generals of that big power made a secret visit to Bangladesh weeks before March 1971; the ambassador of that country also paid clandestine visits to Dacca several times between January and March. He is reported to have asked for a military base in the Bay of Bengal which Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is said to have turned down. This is supposed to have enraged the diplomat and the rulers of his country. The big power in question was probably the only country that could restrain the Yahya?Tikka gang from committing genocide in Bangladesh. It did not, in utter disregard of the opinion of the people of that country in favour of the oppressed millions of Bangladesh. Then again, this particular country made some sinister military? movements to aid the retreating Pakistani army during the December war. This country is also known to have been involved in the massacre of a million people in another Southeast Asian country a few years ago.
Let us recall here the definition of genocide as accepted in the Contention on genocide. "Genocide means", according to the Convention, any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, such as:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."(Art. II Convention on Genocide)