The Begining of Genocide - Operation Searchlight

The Begining of Genocide - Operation Searchlight: General Yahya Khan picked the 25th of March for his genocide because he thought it was a good day for him. two years ago on that day, he had taken power from Ayub Khan and became Pakistan's President. On the 25th of March, he gave the order for one of the cruelest genocides in history of mankind. General Yahya Khan said to his army, kill three million Bengalis and they will eat out of our hands! The genocide had been planned for along time, and the blueprints were called "Operation Searchlight", where it was clearly stated howpretenses of a discussion would be used to satll for time, how the Bengali forces would be wipped out, how the Dhaka University would be attacked; simply put how a nation would be destroyed.

Before attacking the innocent people in Dhaka City, the pakistan millitary had either killed or arrested all the Bengali Officers in the army and disarmed the rest. The EPR at Pilkhana had been disarmed, but they still fought all naight with whatever they had. The military had been unable to disarmed the Rajarbag Police unit, and they were the first engage in actual battle. After suffering a lot of damage, the Pakistani army to retreated to bring in tanks, mortars, heavy arms and machine guns with which they managed to overpower the Rajarbag police line.

There was no end of the terror of the 25th of March. Pakistan army went to Iqbal Hall (what is today Surgent Johurul Haq Hall) and Jagannath Hall and murdered all the students of there. Before the students were murdered they were told to dig a hole in front of the dorms in which they would be buried after they were killed. Not only the students of Dhaka University were killed - the staff and the teachers were murdered also. The nearby slums were set afire and their people killed. They then attacked the Hindu areas of old Dhaka, destroying temples and burning down the houses. Anyone who tried to escape was shot. On the 25th of March, Dhaka was like a scene from hell, withonly flames to be seen and the sounds of the gunfire and people screaming to be heard.

The main objective of Operation Searchlight wast o arrest Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. A commando team of the Pakistan army went to his house and arrested him. He had heard of what was happening and warned all the leaders of his party to stay away, then waited in his house for what would certainly be his death.