After the British left Imperial India in 1947, long-simmering religious tensions came to the surface.  Despite Gandhi’s best efforts (efforts which cost him his life in 1948, when he was killed by Hindu extremists), the former Protectorate split into two separate nations – Hindu-controlled India and Moslem-controlled Pakistan.  The new state of Pakistan was divided into two “wings,” separated by hundreds of miles of Indian-controlled territory.  East Pakistan became a poor brother to West Pakistan, and its largely Bengali population became more and more resentful of West Pakistan’s rule.  When massive floods in 1970 claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands, West Pakistan offered little if any aid.  This led to growing calls for Bengali independence, and in December 1971 the Awami League, which demanded an end to military rule and regional autonomy for East Pakistan, won an overwhelming victory across Bengali territory.

Recognizing the threat to their authority, the generals in West Pakistan decided to crush the Awami League and its supporters.  President Yahya Khan had no illusions about what would be required.  “Kill three million of them,” he said, “and the rest will eat out of our hands.”  On March 25, 1971, he put his theory into practice.  The university in Dacca, a hotbed of Bengali nationalism, was attacked and hundreds of students murdered.  Death squads roamed the streets; in one night some 7,000 people were killed.  Within a week, the death toll had risen to at least 30,000, and half the population of Dacca, along with approximately 10 million refugees, had fled the country to Indian territory.  Senator Edward Kennedy toured the refugee camps: when he asked what they needed most, he was told “Crematoriums.”

While the slaughter was aimed at putting down a revolution, it also had religious overtones.  Houses belonging to Hindus were marked with a yellow “H” to signal that they could be looted with impunity.  Young men were stopped and checked for circumcision (obligatory among Moslems): those who were not circumcised were killed on the spot.  Even those who were Moslem were not safe: any able-bodied man was considered a potential militant.    All across the country Bengali women were abducted, then gang-raped by Pakistani soldiers: by some estimates as many as 400,000 women were victims of rape or sexual assault during the Bangladesh War for Independence. 

On April 10, the surviving leadership of the Awami League declared Bangladesh independent. The Mukhta Bahini (liberation forces) were mobilized to confront the West Pakistani army. They did so with increasing skill and effectiveness, utilizing their knowledge of the terrain and ability to blend with the civilian population in classic guerrilla fashion. By the end of the war, the tide had turned, despite the nearly $4 million in funds and materiel provided by the U.S. to the Pakistani government, large sections of Bangladesh were under the control of the Mukhta Bahini.  Bangladeshi independence was assured when the Indian Army intervened.  Indira Gandhi’s motivations for doing so are unclear.  She may have been motivated by the realization that India’s already-strained infrastructure was in danger of collapsing under the ever-increasing flow of Bengali refugees, or she may have considered this an opportune time to further weaken India’s longtime enemy.  Whatever her reasons, the Pakistanis surrendered unconditionally on December 16; on January 10, 1972, Bangladesh became an independent country.  Throughout the region human bones were still scattered along the roadsides and mass graves dotted the countryside: in 276 days, between 1 million and 3 million people had been killed.  Yahya Khan had done as he promised, but had been unable to subdue the rebellion.