The Gopalpur massacre ( bn, গোপালপুর গণহত্যা) was a

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

of 195 people committed by the

Pakistan army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

during the

Bangladesh liberation war The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

of 1971. The killing took place at Gopalpur municipality of

Lalpur Upazila Lalpur ( bn, লালপুর) is an upazila of Natore District in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Geography Lalpur is located at . It has a total area of 327.92 km2. 29 km distance from Natore Sadar. Its Thana Sadar is situated ...

Natore Natore district is a district of Rajshahi Division located in northern Bangladesh. It borders the metropolitan city of Rajshahi, and used to be part of Rajshahi district. History Natore was the District Headquarters of Rajshahi from 1769 to 182 ...

on 5 May 1971. The victims of the massacre were the

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

employees of the North Bengal Sugar Mill.Locals still have nightmare about supreme sacrifices of Lt. Azim, 200 others
''

The New Nation ''New Nation'' was a weekly newspaper published in the UK for the Black British community. Launched in 1996, the newspaper was Britain's Number 1-selling black newspaper. The paper was published every Monday. ''New Nation'' was initially lau ...

'', 8 May 2009

Background

At midnight of 25 March 1971, the Pakistan army launched

Operation Searchlight Operation Searchlight was the codename for a planned military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army in an effort to curb the Bengali nationalist movement in former East Pakistan in March 1971. Pakistan retrospectively justified the opera ...

, an

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...

scheme against Bengali people of the then

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

. This attack triggered Bangladesh liberation war and commenced

1971 Bangladesh atrocities The genocide in Bangladesh began on 25 March 1971 with the launch of Operation Searchlight, as the government of Pakistan, dominated by West Pakistan, began a military crackdown on East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to suppress Bengali calls ...

that continued for nine months until the end of the war. Elements of Pakistan army established control over Dhaka city on the night of 25 March. But they faced stubborn resistance from locally organized Bengali armed forces in other parts of the country. In

Pabna Pabna ( bn, পাবনা) is a city of Pabna District, Bangladesh and the administrative capital of the eponymous Pabna District. It is on the north bank of the Padma River and has a population of about . Etymology * According to the histo ...

, The 25 Punjab regiment of the Pakistan army suffered heavy casualties as they tried to wrest control of the city from the locals. They called for reinforcements from the battalion headquarters in

Rajshahi Rajshahi ( bn, রাজশাহী, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major urban, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi District ...

. Major Raja Aslam arrived in Pabna with the reinforcement but was forced to retreat toward Rajshahi but their movement was hampered by occasional clashes with local forces. The locals also put up barricades and destroyed a bridge at Dhanaidah in Natore to stall the movement. A railway wagon barricade was put up at Gopalpur rail gate by the local stationmaster. On 30 March, as the army halted near the Waliar Moyna village, it was attacked by a group of Bengali fighters aided by the local Santals. In the ensuing battle (remembered as ''Moynar Juddho'', the battle of Moyna by the locals) 40 of the Bengali fighters died. The casualty rate on the Pakistani side was lower, but their morale dropped significantly. In the night, the Pakistanis attempted to flee the area in small groups. The following day, several of them were captured by the locals, including the commanding officer Major Aslam."A great victory yet to get any recognition"
'' The Daily Star'', 30 March 2009. The soldiers were taken to the residence of Lt. Anwarul Azim, the leader of the local Bengali force and the general manager of North Bengal Sugar Mill. After a summary trial at Lalpur SS Pilot High School ground, the Pakistan army men were shot dead.

Massacre

In response to the Bengali resistance, the Pakistan army headquarters at Rajshahi dispatched forces by land and by air. The army quickly took control of Pabna, Ishwardi and Natore. On 5 May, around 10 am, the army reached Gopalpur and captured the sugar mill, a Bengali stronghold. Around 200 Bengali people, most of which were the employees of the mill, were rounded up and interrogated about the whereabouts of the freedom fighters. Monjur Iman, a non-Bengali worker of the mill, was assisting the soldiers in identifying the Bengalis.বধ্যভূমি থেকে ফেরা তাঁরা চারজন (The four survivors returning from the killing fields)
The Daily Prothom Alo, 15 December 2009 The leader of the fighters, Lt. Anwarul Azim, handed himself over to the army and requested to let the people go. The soldiers shot down Lt. Azim. Then the captives were lined up by the pond inside the sugar mill with 13 machine guns pointed at them and were gunned down. Only five out of the 200 captives: Abdul Jalil Sikdar, Khorshed Alam, Abul Hossain, Emaduddin and Injil Uddin Ahmed survived the carnage. All the bodies were dumped into the pond. The soldiers searched for survivors and ensured death by charging bayonets on the bodies. One administrative officer of the mill survived the shooting but, when found alive, was flogged to death. After the war, the pond was named ''Shaheed Sagar'' (The sea of martyrs). Gopalpur Railway Station was renamed ''Azim Nagar Station'' in memory of Lt. Azim.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopalpur Massacre Bangladesh Liberation War 1971 in Bangladesh 1971 Bangladesh genocide May 1971 events in Asia Massacres committed by Pakistan in East Pakistan

Background

Massacre

See also

References