Human rights in East Pakistan is about human rights in
East Pakistan before its independence and the creation of
Bangladesh.
Language movement
The
Bengali language movement began in 1948 after the independence of Pakistan. The
Bengalis demanded
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 ...
be made a national language of Pakistan, while Pakistani national leaders only wanted
Urdu to be the national language. On 21 February 1952 the police in East Pakistan fired in a crowd of peaceful demonstrators, killing four people. The next day Pakistan army and police attacked demonstrations again resulting in a number of death and injuries.
Religious minorities
The government and military elites of Pakistan viewed the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
minority in East Pakistan as a
fifth column
A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to un ...
. They blamed the Hindus for the economic backwardness of East Pakistan. The 1970 election held under the joint electorate only got to minority member elected to the National assembly. During the Bangladesh liberation war Hindus were targeted by Pakistan Army and
Biharis supporting them. The bank accounts of Hindus were frozen.
LGBT rights
LGBT relationships were illegal under the former British colonial laws which banned "unnatural sex".
Bangladesh liberation war
Genocide
The genocide refers to the selective mass killing in East Pakistan by Pakistani security establishment 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 ...
. The
University of Dhaka was attacked with tanks resulting in the death of students and staff. Newspaper offices and Hindu neighborhoods were shelled by Pakistan Army in
Dhaka.
Killings of intellectuals
The Pakistan security forces tried to eliminate Bengali nationalism through the killing of Bengali intellectuals. It resulted in the killing of over a thousand intellectuals including doctors, educationists, lawyers, engineers, etc. On 14 December 1971, two days before the surrender of Pakistan, 200 intellectuals were abducted from their home and killed.
References
{{Reflist, 35em
History of East Pakistan
Human rights in Bangladesh
War crimes in Bangladesh