The night of March 25, 1971, etched in history as the Black Night, remains a scar on Bangladesh’s collective memory. On this night, the Pakistan military launched “Operation Searchlight,” a brutal crackdown on unarmed Bangalees that marked the beginning of one of the darkest nights in the nation’s history.
As darkness fell, tanks rolled through the streets while troops opened fire indiscriminately. Key locations such as Dhaka University, Pilkhana, Rajarbagh Police Lines, Hindu-dominated areas of Old Dhaka were attacked in coordinated strikes. Students and teachers were among those killed in large numbers, with university dormitories turning into scenes of mass killings.
The planned offensive aimed to crush the Bengalee nationalist movement following the election victory of the Awami League in 1970. It soon spread to other parts of the then East Pakistan, targeting civilians, students, intellectuals, and members of the security forces.
Eyewitness accounts and historical research indicate that thousands of unarmed civilians were killed in a single night. Homes were burned, and entire neighbourhoods were reduced to rubble. The scale and intensity of the violence shocked the world.
Dhaka University, being a bastion of protracted struggle of the repressed of the country, faced severe wrath of the Pakistan army. Armed with heavy weapons such as tanks, automatic rifles, rocket launchers, heavy mortars and light machine guns, Pakistan soldiers encircled the campus from east, south and north.
They stormed Iqbal Hall, now Sergeant Zahurul Haq Hall, as the Non-Cooperation Movement had been organised from the dormitory under the banner of the “Independent Bangladesh Students Movement Council”.
After midnight, the army attacked Jagannath Hall, a dormitory of non-Muslim students, with mortar shelling and continuous gunfire. Troops entered through north and south gates and killed students indiscriminately in each room. Around 34 students were killed.
The Pakistani forces also launched crackdowns on Bangalee police personnel and members of the East Pakistan Rifles (EPR), cordoning off Pilkhana, the EPR headquarters, Rajarbagh Police Lines, and the Ansar headquarters in Khilgaon to prevent them from joining the armed struggle for freedom.
That same night, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of Awami League and the independence movement, was arrested by Pakistani forces. He was later taken to the then West Pakistan and kept in prison for nine months.
The events of March 25 are widely regarded as the beginning of the 1971 genocide, which ignited the nine-month Liberation War. Bangladesh was ultimately liberated on December 16, 1971, when Pakistani forces surrendered to the Bangladesh-India Allied Forces at the Race Course Maidan, now called Suhrawardy Udyan.
Today, Bangladesh observes March 25 as Genocide Day. The day was officially recognised in 2017 to honour the victims of the atrocities and to raise global awareness about the genocide.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman issued separate messages on the eve of the day, paying tribute to the victims and urging the nation to uphold the spirit of the Liberation War.
In his message, President Shahabuddin called upon all, irrespective of religions, caste, party or opinion to work together being imbued by patriotism to fulfill the spirit and expectations of the martyrs of the Liberation War, reports BSS.
“The hope, aspiration and dream of the martyrs in the Liberation War was to build a humane, democratic and real state - where there will be no discrimination, deprivation, misrule, corruption and injustice,” he said.
“The declaration of independence by the then Major Ziaur Rahman from the Kalurghat radio station united the confused and hesitant entire nation, made it braver than ever, and inspired it to jump into armed struggle and sacrifice life,”  Shahabuddin said, reports BSS.
“The younger generation should clearly know about this cruel barbarity of history, on the other hand, about our glorious story and heroism as a nation,” he added.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said March 25, 1971, remains one of the most disgraceful and brutal days in the history of freedom-loving Bangladesh, reports BSS.
The genocide of March 25 was a pre-planned massacre, he said, adding: “Why this organised killing spree could not be resisted remains a matter of historical research regarding the visible role of the political leadership of that time.”
However, on the night of March 25, the 8th East Bengal Regiment in Chattogram formally initiated armed resistance against the genocide by declaring “We Revolt,” he said.
“Let us all strive to honour the sacrifices of the martyrs by establishing in the state and society the spirit of the great Liberation War -- equality, human dignity and social justice. Let us work together to build a just, developed, prosperous, self-reliant and democratic Bangladesh,” he added.
The government has planned various programmes at the state level to mark the day with due respect.
Discussion and memorial programmes will be held at educational institutions including schools, colleges, madrasas, and technical institutes with participation from eminent personalities and valiant freedom fighters, highlighting the genocide and the Liberation War, according to the BSS report.
Documentary screenings and rare photographic exhibitions on the genocide will be arranged at selected locations in all city corporation areas, including Dhaka, starting from 12:00 noon.
Special prayers will be offered at mosques after Zuhr prayers or at convenient times, while prayers will also be held at other places of worship across the country in memory of the massacre victims. No illumination will be allowed on the night.