Bangladesh blackout on Mar 25 to honour 1971 Pakistan crackdown victims

On the night of Mar 25, Bangladesh will plunge into darkness for a minute to remember the victims of one of the worst atrocities in human history unleashed by the Pakistani occupation forces in 1971.

The government has decided to go for a one-minute blackout from 9pm on the day, which was officially declared as Genocide Day last year.

The decision came at a recent inter-ministerial meeting headed by Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq on observing Mar 26 Independence Day and the Genocide Day.

The ministry has written to all government agencies over switching off the lights everywhere, except for key point installations, for a minute.

The Pakistan Army swooped on unarmed Bengalis on the night of Mar 25 in a brutal bid to crush their struggle for freedom.

Codenamed ‘Operation Searchlight’, it carried out genocide in the first hours of that night in Dhaka.

Bengalis mounted a spectacular resistance and snatched victory on Dec 16 after nine months of Liberation War.

Bangladesh’s Founding Father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared independence before being arrested by the Pakistani forces the same night.

But, the undisputed leader of the Bengalis had effectively announced the nation’s independence at the historic Mar 7 rally at the Race Course grounds, when he unequivocally uttered: “This time, the struggle is for our freedom. This time, the struggle is for our independence.”