Bangladesh News World

The Unspoken Tragedy Of 1971: How Hindu Women Were Targeted And Brutalized During Bangladesh’s Liberation War

January 10, 2025
The Commune

The Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 is celebrated as a triumph of courage and resilience, but beneath the surface of this victory lies a harrowing and often untold story of systematic violence, particularly against Hindu women. The Pakistani Army, aided by local collaborators like the Razakkar and al-Badr militias, unleashed a campaign of terror that included mass rape, murder, and forced impregnation, with Hindu women bearing the brunt of this brutality. This dark chapter of history reveals not only the horrors of war but also the complicity of local collaborators and the complex role of international organizations like the United Nations and missionary groups in its aftermath.

Targeting Hindu Women: A Deliberate Strategy

The Pakistani Army’s campaign in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) was not just a military operation but a calculated effort to crush Bengali nationalism and erase Hindu identity from the region. Pakistani leaders, including President Yahya Khan, openly expressed their disdain for Bengalis, whom they viewed as “too close to Hindu India” and not “true Muslims.” This perception fueled a campaign of violence that specifically targeted Hindus, who were seen as symbols of Indian influence and cultural identity. Pakistani soldiers were reportedly told to “make Muslims out of Bengalis,” a chilling directive that underscored the ethnic and religious dimensions of the violence.

Hindu women were systematically raped, often in front of their families, as a means of humiliating and terrorizing the community. Many were taken to “rape camps,” where they were held captive and subjected to repeated assaults. The Razakkar and al-Badr militias, composed of local collaborators, played a key role in identifying Hindu households and facilitating these atrocities. These militias not only aided the Pakistani Army but also looted Hindu properties, further displacing and impoverishing the community.

 

The Scale Of The Atrocities

Estimates suggest that between 200,000 and 400,000 women were raped during the nine-month conflict, with a significant proportion being Hindu. The violence was not random but part of a broader strategy to “purify” East Pakistan of its Hindu population. Many Hindu women were killed after being raped; their bodies dumped in mass graves. Others were left traumatized and pregnant, facing lifelong stigma and ostracization.

The Pakistani Army’s actions were not merely acts of war but a deliberate attempt to destroy the cultural and religious fabric of the Bengali Hindu community. This campaign of terror forced hundreds of thousands of Hindus to flee to India, leaving behind their homes, lands, and livelihoods.

For decades, the stories of these women were buried under a veil of shame and silence. Many survivors were abandoned by their families, ostracized by their communities, or driven to suicide. Those who gave birth to children conceived through rape faced unimaginable stigma. These “war babies” were often referred to as “illegitimate,” “enemy children,” or worse, and their mothers were labeled as “polluted” or “dishonored.”  

The Role Of The UN And Missionaries

In the aftermath of the war, the United Nations and international organizations like the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the Red Cross stepped in to provide medical and psychological support to the survivors. Abortion centers, known as Seba Sadan, were established across Bangladesh to help women terminate pregnancies resulting from rape. These centers were staffed by foreign doctors, including Dr. Geoffrey Davis, an Australian physician who performed late-term abortions and facilitated international adoptions.

Dr. Davis, in interviews, recounted the harrowing stories he heard from survivors: women tied to trees and gang-raped, breasts hacked off, and others left to die in mass graves. He estimated that the number of rape survivors was far higher than official figures suggested, and many women had already undergone unsafe abortions before the centers were established.  

Missionary groups, particularly Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity, also played a controversial role in the aftermath of the war. Mother Teresa appealed to women not to abort their pregnancies, urging them instead to give their children up for adoption. Many of these children, often referred to as “war babies,” were sent to countries like Canada, France, and Sweden, where they were raised in Christian families, often cut off from their cultural and religious roots.

While the UN and other organizations focused on providing medical care, missionary groups like Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity became involved in the adoption of war babies. Mother Teresa appealed to women not to abort their pregnancies, urging them instead to give their children up for adoption. Many of these children were sent to countries like Canada, France, and Sweden, where they were raised in Christian families, often cut off from their cultural and religious roots.  

The Bangladeshi government, under pressure to address the issue, enacted the Bangladesh Abandoned Children (Special Provision) Order in 1972, allowing for the international adoption of war babies. However, this process was fraught with ethical dilemmas. Many women were coerced into giving up their children, and some were even sedated to facilitate the adoptions. The babies, often referred to as “unwanted” or “polluted,” were seen as a burden to the newly independent nation.  

The Erasure Of History

Despite the scale of the atrocities, the stories of the rape survivors and their children have been largely erased from the official narrative of the Liberation War. The Bangladeshi government, under Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, honored the survivors as Birangona (war heroines) but failed to provide them with meaningful support or justice. Many women were pressured into abortions or forced to give up their children for adoption, often against their will.

The government’s focus on “rehabilitating” the survivors often ignored their trauma and agency. Lists of victims were deliberately destroyed, and the stories of the war babies were buried under a veil of shame and silence. Today, there is very little information about these children, many of whom were adopted abroad and grew up without any connection to their birth mothers or cultural heritage.

For decades, the stories of the rape survivors and their children were erased from the official narrative of the Liberation War. The trauma they endured was overshadowed by the broader celebration of independence. However, in recent years, scholars and activists like Bina D’Costa have worked to bring these hidden stories to light, challenging the “historical amnesia” that has long plagued Bangladesh.  

The Rome Statute, which recognized rape as a weapon of war after the Bosnian conflict, offers a framework for seeking justice for the survivors of 1971. Many activists argue that the crimes committed against Bangladeshi women, particularly Hindu women who were disproportionately targeted, should be prosecuted in the War Crimes Tribunal established in Bangladesh decades after independence.  

The unspoken tragedy of 1971 is a stark reminder of the horrors of war and the enduring scars it leaves on survivors. The Hindu women who endured unimaginable violence, and the children born from that violence, deserve recognition, justice, and healing. Their stories must be told, not as a source of shame, but as a testament to their resilience and a call to ensure that such atrocities are never repeated.

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