Al-Badr (East Pakistan): Difference between revisions

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{{Use Pakistani English|date=May 2015}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
The '''Al-Badr''' ({{lang-bn|আল বদর}}) was a paramilitary force composed mainly of [[Bihari Muslims]]<ref>{{cite book |last=D'Costa  |first=Bina |year=2011 |title=Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ivzKjY5LncIC&pg=PA103 |publisher=Routledge |pages=103– |isbn=978-0-415-56566-0}}</ref> which operated in [[East Pakistan]] against the Bengali nationalist movement during the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]], under the patronage of the [[Government of Pakistan|Pakistani government]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|last1=Mamoon|first1=Muntassir|title=Al-Badr|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Al-Badr|website=Banglapedia|publisher=Bangladesh Asiatic Soicety|access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="Sisson">{{cite book |last1=Sisson |first1=Richard |last2=Rose |first2=Leo E. |date=1991 |title=War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh |publisher=University of California Press |page=165 |isbn=978-0-520-07665-5}}</ref>
The '''Al-Badr''' ({{lang-bn|আল বদর}}) was a paramilitary force composed mainly of [[Bihari Muslims]] which operated in [[East Pakistan]] against the Bengali nationalist movement during the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]], under the patronage of the [[Government of Pakistan|Pakistani government]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|last1=Mamoon|first1=Muntassir|title=Al-Badr|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Al-Badr|website=Banglapedia|publisher=Bangladesh Asiatic Soicety|access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="Sisson">{{cite book |last1=Sisson |first1=Richard |last2=Rose |first2=Leo E. |date=1991 |title=War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh |publisher=University of California Press |page=165 |isbn=978-0-520-07665-5}}</ref>


==Etymology==
==Etymology==
Line 9: Line 9:
==History==
==History==
===Organization===
===Organization===
Al-Badr was constituted in September 1971 under the auspices of General [[Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi]], then chief of the [[Pakistan Army|Pakistan Army eastern command]].  Members of Al-Badr were recruited from public schools and [[madrasas]] (religious schools).  The unit was used for raids and special operations;<ref name="Sisson" /> the [[Pakistan army]] command initially planned to use the locally recruited militias (Al-Badr, [[Razakars (Pakistan)|Razakar]], [[Al-Shams (Bangladesh)|Al-Shams]]) for policing cities of East Pakistan, and regular army units to defend the border with India.<ref>{{cite book |last=Siddiqi |first=A. R. |date=2004 |title=East Pakistan the Endgame: An Onlooker's Journal 1969-1971 |location=Karachi |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-579993-4}}</ref>  Most members of Al-Badr appear to have been [[Biharis]].<ref>Siddiqui 1990, p. 153.</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=August 2016}}.
Al-Badr was constituted in September 1971 under the auspices of General [[Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi]], then chief of the [[Pakistan Army|Pakistan Army eastern command]].  Members of Al-Badr were recruited from public schools and [[madrasas]] (religious schools).  The unit was used for raids and special operations;<ref name="Sisson" /> the [[Pakistan army]] command initially planned to use the locally recruited militias (Al-Badr, [[Razakars (Pakistan)|Razakar]], [[Al-Shams (Bangladesh)|Al-Shams]]) for policing cities of East Pakistan, and regular army units to defend the border with India.<ref>{{cite book |last=Siddiqi |first=A. R. |date=2004 |title=East Pakistan the Endgame: An Onlooker's Journal 1969-1971 |location=Karachi |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-579993-4}}</ref>  Most members of Al-Badr appear to have been [[Biharis]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Siddiqi |first=Abdul Rahman |year=2004 |title=East Pakistan, the Endgame: An Onlooker's Journal 1969-1971 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=153 |isbn=978-0-19-579993-4}}</ref>


Despite their similarities in opposing the [[independence of Bangladesh]], the Razakar and Al-Badr had differences; [[Razakar (Pakistan)|Razakars]] opposed the [[Mukti Bahini]] in general, while Al-Badr's tactics were [[terrorism]] and [[extrajudicial killing|political killings.]]<ref name=":0" />  All three groups operated under Pakistani command.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hasina |first=Sheikh |date=1999 |chapter=Opposition Leader Sheikh Hasina’s parliamentary speech given on 16 April 1992 on the subject of Golam Azam and the public tribunal |chapter-url=http://www.bangladeshmariners.com/HmdrRprt/pm.html |title=Documents on crimes against humanity committed by Pakistan Army and their agents in Bangladesh during 1971 |publisher=Liberation War Museum |location=Dhaka |isbn=984311048X |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716022018/http://www.bangladeshmariners.com/HmdrRprt/pm.html |archive-date=16 July 2011}}</ref>
Despite their similarities in opposing the [[independence of Bangladesh]], the Razakar and Al-Badr had differences; [[Razakar (Pakistan)|Razakars]] opposed the [[Mukti Bahini]] in general, while Al-Badr's tactics were [[terrorism]] and [[extrajudicial killing|political killings.]]<ref name=":0" />  All three groups operated under Pakistani command.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hasina |first=Sheikh |date=1999 |chapter=Opposition Leader Sheikh Hasina’s parliamentary speech given on 16 April 1992 on the subject of Golam Azam and the public tribunal |chapter-url=http://www.bangladeshmariners.com/HmdrRprt/pm.html |title=Documents on crimes against humanity committed by Pakistan Army and their agents in Bangladesh during 1971 |publisher=Liberation War Museum |location=Dhaka |isbn=984311048X |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716022018/http://www.bangladeshmariners.com/HmdrRprt/pm.html |archive-date=16 July 2011}}</ref>
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==War crimes==
==War crimes==
Al-Badr perpetrated atrocities against civilians during the war of 1971, in particular, the [[1971 killing of Bengali intellectuals|massacre of intellectuals]] in [[Dhaka]] that occurred on 14 December 1971.<ref>P. Hazelhurst in ''The Times'', 3 Jan 1972, p. 4.</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=August 2016}} They then dumped the bodies in the [[Rayer Bazaar]] area of [[Dhaka]].<ref name=":0" />
Al-Badr perpetrated atrocities against civilians during the war of 1971, in particular, the [[1971 killing of Bengali intellectuals|massacre of intellectuals]] that occurred in the [[Rayer Bazaar]] area of [[Dhaka]] on 15 December 1971.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hazelhurst |first=Peter |date=3 January 1972 |title=Communist Party revived in Dacca |newspaper=The Times |page=4 |quote=more corpses have been found floating in a small pond in the Rayabazar area of Dacca where scores of Bengali intellectuals were massacred three weeks ago ... There has been no official count of the number of people killed at Rayabazar. The figure is generally put at about 150 ... Most of the intellectuals were killed on the morning of December 15 by the fanatical Bengali religious group known as Al-Badr.}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
According to journalist Azadur Rahman Chandan, Al-Badr was experimentally launched in [[Jamalpur District|Jamalpur]], [[Mymensingh]] in April 1971 as a voluntary force with [[Islami Chhatra Shangha]] activists as its first recruits to wage war against the nationalist fighters. They were enlisted and trained under the guidance of [[Mohammad Kamaruzzaman]], the assistant secretary general of Jamaat.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chandan |first=Azadur Rahman |date=February 2011 |orig-year=2009 |script-title=bn:একাত্তরের ঘাতক ও দালালরা |trans-title=The Killers and Collaborators of 71 |language=bn |edition=Revised 2nd |publisher=Jatiya Sahitya Prakash |location=Dhaka <!-- Invalid ISBN; listed on publisher's web site, but still not valid. 13-digit ISBNs start with 978 or 979. |isbn=984-70000-0121-4 -->|pages=48–54}}</ref>{{additional citation needed|date=July 2016}}
According to journalist Azadur Rahman Chandan, Al-Badr was experimentally launched in [[Jamalpur District|Jamalpur]], [[Mymensingh]] in April 1971 as a voluntary force with [[Islami Chhatra Shangha]] activists as its first recruits to wage war against the nationalist fighters. They were enlisted and trained under the guidance of [[Mohammad Kamaruzzaman]], the assistant secretary general of Jamaat.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chandan |first=Azadur Rahman |date=February 2011 |orig-year=2009 |script-title=bn:একাত্তরের ঘাতক ও দালালরা |trans-title=The Killers and Collaborators of 71 |language=bn |edition=Revised 2nd |publisher=Jatiya Sahitya Prakash |location=Dhaka <!-- Invalid ISBN; listed on publisher's web site, but still not valid. 13-digit ISBNs start with 978 or 979. |isbn=984-70000-0121-4 -->|pages=48–54}}</ref>{{additional citation needed|date=July 2016}}


Revision as of 05:57, 1 July 2022

For other uses, see Al-Badr.

The Al-Badr (Bengali: আল বদর) was a paramilitary force composed mainly of Bihari Muslims which operated in East Pakistan against the Bengali nationalist movement during the Bangladesh Liberation War, under the patronage of the Pakistani government.[1][2]

Etymology

The name Al-Badr means the full moon and refers to the Battle of Badr.[3]

History

Organization

Al-Badr was constituted in September 1971 under the auspices of General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, then chief of the Pakistan Army eastern command. Members of Al-Badr were recruited from public schools and madrasas (religious schools). The unit was used for raids and special operations;[2] the Pakistan army command initially planned to use the locally recruited militias (Al-Badr, Razakar, Al-Shams) for policing cities of East Pakistan, and regular army units to defend the border with India.[4] Most members of Al-Badr appear to have been Biharis.[5]

Despite their similarities in opposing the independence of Bangladesh, the Razakar and Al-Badr had differences; Razakars opposed the Mukti Bahini in general, while Al-Badr's tactics were terrorism and political killings.[1] All three groups operated under Pakistani command.[6]

Dissolution

After the surrender of the Pakistan Army on 16 December 1971, Al-Badr was dissolved together with the Razakar and Al-Shams. Many members were arrested. During the time of president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, all of the collaborators, including those of Al-Badr were pardoned and in 1975 any attempt to try them was repealed.[7]

War crimes

Al-Badr perpetrated atrocities against civilians during the war of 1971, in particular, the massacre of intellectuals that occurred in the Rayer Bazaar area of Dhaka on 15 December 1971.[8][1] According to journalist Azadur Rahman Chandan, Al-Badr was experimentally launched in Jamalpur, Mymensingh in April 1971 as a voluntary force with Islami Chhatra Shangha activists as its first recruits to wage war against the nationalist fighters. They were enlisted and trained under the guidance of Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, the assistant secretary general of Jamaat.[9][additional citation(s) needed]

Leaders of Al-Badr

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mamoon, Muntassir. "Al-Badr". Banglapedia. Bangladesh Asiatic Soicety. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sisson, Richard; Rose, Leo E. (1991). War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh. University of California Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-520-07665-5.
  3. ↑ Haqqani, Husain (2005). Pakistan: between mosque and military. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. p. 79. ISBN 0-87003-285-2.
  4. ↑ Siddiqi, A. R. (2004). East Pakistan the Endgame: An Onlooker's Journal 1969-1971. Karachi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-579993-4.
  5. ↑ Siddiqi, Abdul Rahman (2004). East Pakistan, the Endgame: An Onlooker's Journal 1969-1971. Oxford University Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-19-579993-4.
  6. ↑ Hasina, Sheikh (1999). "Opposition Leader Sheikh Hasina's parliamentary speech given on 16 April 1992 on the subject of Golam Azam and the public tribunal". Documents on crimes against humanity committed by Pakistan Army and their agents in Bangladesh during 1971. Dhaka: Liberation War Museum. ISBN 984311048X. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
  7. ↑ Islam, Md Saidul (March 2011). "'Minority Islam' in Muslim Majority Bangladesh". Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. 31 (1): 130. doi:10.1080/13602004.2011.556893. ISSN 1360-2004. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  8. ↑ Hazelhurst, Peter (3 January 1972). "Communist Party revived in Dacca". The Times. p. 4. more corpses have been found floating in a small pond in the Rayabazar area of Dacca where scores of Bengali intellectuals were massacred three weeks ago ... There has been no official count of the number of people killed at Rayabazar. The figure is generally put at about 150 ... Most of the intellectuals were killed on the morning of December 15 by the fanatical Bengali religious group known as Al-Badr.
  9. ↑ Chandan, Azadur Rahman (February 2011) [2009]. একাত্তরের ঘাতক ও দালালরা [The Killers and Collaborators of 71] (in Bengali) (Revised 2nd ed.). Dhaka: Jatiya Sahitya Prakash. pp. 48–54.
  10. ↑ Karlekar, Hiranmay (2005). Bangladesh: The Next Afghanistan?. New Delhi: Sage. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-7619-3401-1.
  11. ↑ Faruq, Mohiuddin (6 January 2016). "Supreme Court seals fate of Nizami, confirms Jamaat chief's death sentence for horrific war crimes". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "Supreme Court to fix war criminal Mir Qausem's appeal hearing on Wednesday". bdnews24.com. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  13. ↑ "Don't interfere, Bangladesh tells Pakistan after remark on Mir Quasem Ali hanging". The Economic Times. 4 September 2016.
  14. ↑ Kabir, Monor (2006). Politics and development of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh. New Delhi: South Asian Publishers. p. 67. ISBN 978-8170033059.
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