Ramna Kali Mandir - Demolition and Genocide By The Pakistan Army

Demolition and Genocide By The Pakistan Army

On the night of March 25, 1971, the Pakistan Army, unleashed its army on the civilian population and commenced a genocide that would last nine months until liberation in December that year. It has been widely documented that one of the primary targets of the Pakistan Army and government in its military action was the Hindu population. As such, prominent Hindu targets such as Jagannath Hall (a hostel for Hindu students on the Dhaka University campus and Ramna Kali Mandir were singled out right at the onset of the Pakistani campaign.

On March 27, 1971, the Pakistan Army entered the Ramna Kali Temple complex and within the space of an hour, murdered over 100 people, almost all Hindus. Several Muslims had also sought refuge in the temple complex as the Pakistan army started going on rampage in the neighbouring areas of Dhaka University, and they were among the casualties.

Until 2000, accounts of the demolition of the temple relied largely on oral testimony by survivors and witnesses of the Pakistani Army action. However, a Public Commission was instituted by the Awami League government of Bangladesh in 2000 on the anniversary of the massacre, with the goal of documenting the events. The chairman was Justice K M Sobhan, who presented a preliminary report on September 27, 2000.

Only around 50 names of victims of the massacre have been identified; relatives of the other victims are either deceased or have left Bangladesh. An appeal has been made for any surviving relatives of victims of the Ramna Kali Mandir massacre around the world to contribute names of their kin so as to contribute to a list of martyrs on a future memorial.