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Biharis faced reprisals from Mukti Bahini and Bengali militias [4] [1] resulting in an estimated death toll ranging from 1,000 [5] to 150,000. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] Within the context of the conflict in Bangladesh, the term "Bihari" implies the migrants predominantly from the Indian state of Bihar and West Bengal, who headed for then East Pakistan, after ...
Sarmila Bose in her book in 2011, Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War argues that the Bengalis are in a state of denial about the massacre. [2] The Bangladesh Liberation War Museum has admitted but downplayed the massacre, calling them "isolated instances of mob violence." [8] Ezaz Ahmed Chowdhury, a Bihari community leader said:
Bihar is one of the longest inhabited places in the world with a history going back to the Neolithic age. [8] Since that time, Biharis have long been involved in some of the most important events in South Asian history. Biharis were the founders of many great empires based out of Magadh including the Nanda Empire, Maurya Empire and the Gupta ...
An estimated 600,000 Biharis live in 66 camps in 13 regions across Bangladesh, and an equal number have acquired Bangladeshi citizenship. In 1990, a small number of Biharis were allowed to immigrate to Pakistan. Pakistan has reiterated that as the successor state of East Pakistan, Bangladesh should accept the Biharis as full citizens.
When the war finished Biharis faced severe retaliation, resulting in a counter-genocide and the displacement of over a million non-Bengalis. [69] According to the Minorities at Risk project, the number of Biharis killed by Bengalis was reportedly about 1,000. [157] Rudolph Rummel gives an estimate of 150,000 killed. [159]
No memorial has been erected even after 40 years of the Liberation War. [5] The relics of the massacre are being lost. Local land sharks have encroached upon the site of mass killing and started cultivation. [5] Sumit Agarwala, the president of Saidpur Smaranika Parishad demanded a national memorial at the mass killing site. [4]
The Mukti Bahini has been accused of human rights violations by historians on West Pakistanis and Biharis. [90] [91] On 27 March 1971, members of the Mukti Bahini were alleged to have massacred 15000 Biharis in the town of Santahar in the district of Naogaon. [92] [93] They are also accused of raping Bihari women during the war. [90]
Due to their initial pro-Pakistan stance and severe persecution in Bangladesh, the Biharis were consistent in their wish to be repatriated to Pakistan. Initially, 83,000 Biharis (58,000 former civil servants and military personnel), members of divided families and 25,000 hardship cases were evacuated to Pakistan.