ISLAMABAD: New accounts have emerged detailing the atrocities faced by the Bihari community during the 1971 Pakistan-India war, a chapter survivors describe as one of the darkest in the region’s history. According to these accounts, India intensified its longstanding tactics and covert operations during the conflict, allegedly backing terror groups to destabilise the region.
Survivors say India’s role in supporting such groups has long been known, and in 1971 it reportedly used the violent militia Mukti Bahini as a tool to target patriotic Pakistanis. Witnesses recall that the Mukti Bahini unleashed brutal attacks on unarmed civilians, with the Bihari community suffering heavily.
Among those who lived through the violence was Muhammad Alauddin, a member of the Bihari community who says he lost everything for his love for Pakistan. Recounting the horrors he witnessed, Alauddin said Mukti Bahini militants spread destruction across the region and that he and others struggled desperately to protect their people.
He remembers the situation in Chittagong as particularly horrific. “We collected the severed bodies of victims in 45 drums,” he recalled, adding that countless bodies lay across the roads, which he and others buried with their own hands.
Alauddin said that when Pakistani troops attempted to assist, Mukti Bahini fighters blocked their efforts. Later, when General Tikka Khan arrived in 1971, he praised the community’s resilience and inducted several of them into the Pakistan Army, where they received three months of basic training.
According to Alauddin, the internal situation was catastrophic at the time, with Mukti Bahini, Shanti Bahini and Lal Bahini spreading fear across the region while India continued its attacks. Despite the chaos, he says they remained determined, believing that if they were to die, they would rather die defending their country.
Alauddin rejected what he called Indian propaganda about the events of 1971, insisting the narratives spread by India have no link to reality. He added that even today, between 600,000 to 700,000 Pakistanis remain stranded there, still holding onto Pakistan’s flag.
The testimonies shed new light on the violence of 1971, with survivors emphasising that the stories of bloodshed, terror and betrayal remain alive as painful reminders of the past.
