A refugee carrying his cholera-stricken wife away from the fighting during the Bangladesh War, 1971

This picture is taken during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Little is known to the western countries about the atrocities of this war. It lasted for a period of nine months and witnessed massive atrocities. At the same time, cholera also spread during this period. As a result of this war Bangladesh became an independent state from West Pakistan, which is now just Pakistan.

Looking at the photo, one can see the love right there. It is a vision of determination. It says a lot about their love. The photographer is Mark Edwards and he later recalled: "I took this very disturbing picture of a man carrying his cholera-stricken wife during the Bangladesh War in 1971. Ten million to escape the horrors of this bloody People crossed the border of East Pakistan into India. War".

In August 1947, the official birth of the two states, Pakistan and India, provided a permanent home for Hindus and Muslims with the departure of the British. The Dominion of Pakistan consisted of geographically and culturally distinct territories to the east and west, with India in between.

The western region was popularly called West Pakistan and the eastern region (modern Bangladesh) was initially called East Bengal and later East Pakistan. Although the populations of the two regions were roughly equal, political power was concentrated in West Pakistan and it was widely believed that East Pakistan was being exploited economically.

The two parts of Pakistan also had several other problems: language disputes (in the west spoken Urdu/Punjabi and in the east Bengali was spoken. Nevertheless, Urdu was declared the official language). inequalities (although East Pakistan had a higher population, West Pakistan dominated a politically divided country and received more money from the general budget).

Political differences (Although East Pakistan had a minor majority of the country's population, political power remained in the hands of West Pakistanis.

Since a direct system of representation based on population would result in political power concentrated in East Pakistan, the West Pakistani establishment came up with the "one unit" plan, where the whole of West Pakistan was considered a province. This was purely to balance the votes of the East Wing).

How did the war and genocide begin?

War broke out on 26 March 1971, when the Pakistani army launched a military operation called Operation Searchlight against Bengali civilians, students, intellectuals and armed personnel, who were demanding that the Pakistani army accept the results of the first democratic elections of 1970 . Pakistan, which was won by an Eastern party, or to allow separation between East and West Pakistan.

Bengali politicians and army officers declared independence of Bangladesh in response to Operation Searchlight. Then the real war began. India entered the war on 3 December 1971, when Pakistan launched pre-emptive air strikes on northern India. Overwhelmed by two battle fronts, Pakistani defenses soon collapsed. After that Bangladesh became an independent country.

During the war, widespread killings and other atrocities took place. Casualties vary greatly, but it is generally accepted as 200,000–3,000,000 for Bangladesh as a whole. As well as the exodus of 10 million refugees and the displacement of 30 million people.

Many women were tortured, raped and killed during the war; The exact numbers are not known and are a matter of debate. Bangladeshi sources said 200,000 women were raped, giving birth to thousands of children in the war.