STAFF CORRESPONDENT

The night of March 25, 1971, etched in history as the Black Night, remains a scar on Bangladesh’s collective memory. On this night, the Pakistan military launched “Operation Searchlight,” a brutal crackdown on unarmed Bangalees that marked the beginning of one of the darkest nights in the nation’s history.

As darkness fell, tanks rolled through the streets while troops opened fire indiscriminately. Key locations such as Dhaka University, Pilkhana, Rajarbagh Police Lines, Hindu-dominated areas of Old Dhaka were attacked in coordinated strikes. Students and teachers were among those killed in large numbers, with university dormitories turning into scenes of mass killings.

The planned offensive aimed to crush the Bengalee nationalist movement following the election victory of the Awami League in 1970. It soon spread to other parts of the then East After

SEE PAGE 2 COL 4