The Role of Razakar, Al-Badr and Al-Shams During the Liberation War of Bangladesh 1971/ ১৯৭১ সালে বাংলাদেশের মুক্তিযুদ্ধের সময় রাজাকার, আল-বদর ও আল-শামসদের ভূমিকা

Abstract

Razakar, Al-Badr, Al-Sham and Shanti Committee were the paramilitary forces formed at the time of the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 to support the Pakistani military against minority Hindu and Awami League supporters. The Razakars were selected from the Bihari community who lived in East Pakistan and migrated from Bihar after 1947. The Razakars were also selected from pro-Pakistani Bengalis who supported an undivided Pakistan. Razakar, Al-Badr and Al-Sham were involved in brutal massacres and human rights abuses during the war. These subsidiary forces had secured the Pakistani army’s local support, food, insights and intelligence on targets and locations. The student wing of the religious political party Jamaat-e-Islami also provided them with logistical support like men and information. Initially, these auxiliary forces were only called volunteers and were part of civil defence. But from May 1971 onwards, these perpetrators were formally organized into Razakar, Al-Badr and Al-Shams. They were trained by the Pakistani military. They killed thousands of innocent people during the war and thousands of women and girls were raped and sexually assaulted. This paper will explore the heinous activities of these perpetrators. The paper will also examine the reasons behind the creation of these voluntary groups.