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{{Short description|1971 massacre during the Bangladesh War of Independence}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Chuknagar massacre
| native_name = চুকনগর গণহত্যা
| native_name_lang = bn
| partof = [[Bangladesh genocide]]
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| map = {{Location map|Bangladesh|lat=22.84|long=89.29|caption=}}
| map_caption =
| location = Chuknagar, Khulna, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)
| target = [[Bengali Hindus]]<ref name="Dhaka Tribune"/>
| coordinates =
| date = 20 May 1971
| time =
| timezone = UTC+6:00
| type = [[Burst fire]], [[mass murder]], [[genocidal massacre]], [[ethnic cleansing]]
| fatalities = 10,000 - 12,000<ref name="Dhaka Tribune"/>
| injuries =
| perps = [[Pakistan Army]], [[Razakars (Pakistan)|Razakars]]
| weapons = [[Light machine gun]]s, [[Semi-automatic firearm|semi-automatic rifle]]s
| numparts =
| motive = [[Anti-Hindu sentiment]], [[racism]]
}}

'''Chuknagar massacre''' ({{langx|bn|চুকনগর গণহত্যা}}) was a [[massacre]] of [[Bengali Hindus]] committed by the [[Pakistan Army]] and local collaborators during the [[Bangladesh War of Independence]] in 1971.<ref name="Dhaka Tribune">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=21 May 2022 |title=Recognize Chuknagar Genocide, demand activists |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/war-crimes/2022/05/21/recognize-chuknagar-genocide-demand-activists |newspaper=[[Dhaka Tribune]] |access-date=10 December 2022}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-05-20 |title=The massacre at Chuknagar: A forgotten chapter of the liberation war history |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/thoughts/massacre-chuknagar-forgotten-chapter-liberation-war-history-634882 |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=The Business Standard |language=en}}</ref> The massacre took place on 20 May 1971 at [[Dumuria Upazila|Dumuria]] in [[Khulna]]<ref name="Prothom">{{Citation |last=Rahman |first=Md Mujibur |date=20 May 2013 |script-title=bn:২০ মে চুকনগর গণহত্যা দিবস |trans-title=20 May Chuknagar Day Massacre |url=http://oldsite.dailyjanakantha.com/news_view.php?nc=13&dd=2013-05-20&ni=135950 |newspaper=[[The Daily Janakantha]] |language=bn |access-date=15 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054719/http://oldsite.dailyjanakantha.com/news_view.php?nc=13&dd=2013-05-20&ni=135950 |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> and it was one of the largest massacres during the war.<ref>{{Citation |title=Chuknagar genocide day observed |newspaper=[[New Age (Bangladesh)]] |page=11 |date=21 May 2006 |url=http://www.newagebd.com/2006/may/21/nat.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023064055/http://www.newagebd.com/2006/may/21/nat.html |archive-date=23 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bartrop |first1=Paul R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PxnOEAAAQBAJ&dq=Chuknagar+massacre&pg=RA6-PT2983 |title=Modern Genocide: The Definitive Resource and Document Collection [4 volumes] |last2=Jacobs |first2=Steven Leonard |date=2014-12-17 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=979-8-216-11854-1 |language=en}}</ref>

According to local estimates, between 10,000 and 12,000 people were killed, though the exact number of persons killed in the massacre is not known.<ref name="Dhaka Tribune"/> Academic [[Sarmila Bose]], in her controversial book.<ref name="LawsonControversial">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13417170 |title=Controversial book accuses Bengalis of 1971 war crimes |last=Lawson |first=Alastair |date=16 June 2011 |newspaper=[[BBC News]] |access-date=30 December 2013}}</ref> dismisses claims that 10,000 were killed as "unhelpful", and argues that the reported number of attackers could have shot no more than several hundred people before running out of ammunition.<ref>{{citation |author=Sarmila Bose |author-link=Sarmila Bose |year=2011 |title=Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War |location=[[London]] |publisher=Hurst and Co |page=124 |isbn=978-1-84904-049-5}}</ref> The majority of people killed in the massacre were men, although an unknown number of women and children were murdered as well.<ref name="Bose, pg. 119">{{citation |author=Sarmila Bose |author-link=Sarmila Bose |year=2011 |title=Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War |location=[[London]] |publisher=Hurst and Co |pages=119–122 |isbn=978-1-84904-049-5}}</ref> She does admit a massacre took place, but the numbers claimed are unhelpful.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Tripathi |first=Salil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bcffCwAAQBAJ&dq=Chuknagar+massacre&pg=PA124 |title=The Colonel who Would Not Repent: The Bangladesh War and Its Unquiet Legacy |date=2016-01-01 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-21818-3 |pages=124–125 |language=en}}</ref> [[Salil Tripathi]] had criticized Bose for taking at face value defensive statements by Pakistan Army officers, but doubting any claims made by Bangladeshis.<ref name=":2" />
{{Campaignbox Bangladesh Liberation War}}
== Background ==
[[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]] led [[Awami League]] wins the majority of the parliamentary seats in the [[1970 Pakistani general election]].<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Archives |first=The National |title=The National Archives - Homepage |url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/the-independence-of-bangladesh-in-1971/the-independence-of-bangladesh-in-1971-source-4/ |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=The National Archives |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=2024-02-09 |title=When an election broke Pakistan in two |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/history-of-it/story/pakistan-election-2024-national-assembly-polls-1970-yahya-khan-sheikh-mujibur-rahman-zulfikhar-ali-bhutto-imran-khan-2499656-2024-02-09 |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref> The results were not accepted by West Pakistan which led to a politicial stalemate.<ref name=":6" /> Following widespread unrest, the Pakistan Military launches ''[[Operation Searchlight]]''
==Massacre==
Chuknagar is a small town at Dumuria of [[Khulna District|Khulna]], adjacent to the Indian border, and on the banks of the Bhodra River.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Roy |first=Dipankar |date=20 May 2024 |title=The blood river |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/the-blood-river-3614036 |access-date=30 May 2025 |work=The Daily Star}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Dutta |first=Pradip Kumar |date=20 May 2022 |title=Let Not Memory of Chuknagar Massacre Fade Away |url=https://www.daily-sun.com/post/621669/Let-Not-Memory-of-Chuknagar-Massacre-Fade-Away |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=daily-sun |language=en}}</ref> After the Pakistan military launched a military campaign called ''[[Operation Searchlight]]'', many people of the [[Bengali Hindu]] community started fleeing from Khulna and [[Bagerhat District|Bagerhat]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |date=2025-05-20 |title=Chuknagar: A forgotten massacre |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/chuknagar-forgotten-massacre-3899636 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250525110159/https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/chuknagar-forgotten-massacre-3899636 |archive-date=2025-05-25 |access-date=2025-05-30 |work=The Daily Star |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> It became a transit point for the refugees fleeing to India.<ref name=":3" /> India provided shelter to around 10 million refugees from Bangladesh during the War.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Adhikari |first1=Kaustubh |last2=Islam |first2=Nazmul |last3=Jalal |first3=Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman |date=2025 |title=Death toll among the Bangladeshi refugees of the 1971 war |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=20 |issue=4 |article-number=e0320760 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0320760 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=11970699 |pmid=40184376|bibcode=2025PLoSO..2020760A }}</ref> The chairman of Atlia Union, Ghulam Hossain, had informed the Pakistan Army that refugees were using Chuknagar to flee to India.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |date=2022-05-20 |title=Chuknagar: A sea of blood |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/news/chuknagar-sea-blood-3027756 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230519191856/https://www.thedailystar.net/news/news/chuknagar-sea-blood-3027756 |archive-date=2023-05-19 |access-date=2025-05-30 |work=The Daily Star |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref>

They crossed [[Bhodra River|Bhadra River]] and arrived at Chuknagar to cross the Indian border using Satkhira Road. By May 15, 1971, large numbers of refugees from nearby localities gathered at Chuknagar, as rumors broke out of an impending Pakistani attack. Eye witness Sirajul Islam reported seeing hundreds of thousands of refugees at the area on 20 May.<ref name=":5" /> Around 11:00 am, a group of Pakistani military personnel equipped with [[semi-automatic rifle]]s and [[light machine gun]]s came on around three trucks.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=Chuknagar Genocide Day to be observed tomorrow {{!}} Others |url=https://www.bssnews.net/others/274499 |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=BSS}}</ref> They stopped at a place called Jhautala (then known as Pathkhola) at the left corner of the Chuknagar Bazaar.<ref name=":5" /> The Pakistan Army divided into three units.<ref name=":5" /> Then they opened fire on the Pathkhola grounds and later moved to Chuknagar Bazaar and continued firing until 3:00 pm or 5:00 pm.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":8" /> An estimated 10 thousand people were killed in the massacre.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Krishnankutty |first=Pia |date=2021-05-22 |title=What was the Chuknagar massacre? A lesser-known, bloody episode from 1971 Bangladesh war |url=https://theprint.in/theprint-essential/what-was-the-chuknagar-massacre-a-lesser-known-bloody-episode-from-1971-bangladesh-war/662934/ |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US}}</ref>

Many people drowned as they jumped into the river in a largely futile attempt to flee the carnage. Local people later disposed off the dead bodies by throwing them into the river.<ref name="Bose, pg. 119" /> Men from a local warehouse were hired to dump the bodies into the river.<ref name=":4" /> The [[Bhodra River|Bhadra River]] had reportedly turned red from all the bodies.<ref name=":5" /><ref name="Dhaka Tribune" /> One local man who was involved with removing the bodies stated he had removed around 4200 bodies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gerlach |first=Christian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V1wjEQAAQBAJ&dq=Chuknagar+massacre&pg=PT58 |title=Conditions of Violence |date=2024-11-04 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3-11-156901-7 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Further massacre ===
Another massacre of refugees fleeing to India took place at the nearby Dakra area in [[Rampal Upazila]], [[Bagerhat District]].<ref name="Dhaka Tribune" /> [[AKM Yusuf|AKM Yousuf]] led unit of [[Razakars (Pakistan)|Razakars]] killed an estimated 700 to 2 thousand people.<ref name="Dhaka Tribune" />

=== Survivors ===
Ershad Ali, searching for his father among the dead, instead rescued a toddler clinging to her mother's lifeless body.<ref name=":3" /> The baby was also seen by Assistant Professor of Chuknagar Degree College Md Monirul Islam who was searching for his father.<ref name=":9" /> The baby, Rajkumari Sundari Dasi, was raised by Ershad's friend Mandar Das.<ref name=":5" /> Survivor Surendranath Bairagi saw five of his brothers killed in the massacre.<ref name=":3" />

==Legacy==
[[File:চুকনগর শহীদ স্মৃতিস্তম্ভ.jpg|thumb|220px|Chuknagar memorial]]
The government of Bangladesh purchased 78 decimals land in 2005 to establish a monument to the massacre.<ref name=":3" /> A memorial was built by the [[Public Works Department (Bangladesh)|Public Works Department]] in 2006 to pay homage to the people who died in the massacre.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=INSPIRELI |title=Tale of A Blooded River: Chuknagar Genocide Memorial Complex, Chuknagar, Khulna |url=https://www.inspireli.com/en/awards/detail/5601 |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=www.inspireli.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |title=Chuknagar: Site of largest massacre in Liberation War left neglected |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/368202/chuknagar-site-of-largest-massacre-in-liberation |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=Dhaka Tribune |language=en}}</ref> The memorial is called ''Chuknagar Shohid'' Smriti Shoudho or Chuknagar Martyred Memorial.<ref name="Prothom"/> The structure in complete and has not been properly maintained.<ref name=":10" /> The incident is remembered as the Chuknagar Genocide Day.<ref>{{Cite web |last=BSS |date=2025-05-19 |title=Chuknagar Genocide Day to be observed Tuesday |url=https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/d6mp7r4o88 |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=Prothomalo |language=en}}</ref>

[[Tathagata Roy]], former governor of Tripura, stated "[[Jallianwala Bagh massacre|Jallianwala Bagh]] pales in comparison" about the massacre.<ref name=":1" /> There has been criticism over the lack of effort to preserve the site.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sharma |first1=Anukrati |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0GorEQAAQBAJ&dq=Chuknagar+massacre&pg=PA223 |title=Dark Tourism: Theory, Interpretation and Attraction |last2=Arora |first2=Shruti |last3=Shukla |first3=Parag |date=2024-10-30 |publisher=Emerald Group Publishing |isbn=978-1-83797-336-1 |page=223 |language=en}}</ref> On the 51st annivarsy of the massacre, acitivists called on the government of Bangladesh to investigate the massacre, give it proper recognition, and bring the preparators to justice.<ref name="Dhaka Tribune" />

==See also==
* [[List of massacres in Bangladesh]]
* ''[[Jibondhuli]]''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Tripathi |first=Salil |date=2016 |title=The Colonel Who Would Not Repent: The Bangladesh War and Its Unquiet Legacy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bcffCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA118 |publisher=Yale University Press |pages=118–124 |isbn=978-0-300-21818-3}}

{{1971 Bangladesh genocide|state=expanded}}
{{Bangladesh liberation}}

{{Coord|22.84|N|89.29|E|region:BD_type_event|display=title}}

[[Category:May 1971 in Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Bangladesh genocide]]
[[Category:Massacres in 1971]]
[[Category:1971 mass shootings in Asia]]
[[Category:Massacres of Bengali Hindus in East Pakistan]]
[[Category:Massacres committed by Pakistan in East Pakistan]]
[[Category:Violence against men in Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Spree shootings in Bangladesh]]
[[Category:History of Khulna District]]

Chuknagar massacre - Revision history

Hearthospital at 15:55, 11 January 2026