Al-Badr (East Pakistan)

For other uses, see Al-Badr.

The Al-Badr (Bengali: আল-বদর, romanized: Al-Bodor; Urdu: البدر; lit. 'Full moon') was a collaborationist paramilitary force composed mainly of Bihari Muslims, which operated in East Pakistan against the Bengali nationalist movement during the Bangladesh Liberation War, under the patronage of the Government of Pakistan.^[1][2]

Al-Badr
Bengali: আল-বদর Urdu: البدر
Leader	Motiur Rahman Nizami
Foundation	September 1971
Dates of operation	1971
Dissolved	December 16, 1971
Allegiance	Military junta of Pakistan
Headquarters	East Pakistan
Ideology	Anti-Bengali sentiment Anti-Hindu sentiment Religious persecution State terrorism Democide
Political position	Far-right
Major actions	War crimes, genocide, mass murder, kidnapping, politicide, torture
Notable attacks	Bangladesh genocide Killing of Bengali intellectuals Abduction of Shahidullah Kaiser Abduction of Munier Choudhury Abduction of Syed Nazmul Haque Demra massacre
Status	Inactive
Allies	Pakistan Army
Opponents	Provisional Government of Bangladesh Mukti Bahini Bengali nationalists
Battles and wars	Bangladesh Liberation War

Etymology

The name Al-Badr means the full moon and refers to the Battle of Badr.^[3]

History

Organization

Al-Badr was constituted in September 1971 under the auspices of General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, then chief of the Pakistan Army eastern command. Members of Al-Badr were recruited from public schools and madrasas (religious schools). The unit was used for raids and special operations;^[2] the Pakistan army command initially planned to use locally recruited militias (Al-Badr, Razakar, Al-Shams) for policing cities of East Pakistan, and regular army units to defend the border with India. According to Brigadier Abdul Rahman Siddiqi, members of Al-Badr were mainly Biharis.^[4]

Despite their similarities in opposing the independence of Bangladesh, the Razakar and Al-Badr had differences; Razakars opposed the Mukti Bahini in general, while Al-Badr's tactics were terrorism and political killings.^[1] All three groups operated under Pakistani command.^[5]

Dissolution

After the surrender of the Pakistan Army on 16 December 1971, Al-Badr was dissolved together with the Razakar and Al-Shams. Many members were arrested. During the time of president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, all of the collaborators, including those of Al-Badr were pardoned conditionally.^[6]

Genocide

The victims of Bangladesh genocide (1971) is remembered by the annual national Bangladesh Genocide Remembrance Day, the perpetrators were the

• Al Badr
• Al Shams
• Pakistan Military
• Razakars
• East Pakistan Central Peace Committee
• Mujahid Bahini (East Pakistan)
• Kharadia Military

War crimes

Al-Badr perpetrated atrocities against civilians during the war of 1971 in particular, the massacre of intellectuals, that occurred in the Rayer Bazaar area of Dhaka on 15 December 1971.^[7][1] According to journalist Azadur Rahman Chandan, Al-Badr was experimentally launched in Jamalpur, Mymensingh in April 1971 as a voluntary force with Islami Chhatra Sangha activists as its first recruits to wage war against the nationalist fighters. They were enlisted and trained under the guidance of Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, the assistant secretary general of Jamaat.^{[8][additional citation(s) needed]}

Leaders of Al-Badr

• Motiur Rahman Nizami^[9] was convicted of war crimes and executed on 11 May 2016^[10]
• Mir Quasem Ali was convicted of war crimes^[11] and executed on 3 September 2016^[12]
• Ashrafuz Zaman Khan
• Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin
• Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed^[13] was convicted of war crimes and executed on 22 November 2015.

See also

• Bangladesh genocide (1971)
  • Bangladesh Genocide Remembrance Day
  • Al Shams, perpetrator
  • East Pakistan Central Peace Committee, perpetrator
  • Razakars, perpetrator
  • Mujahid Bahini (East Pakistan), perpetrator
• List of massacres in Bangladesh
  • Persecution of Biharis in Bangladesh
  • Persecution of Buddhists in Bangladesh
  • Persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh
  • Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh
  • Persecution of Christians in Bangladesh
  • Persecution of atheists and secularists in Bangladesh

References

1. Mamoon, Muntassir (2012). "Al-Badr". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
2. Sisson, Richard; Rose, Leo E. (1991). War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh. University of California Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-520-07665-5.
3. Haqqani, Husain (2005). Pakistan: between mosque and military. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. p. 79. ISBN 0-87003-285-2.
4. Siddiqi, Abdul Rahman (2004). East Pakistan, the Endgame: An Onlooker's Journal 1969-1971. Oxford University Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-19-579993-4.
5. Hasina, Sheikh (1999). "Opposition Leader Sheikh Hasina's parliamentary speech given on 16 April 1992 on the subject of Golam Azam and the public tribunal". Documents on crimes against humanity committed by Pakistan Army and their agents in Bangladesh during 1971. Dhaka: Liberation War Museum. ISBN 984311048X. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
6. Islam, Md Saidul (March 2011). "'Minority Islam' in Muslim Majority Bangladesh". Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. 31 (1): 130. doi:10.1080/13602004.2011.556893. ISSN 1360-2004. S2CID 216115000. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
7. Hazelhurst, Peter (3 January 1972). "Communist Party revived in Dacca". The Times. p. 4. more corpses have been found floating in a small pond in the Rayabazar area of Dacca where scores of Bengali intellectuals were massacred three weeks ago ... There has been no official count of the number of people killed at Rayabazar. The figure is generally put at about 150 ... Most of the intellectuals were killed on the morning of December 15 by the fanatical Bengali religious group known as Al-Badr.
8. Chandan, Azadur Rahman (February 2011) [2009]. একাত্তরের ঘাতক ও দালালরা [The Killers and Collaborators of 71] (in Bengali) (Revised 2nd ed.). Dhaka: Jatiya Sahitya Prakash. pp. 48–54.
9. Karlekar, Hiranmay (2005). Bangladesh: The Next Afghanistan?. New Delhi: Sage. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-7619-3401-1.
10. Faruq, Mohiuddin (6 January 2016). "Supreme Court seals fate of Nizami, confirms Jamaat chief's death sentence for horrific war crimes". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
11. "Supreme Court to fix war criminal Mir Qausem's appeal hearing on Wednesday". bdnews24.com. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
12. "Don't interfere, Bangladesh tells Pakistan after remark on Mir Quasem Ali hanging". The Economic Times. 4 September 2016.
13. Kabir, Monor (2006). Politics and development of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh. New Delhi: South Asian Publishers. p. 67. ISBN 978-8170033059.