Indomitable March: Indira pledges support for Bangladesh
On March 31, 1971, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi moved a resolution in parliament strongly criticising the military action in Bangladesh.
She demanded an immediate end to the violence "which amounts to genocide". She also promised "whole-hearted sympathy and support" for the people of "East Bengal".
Earlier, Indian Foreign Minister Swaran Singh's tepid tone as to India's response to the events in Bangladesh was criticised in parliament. There was growing pressure, both inside and outside the parliament, on the government to do something. The demand for recognising Bangladesh as an independent state was also quite strong. But Indira's government took a cautious approach. Indira insisted on following "proper international norms" since any hasty step against Pakistan, a member of the UN would be unlikely to find favour internationally.
Over the next two weeks, India's policy on the Bangladesh crisis began to take shape within this cautious framework. [Srinath Raghavan, 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh, Permanent Black, 2013, pg. 61]
NATH PARA MASSACRE
On this day in 1971, the people of Chattogram bore witness to the genocide at Maddhyam Nath Para, Halishahar, a small settlement of the low-caste Hindu community. Local Biharis unleashed a rampage, wielding axes, spades, knives, and other deadly weapons, claiming the lives of 79 Bangalis in a matter of hours.
On the fateful night of March 25, 1971, EPR members at the Halishahar camp, led by Major Rafiqul Islam, valiantly resisted the Pakistani military junta. Bangali civilians of South Halishahar stood in solidarity with the EPR jawans, further provoking the ire of the occupying forces.
By March 29, the Pakistan army had advanced to the EPR camp in South Kattali. The following day, they cordoned off the Gohona channel to the north of the city and adjacent areas of the EPR camp to the south.
With scant arms and ammunition, the EPR jawans deemed it unwise to confront the Pakistan army. After a brief resistance, they retreated, with 40 of them seeking refuge in various houses in Maddhyam Nath Para.
At noon on March 31, local Biharis initiated the massacre. Conducting frantic searches of every house, they ruthlessly murdered young Bangalis one by one before setting their homes ablaze.