The Jagatmallapara Genocide: Violence, Persecution and Memory in 1971
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Publication Year | October 2026 |
| Author(s) |
Shahid Kader Chowdhury |
| Journal Name | Journal of Genocide and Liberation War Research |
| Volume, Issue | 9 (English) July 2026 |
| Pagination | 79-110 |
| Article Type | Paper |
| DOI | doi.org/10.68002/2693 |
Keywords: Bangladesh Liberation War; Bangladesh Genocide; Jagatmallapara; Hindu Persecution; Genocide; Local Collaboration; Memory
Attachment
Abstract: This article reconstructs the genocide experienced by the predominantly Hindu community of Jagatmallapara, West Sultanpur, Raozan, Chottogram, Bangladesh during April–May 1971. It examines the social setting of the locality, the arrival of Pakistani military forces in Raozan, the organization of the 13 April attack, the subsequent killings of 5 May, the destruction and displacement experienced by residents, and the post-war struggle to preserve the memory of the victims. The study draws on oral-history interviews conducted between 2013 and 2015, published historical works, victim and family records, field investigation, and evidence from the memorial site. Particular attention is given to distinctions among direct eyewitness testimony, retrospective family memory, documentary evidence, and claims concerning perpetrators. The available evidence indicates a coordinated episode of genocidal violence in which Pakistani military personnel and alleged local collaborators targeted a predominantly Hindu neighbourhood, assembled civilians under the pretext of a peace meeting, and subjected them to mass shooting and subsequent persecution. The source record, however, contains an unresolved discrepancy: the working victim register identifies forty deaths, whereas the memorialization section refers to thirty-nine, and the memorial itself reportedly contains thirty-five names. Rather than concealing these inconsistencies, the article treats them as source-critical problems requiring further documentary verification. It argues that Jagatmallapara demonstrates how the broader structures of the 1971 Bangladesh genocide became visible at the level of households, neighbourhood networks, displacement, and post-war memory.