Faridpur Upazila is a secluded area about 30 km north of Pabna city. The name of the village is Hadal. Once upon a time, there was a settlement of rich Hindus here. The communication system was very dull. There were people full of paddy in the field, fish in the pond and cows in the barn. There was no limit to the happiness of the people of Hadal with the continuous Bhatiali songs, journeys etc. But one morning, before the sleeping people knew anything, all the happiness of the Hindus was snatched away by the machine guns fired by the Pakistani barbaric forces with the help of the local Islamists Razakars, Al-Badr and other anti-independence cliques.
On May 22 of 1971, in the early hours of the morning, hundreds of Pakistani soldiers, armed with sophisticated weapons, entered Hadal village from Ishwardi and surrounded it. They aimed their machine guns at different places in the village. The Pakistani forces were brought to Hadal village with the help of other local Islamists Razakars as planned by the chairman of the local Peace Committee, the notorious Islamist razakar Maulana Abul Hasan Hadli alias Hasan Maulvi. On that day, a peace committee was formed under the leadership of Hasan Maulvi with Zahid, Naimuddin, Rajab Karigar, Menhaj Ali, Azizul Maulvi and several other local Muslims. As it is a remote area, there was no way to reach this village except by boat in the rainy season and walking in the dry season. Razakar Zahid made a map for the Pakistani forces to enter Hadal village. He had provided significant assistance to Pakistani forces in this regard. The local Islamists were overjoyed when the Pakistani forces entered the village of Hadal as planned by these local Islamists, allies of the Pakistani forces.
Hadal village seemed to be a haven for many on that day as the communication system was underdeveloped. For this reason, Hindus from different places including Pabna, Ishwardi, Natore came to this village and took shelter. There were Hindu settlements in an area of about 1 km from the house of Tufan Babu of this village to the southern boundary of Kalikapur village. Everyone was rich. The Hindu-dominated neighbourhood was cordoned off with the help of Pakistani forces and their allied local Islamists. As soon as the sun rose in the eastern sky, a scattering of light appeared in the air and then the machine guns started firing indiscriminately at the innocent Hindu community.
Local Islamist Hasan Maulvi and his forces looted the whole Hindu area. The whole Hindu area was set on fire by the Islamists. Hindu men and women were scrambling for their lives. But despite the last attempt, many Hindus could not escape from the hands of Pakistani forces and Hasan Maulvi’s people. Hindus died like birds in machine gunfire. Hasan Maulvi announced at the time that all the gold and money of the Hindus should be submitted to the Peace Committee. Saying this, he looted 36 pitchers (Kalashi) of gold jewellery from various Hindus including Dr Sarat Chandra Saha, Satendra Nath Saha and Binoy Kumar Saha. Only the Hindus were brutally killed after the Pakistani forces, with the help of Hasan Maulvi’s men, captured the local people, stripped them naked and identified them as Hindus or Muslims.
Pabna RM Academy’s teachers Pranakrishna Saha, Ashok Saha, Subal Saha, actor Paresh Saha, Rakhal Basak and others were brutally shot dead. Krishna Haldar (60) of Haldar Para lost 2 brothers Priyo and Bishwanath and nieces Lakshmi and Jetha Haran, Sunil Haldar’s father Bandishwar, Shankar Haldar’s mother Kamala Bala, Madhu Saha, Satya Saha’s son Subal, Kajla Saha, Tarapad, Shripad, Utpal’s father Batu Saha, And 400 unidentified Hindus sheltered in different houses were shot dead like birds. The Basak family of Pabna sheltered about 364 Hindus. These 364 Hindus, including 13 members of the Basak family, were brutally murdered. From dawn till noon the Pak army carried out violence and turned this prosperous town into a crematorium. Those who are still alive in a sea of pain are still terrified by remembering the painful memories of the past. Many of them turned away when someone tried to talk to the affected Hindus at different times. They do not want to speak out of fear. Someone broke down in tears. Many of them cried while remembering their relatives.
There was a scene of this Hindu massacre in 1971, an acacia tree in the empty field next to the house, under which the girl was stripped naked and 4/5 Pakistani soldiers arbitrarily raped her. Just as a wolf devours a young deer with its wounds, so they plundered the girl, tied her to an acacia tree, and stabbed her with a bayonet. The Hindu girl was about fifteen or sixteen. The locals saw the gruesome scene of the brutal murder of Gaur Babu’s darling daughter. The Hindu girl, wounded by the violent Pakistanis, falls to her death, squealing for a little water. It’s not a movie scene, it’s not a story or a novel. According to eyewitness accounts, this is a real fragmentary picture of the infernal Hindu massacre that took place on May 22 of 1971 in the village of Hadal in Pabna with the help of the local Islamist Razakars, Al-Badrs.
Krishna Haldar (60) of Haldarpara said, “I had somehow survived.” Haren Chandra is still alive after burying countless bodies. Hell came down in his language that day. Even today he sheds tears, chuckling at the memory of how Kalidas Saha survived the loss of his elder brother Batu Saha. Kalidas Saha, now a chemistry teacher at Pabna Government Women’s College, along with one of his brothers and nephews, took refuge in the surrounding area on the morning of May 22 when the whole area was witnessing hellish atrocities.
According to the villagers, Hasan Maulvi’s forces carried out brutal torture in Hadal village even after the end of the war. Jagabandhu Saha alias Tufan Babu and his son Komol were taken to the house of local Islamist and Razakar Azizul Maulvi. The Islamists told them that they would return the looted cows and goods. There they were laid on the ground and baked with bamboo-like bread under a roller. Tufan Babu died after being tortured and his son left the country and went to India. In Hadal village, Pakistani forces with the help of Islamist and Razakar clique carried out killings and rapes of Hindus. Many young Hindu girls and housewives were tortured by the Pakistanis and the local Islamists. The locals gave this information on the condition of anonymity out of fear. Some left the country for fear of public embarrassment, some committed suicide, and some still cry silently with unspeakable pain. The notorious Razakar and Islamist Hasan Maulvi, the protagonist of the Hadal Hindu massacre and rape, looting and burning of houses, is now preaching Waz Mahfil at home and abroad in the guise of Pir. Maulana Abul Hasan Hadli alias Hasan Maulvi. The mastermind of the Hindu massacre of that day is now a prominent Islamic thinker. He is walking around like a celebrity with the blood of hundreds of Hindus in his hand. On the other hand, even today, this horrific Hindu massacre has not been recognized in the world, nor has it been discussed in detail at the same time. The innocent Hindus who survived the Hadal Hindu massacre are still living in despair and fear.
