On March 25, 1971, organized Pakistani military forces and Arab militias supported by the government attacked Dacca University in East Pakistan, suspecting that one of its residence halls served as a headquarters of the Bangladesh freedom movement.
Death squads patrolled the area, killing students, raping women and systematically murdering doctors and intellectuals.
The massacre - known as Kahlo Debosh, or "black day" - was commemorated by the Bengali Students Association Thursday night during Bangladesh Remembrance Night in Center Hall in the Busch Campus Center.
It began with a video titled "The Liberation Struggle of the Bangladees" that depicted the tumultuous history of the region.
According to the video, when the British ceased their rule over the Indian sub-continent, they divided the region into two states - India and Pakistan - based on religious affiliations alone.
Bangladesh - then known as East Pakistan - always strived for independence, especially from West Pakistan's implementation of its state language, Urdu.
Although they were in the majority in Pakistan, the Bengalis had no authority, and their language was suppressed.
In December 1970, the Bengali Awami League won an overwhelming victory over its territory in the national elections. But West Pakistani officials failed to recognize the league's power. Increasing tensions in the region inspired local college students to protest in non-violent, non-cooperation movements.
In reaction, President Yahya Khan of West Pakistan usurped power of the Pakistani state and ordered military action against the Bengali region.
The massacre at Dacca was the result.
Cries could be heard from the audience as the film showed pictures of starving children and graphic images of the victims of genocide.
As military action raged on, refugees fled Bangladesh by the thousands to neighboring India.
In April of that year, an interim government was set up in India and formally declared Bangladesh as a state independent from Pakistan. Resistance became more organized, and as a result of the refugee situation, India soon joined the fight against Pakistan.
Over the course of nine months, approximately three million people were killed as a result of one of the worst examples of genocide in the 20th Century.
With help from India and other "freedom-loving countries," Bangladesh defeated the Pakistani military forces and won its independence on Dec. 16, 1971.
After the film, speakers addressed the audience by relating their first-hand experiences of the massacre.
Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed, a professor of nephrology at Drexel University, is a former freedom fighter. He told of his experience as a first-year student at the time and how the war came as a shock to him.
Ahmed said he and other students were not prepared to start a war.
At that time, the Nixon administration was sending arms to the Pakistanis, he said.
Ahmed told a story of Americans going out to harbors in Philadelphia and New York in canoes to protest the boats shipping these weapons. Even dockworkers in Miami refused to help supply these weapons.
"Here in the U.S, we have to do something," Ahmed said, drawing a parallel between that genocide and the current one in Sudan. "Even though it seems a world away, we have the power to make a difference."
The second speaker was Dr. Narun Nabi, author of two books on the Bangladesh Liberation War - which his son, a University student, is translating into English.
He spoke of March 25, identifying it as the defining moment of his life.
"I was a student, just like you," Nabi said, addressing the audience. He told of his personal account as a resistance fighter.
At one point during his speech, Nabi pointed to a picture on the wall, an iconic photograph of a rickshaw driver lying dead in the street.
"To some, this is just an image," Nabi said. "But I was there, I actually saw him."
Nabi said no Pakistani officials were ever tried for war crimes. He said Pakistani generals refused to take responsibility, blaming the Islamic militia groups they employed.
"If we can't try these criminals, at least people should know what they've done," Nabi said.
Smita Nadia Hussain, a Livingston College junior and co-President of the BSA, emphasized the message of the event.
"Were not here to try to demonize the Pakistanis," Hussain said.
She said it was important to educate people about the genocide and the important role the speakers played in making the atrocity known.
Dewan Kazi Furhana, a Douglass College sophomore, praised the event's speakers.
"Sometimes I think that the elderly fail to educate the youth," Furhana said.
The BSA has been a part of the University community since 1997 and holds events frequently.
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