A 1971 boiler and barbarity even Hitler couldn’t have imagined

A heavy steel boiler in which people were burnt alive, legs shoved in first and the torso later, stands as a reminder of the horrors of the Pakistani regime in Bangladesh in 1971.

The brutal repression by the Pakistan Army during Bangladesh’s freedom struggle in 1971 is well known. However, the extent of the barbarity during the genocide might not be fully known to people.

The steel boiler is a reminder of that barbarity and horror. It is the latest addition to the revamped Genocide-Torture Archive and Museum in Khulna, Bangladesh, which is marking its 10th anniversary in May.

The steel boiler from Platinum Jute Mill, was used to burn alive at least 100 Bangladeshis by the Pakistani regime.

“In today’s world, genocide is taking place in multiple places, like in Palestine. Speaking sarcastically, the cost of such genocide is high. With gas chambers, Hitler made it cost-effective. But what Pakistanis did in 1971 in Bangladesh, even Hitler couldn’t have imagined that sort of barbarity,” Muntassir Mamoon, chairman of the board of trustees of the Genocide Museum, tells IndiaToday.In.

Hitler massacred millions of Jews with his ingenious methods, including the gas chambers.

The atrocities committed by the Pakistani regime before and during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 led to the deaths of an estimated 3,00,000 to 30,00,000 Bengalis, with countless others subjected to unimaginable brutality. The crackdown on political dissent began with Operation Searchlight to silence the Bengali demand for autonomy and independence.

It marked the beginning of a systematic campaign of mass murder, rape, and arson. Intellectuals, students, and civilians were targeted, with entire villages razed and women brutally violated as a weapon of war.

According to a media release by the museum, Bengalis opposing the Pakistani regime were stuffed into gunny bags and shoved into the two boilers at Platinum Jute Plant. The torso and heads of the shrieking people were pushed in later.

The jute mills in the Khalishpur area of Khulna had become slaughterhouses for the Pakistani Army and the goons backed by it.

“The heavy steel boiler is a witness to the horrors and genocide of 1971, that is why we brought it to the Genocide Museum. This shows the barbarity that Pakistanis were capable of,” says Mamoon.

An eminent professor of history, Mamoon, has played a key role in curating the over 9,000 articles in the genocide museum. A gold medal has been instituted in Dhaka’s Jagannath University’s history department in recognition of Mamoon’s contribution.

The historian emphasised how remembering the 1971 genocide could help in averting similar horrors.

“The new generation of Bangladeshis should understand what the horrors of genocide are. This will help them remain alert to the developments surrounding them,” Muntassir Mamoon tells IndiaToday.In, explaining why the 100 ton heavy steel boiler was shifted to the museum site.

Mamoon accuses the West of not recognising the 1971 genocide like it has done in other cases.

“The West, particularly the US, did not want to recognise the Bangladesh genocide of 1971 because they were participants in it. Even China and other Islamic countries remained silent. Only India helped the Bangladeshi people resist the genocide,” says Mamoon.

The genocide museum in Khulna, Bangladesh, has been developed on the lines of the Holocaust museums in Jerusalem and Washington DC, and is the only second such in Asia.

The boiler, the latest addition to the museum, will be the first exhibit that visitors see and stop to ponder on the horrors of 1971 perpetrated by the Pakistani regime which murdered lakhs of Bengalis.

The Pakistani oppression fueled an uprising in the erstwhile East Pakistan, which, combined with the Pakistani military’s atrocities, led to a massive refugee exodus; approximately 10 million people fled to India.

The crisis prompted India under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to intervene militarily, leading to a Pakistani defeat and the birth of Bangladesh as an independent nation.