A targeted massacre of approximately 300 Hindu civilians by Pakistani forces during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
Key Facts
- Date
- 3 May 1971
- Estimated killed
- ~300 Bengali Hindus
- Age range of victims
- 5 years old to 80 years old
- Houses burnt
- More than 500
- Location
- Kharna Union, Patiya Upazila, Chittagong District
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, Pakistani armed forces conducted systematic operations against Bengali civilians, particularly targeting Hindu communities. Local collaborators, including Rameez Ahmed Chowdhury, the then Chairman of Kharna Union, and his aides reportedly facilitated and participated in violence against the predominantly Hindu village of Muzaffarabad.
On 3 May 1971, Pakistani army soldiers, aided by local collaborators, descended on the Hindu village of Muzaffarabad in present-day Patiya Upazila, Chittagong District. Approximately 300 Bengali Hindu men, women, and children—ranging from age five to eighty—were killed. More than 500 houses were burned to the ground during the assault.
The massacre left the village devastated, with hundreds of residents killed and virtually all homes destroyed. Eyewitness accounts identified local collaborators as instrumental in directing the attack. The event is remembered as one of many atrocities committed against Hindu minorities during the 1971 war, contributing to the broader historical record of violence during Bangladesh's independence struggle.