‘The gates of hell had been cast open’: The planning of Operation Searchlight and the Central Direction of Bangladesh genocide 1971

In 1971, the genocidal campaign initiated by the Pakistani military against the people of the then East Pakistan (current Bangladesh) began with Operation Searchlight on 25 March. To characterize the events of 1971 as ‘genocide’ under international law, it is essential to determine both the ‘intent’ and the ‘targeted groups’, which, as this article argues, are embedded within the planning of Operation Searchlight. This article outlines the historical background and planning of Operation Searchlight and examines how it contains the elements that constitute the ‘genocide’. Just as proving a targeted group is crucial to establishing genocide, demonstrating the fact of central directives as part of ‘intention’ is equally important. This article contends that both elements can be shown through Operation Searchlight.