Al-Badar (1971) facts for kids

Al-Badar (আল বদর) was a special group of fighters formed in 1971 in East Pakistan. They were created by the national Pakistan Army during a time of conflict.

What Does Al-Badar Mean?

The name Al-Badar means The Battlefield of Badar. This name was inspired by a very old religious battle fought by Muhammad about 1400 years ago. However, the war in 1971 between Pakistan and Bengali independence fighters was mainly about nations and land, not religion.

Why Al-Badar Was Formed

In March 1971, a civil war started in Pakistan. The Pakistani army needed help from local people in East Pakistan. They wanted support from Bengali people who still wished to be part of Pakistan, or who didn't like India getting involved. They also sought help from non-Bengali people called muhajirs.

The main goal was to fight against the groups who wanted Bangladesh to be independent. These groups included the Mukti Bahini, Hemayet Bahini, and Kaderiya Bahini. The Al-Badar group was created to find these independence fighters. They also acted as guides for the Pakistani army because they knew the local areas well. They fought alongside the army too.

The Al-Badar force was made up of different people:

• Students and teachers from religious schools (madrasas).
• Bengali people who supported political parties like the Muslim League and Jamaat-e-Islami.
• Muhajirs, who were non-Bengali people who had moved from other parts of India.

During this time, Pakistan formed three main types of helper forces:

• Razakars: These were people who had moved to East Pakistan from other parts of India when India and Pakistan separated.
• Al-Badar: These were Bengali Muslim students from colleges, universities, and madrasas. They were loyal to the Jamaat-e-Islami party.
• Al-Shams: These were Bengali madrasa students, teachers, and supporters of other Islamic parties.

Among these three groups, Al-Badar was very organized. They had their own system for how they were set up and how they reported to each other.

What Al-Badar Did

The Al-Badar group had many different jobs, both fighting and non-fighting tasks:

• They took part in military operations.
• They spied on the Mukti Bahini, the independence fighters.
• They questioned people to get information.
• They guided the regular army through local areas.
• They carried out assassinations.
• They found and killed Mukti Bahini soldiers.
• They helped provide supplies to the army at the front lines.

The End of Al-Badar

On December 16, 1971, Pakistan gave up without any conditions. Members of Al-Badar, along with other groups like the Razakars, Al-Shams (1971), and Shanti Committee, also surrendered. They surrendered to the Mitro Bahini, which was a joint force of Indian and Bangladeshi soldiers.

Since most of these fighters were Bengali, it was thought that Bangladesh would treat them as prisoners of war. However, many of them were harmed or killed by the Mukti Bahini. Some were also forced to leave Bangladesh.

A book has been written about Al-Badar, also called Al Badar.

See also

In Spanish: Al-Badr (Pakistán Oriental) para niños