By the end of the first month in March 1971, 1.5 million Bengalis were displaced. Although Hindus were a special target of the Pakistan military, Bengali Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, and other religious groups were also significantly affected. In the eyes of the Pakistani military, Hindu, Bengali, and Indian identities were one and the same. Both ended on Decemwith the surrender of Pakistan. This spurred the 10-month Bangladesh Liberation War and later the 13 day Indo-Pakistan war. On March 25, 1971, the Pakistan military began a 10-month campaign of genocide against the ethnic Bengali and Hindu religious communities in East Pakistan, a clear example of the facets of genocide as defined the United Nations Genocide Convention. Under the United Nations Genocide Convention, genocide is defined as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
