On 25 March 1971 , the Pakistan Army launched military operations under Operation Searchlight against the population of East Pakistan . Dhaka bore the brunt of the army 's atrocities , witnessing a genocide and a campaign of widescale repression , with the arrest , torture and murder of the city 's civilians , students , intelligentsia , political activists and religious minorities . The army faced mutinies from the East Pakistan Rifles and the Bengali police . Large parts of the city were burnt and destroyed , including Hindu neighborhoods . Much of the city 's population was either displaced or forced to flee to the countryside . In the ensuing Bangladesh War of Independence , the Bangladesh Forces launched regular guerrilla attacks and ambush operations against Pakistani forces . Dhaka was struck with numerous air raids by the Indian Air Force in December . Dhaka witnessed the surrender of the west Pakistan forces in front of the Bangladesh-India Allied Forces on 16 December 1971 with the surrender of Pakistan
genocide
1971 Bangladesh genocide
Dhaka