Next Monday is March 25. At the end of this day in 1971, a terrible night came in the life of the Bengali nation. On Genocide Day, a symbolic 'black out' will be observed across the country from 11pm to 11:01 pm on Monday.

However, KPIs and emergency facilities will remain exempt from this programme. This information was informed in a circular from the Ministry of Liberation War on Saturday.

In the midnight of 25th March 1971, the barbaric Pakistani invasion forces armed with sophisticated weapons pounced on the unarmed Bengalis all over the country, including the capital Dhaka, with the nefarious aim of silencing the voice of the Bengali nation forever, according to their pre-planned Operation Searchlight blueprint.

The Pakistani invasion forces started the genocide in an attempt to wipe out the Bengali desire for independence. After that, the independence of Bangladesh came through 9 months of armed war.

On the night of 25 March 1971, the armed forces of Pakistan carried out a massive massacre to wipe out the Bengali nation, the name of which is Operation Searchlight.

At the beginning of the army operation on the night of March 25, the invading forces arrested the undisputed leader of the Bengali nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from his residence in Dhanmondi. Before his arrest, Bangabandhu declared the independence of Bangladesh on March 26 and called for resistance against the enemy at any cost.

Responding to Bangabandhu's call, the Bengalis jumped into the war against the Pakistani invaders and achieved complete victory on December 16, 1971, after a long 9-month armed struggle. The new state of Bangladesh appeared on the world map.