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If the 1970 election was the moment a nation voted almost unanimously for autonomy if not independence, then the military operation that began on the night of March 25, 1971, was the moment that aspiration was met with unimaginable violence. Codenamed Operation Searchlight, this was not a spontaneous outburst of conflict but a meticulously planned and brutally executed military crackdown designed to systematically dismantle the Bengali nationalist movement. Its aim was simple, chilling, and ultimately catastrophic: to terrorize the population, eliminate the political and intellectual leadership of East Pakistan, and crush the spirit of independence in a single, decisive blow.…