Anderson Bridge Massacre
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Anderson Bridge massacre () refers to the massacre of Hindu passengers on the Anderson Bridge on 12 February 1950.


Background

Anderson Bridge also known as the Bhairab Bridge is a 1 km long railway bridge over the
Meghna River The Meghna () is one of the major rivers in Bangladesh, one of the three that form the Ganges Delta, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the Bay of Bengal. A part of the Surma-Meghna River System, the Meghna is formed inside Banglade ...
, connecting Bhairab Bazar Junction in
Kishoreganj District Kishoreganj District () is a district in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. Earlier it was a ''mahakuma'' (sub-division) under Mymensingh District, Mymensingh district. 2495.07 km2 of land was taken from Mymensingh District, Mymensingh district to fo ...
with Ashuganj in
Brahmanbaria District Brahmanbaria District () is a district in eastern Bangladesh located in the Chittagong Division. Geographically, it is mostly farmland and is topographically part of the Gangetic Plain. It is bounded by the districts of Kishoreganj District, Kish ...
. The bridge carries a single metre-gauge rail track. In 1950, it was an important rail link connecting
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
and
Mymensingh Mymensingh () is a metropolis, metropolitan city and capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of the Old Brahmaputra River, Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center ...
districts on the west with
Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...
,
Comilla Comilla (), officially spelled Cumilla, is a metropolis on the banks of the Gomti River in eastern Bangladesh. Comilla was one of the cities of ancient Bengal. It was once the capital of Tripura kingdom. Comilla Airport is located in the Duli ...
and
Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...
districts in the east.


Events

On 12 February, most of the Hindu passengers travelling on this train route were murdered. All the cases followed a pattern. The assailants would board the trains from either side either at Bhairab Bazar Junction or Ashuganj, just before the train departed. They would lock the doors of the compartment from inside. When the train was completely on the bridge, the train would stop. The assailants would pick out the Hindus one by one, force them out of the compartment, slit their throats and throw their corpses into the river.


See also

* 1950 Barisal Riots


References

{{coord, 24.0450, 90.9947, type:landmark_region:BD, display=title 1950 in East Bengal Massacres of Bengali Hindus in East Pakistan Government of Liaquat Ali Khan February 1950 in Asia 1950 murders in Pakistan Massacres in 1950 Knife attacks in Bangladesh Mass stabbings in Bangladesh Railway accidents and incidents in Bangladesh Sword attacks in Asia Attacks on transport Transport disasters in 1950