What is "razakar"

Razakar (رضا کار) is an Arabic and Urdu word for volunteer. It may refer to:

• Razakars (Pakistan): An East Pakistani paramilitary force that aided the Pakistan Army against the Mukti Bahini during the Bangladesh Liberation War;
• Razakars (Hyderabad): Volunteers sponsored by the Nizam's state of Hyderabad for opposition to its merger with India;
• Police Qaumi Razakars: A volunteer force in Pakistan which aids the Police in their duties.
• Razakars: A Bengali term akin to the western term "traitor" or Judas.

Razakar (; , literally "volunteer") was a paramilitary force organized by the Pakistan Army in East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Since the 1971 war, it has become a pejorative term in Bangladesh due to the many suspected atrocities which the Razakars committed and/or facilitated during the war. The Razakar force was composed of mostly pro- Pakistan Bengalis and Urdu-speaking migrants who lived in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) at the time.