My Lai Massacre : A tale of rapes and cold blooded killings by US Army

 My Lai Massacre : A tale of rapes and cold blooded killings by US Army.


My Lai is a small village in Quang Nai Vietnam. US soldiers used to address this region as "Pinkville" because of the reddish colour(meaning pro communist region) used to indicate the densely populated My Lai area on military maps. 


By the time Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Infantry Brigade, arrived in Vietnam in December 1967. “Pinkville” had earned a reputation as a heavily mined hotbed of Viet Cong activity. In January 1968 Charlie was one of three companies tasked with the destruction of the 48th Battalion, an especially effective Viet Cong unit operating in Quang Ngai province. Throughout February and early March, Charlie Company suffered dozens of casualties due to mines and booby traps, but it failed to engage the 48th Batallion. After the debacle of the broad Tet offensive, the Viet Cong had returned to guerilla tactics and tended to avoid direct encounters with U.S. forces.

Intelligence suggested that the 48th Batallion had taken refuge in the My Lai area (though in reality, that unit was in the western Quang Ngai highlands, more than 40 miles [65 km] away). In a briefing on March 15, Charlie Company’s commander, Capt. Ernest Medina, told his men that they would finally be given the opportunity to fight the enemy that had eluded them for over a month. Believing that civilians had already left the area for Quang Ngai city, he directed that anyone found in My Lai should be treated as a Viet Cong fighter or sympathizer. 

On 16 March 1968, Charlie Company’s 1st Platoon, led by Lieut. William Calley was inserted a short distance to the west of a sub-hamlet known locally as Xom Lang but marked as My Lai  on U.S. military maps.

By 7:50 AM the remainder of Charlie Company had landed, and Calley led 1st Platoon east through My Lai. Although they encountered no resistance, the soldiers nonetheless killed indiscriminately. groups of women, children, and elderly men were rounded up and shot at close range.  

Over 500 civilians were killed in a single raid most of whom were women who were gangraped next to their own children.
 Groups of women, children, and elderly men were rounded up and shot at close range.
Bodies were dumped into ditches and the entire village was burned to the ground.
American military committed such atrocities numerous times during the Vietnam War, but were always covered up — usually by claiming that civilians were “inadvertently” killed during a battle with the enemy army.

Even after such a heinous act, only one soldier was convicted. And he spent 3 days in jail and 3 years in house arrest.

Four years after My Lai massacre, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh wrote an article revealing the horrific details.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My ideology in brief

Image
In an age dominated by slogans, emotional politics, and ideological extremes, I believe it is important to clearly articulate a sensible, grounded, and internally consistent worldview . This piece lays out my ideological position on governance, society, economics, and the role of the state—not as dogma, but as a rational framework rooted in accountability, liberty, and merit. 1. The Core Purpose of the State The state, the government, and the law are not meant to micromanage society , engineer morality, or control personal lives. Their role is limited but crucial . In my view, the state has four primary responsibilities: a) Ensuring Justice Justice must be visible, accessible, and fair . A society cannot function if justice is delayed, selective, or captured by elites. To strengthen justice: Courts should move toward citizen jury systems , reducing excessive judicial centralization. Justice should reflect collective moral reasoning , not just institutional authority. b) Accountability ...
Read more

Why Do Many Indians Develop Contempt for Their Own People?

Image
Why Do Many Indians Develop Contempt for Their Own People? A Colonial Legacy Sustained by Paid Media and Intellectual Elites** One of the most disturbing traits visible in modern India is the ease with which Indians express contempt—sometimes outright hatred—towards their own fellow citizens. Ordinary people are routinely described as ignorant, corrupt, uncivilized, irrational, casteist, misogynistic, sexually frustrated, and incapable of self-governance. This contempt is not accidental. It is manufactured , institutionalized , and continuously reinforced through education, media, and elite intellectual discourse. At its core, this mindset is a colonial inheritance , carefully preserved and repackaged for post-independence India. Colonial Justifications and Their Psychological Aftermath During the freedom struggle, when Indians demanded independence and voting rights, the British justified their rule by claiming that Indians : Lacked moral character Were ignorant and sel...
Read more

Why I do not support Modi Government?

Image
Why I Do Not Support the Modi Government A leader is often judged on the basis of three key factors: the condition of the military,  the condition of the farmers, the condition of the workers. Let me address each of these one by one. 1) Condition of the Military Strong militaries are built on robust domestic weapons manufacturing. In my view, the government has not done enough to truly strengthen indigenous defense production. While it is often claimed that India’s defense exports are rising and that the country is becoming self-reliant, much of what we see involves systems assembled in India, with several critical components still imported from abroad. This raises questions about how deep that self-reliance really is. Additionally, the increase in FDI limits in the defense sector—from 49% to 75%—means greater participation of multinational companies. While some argue this brings investment and technology, it can also increase dependence on foreign entities for critical defense nee...
Read more

Amul: The Cooperative Model that Empowered India's Dairy Farmers

Image
Amul: The Cooperative Model that Empowered India's Dairy Farmers. In the world of dairy production, Amul stands as a shining example of how the right business model can completely transform an industry, uplift an entire community, and create a self-sustaining ecosystem. Amul, short for Anand Milk Union Limited, is not just a dairy brand; it is a cooperative revolution that has empowered millions of farmers across India. The Birth of Amul: A Revolutionary Idea The story of Amul begins in 1946 in Anand, Gujarat, where farmers faced the harsh realities of unfair prices set by middlemen and large milk traders. In response, Amul was created under the leadership of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Tribhuvandas Patel to give dairy farmers a fair chance to thrive in the market. The goal was simple: empower farmers by providing them with a cooperative platform to directly market their milk and dairy products, bypassing the exploitation of intermediaries. With the establishment of Amul, farmers ...
Read more

Lessons from China: Why India Still Struggles to Solve Stubble Burning issue

Image
For over a decade, India has battled the recurring menace of stubble burning — a practice where farmers burn leftover paddy straw to prepare their fields for the next crop. Each winter, North India, especially Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana, is enveloped in thick smog, bringing respiratory diseases, reduced visibility, and choking air quality. Despite countless discussions, task forces, and promises, the problem persists — raising a crucial question: why has India failed to solve what China managed within a few years? China’s Proactive and Systemic Model China’s approach to pollution and stubble burning has been strategic, science-based, and heavily supported by the state. In 2019 alone, China provided ¥4 billion in subsidies to farmers to discourage burning and set up over 1,000 biomass conversion plants . Farmers received 80% subsidies on straw-collection machines , and crucially, they were paid for supplying straw to biomass facilities. This not only prevented burning but created...
Read more

Rooftop Koreans: An example advocating for the importance of citizen ownership of firearms

Image
Rooftop Koreans: An example advocating for the importance of citizen ownership of firearms   Rooftop Koreans or Roof Koreans refer to the Korean American business owners and residents  who armed themselves and took to the rooftops of local businesses to defend themselves  during the 1992 Los Angeles riots .  The unrest in urban areas was sparked by the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department officers in the beating of Rodney King and resulted in rioting, and looting, along with widespread violence and arson throughout the city. For years, there had been tensions between the Los Angeles Korean community and the African American communities, including the killing of Latasha Harlins, an African-American teenager who was controversially fatally shot by a Korean-American convenience store owner who received no jail time. Following the Rodney King verdict, Los Angeles police were unable to provide protection to many affected areas due to the overwhelming scale of t...
Read more

Right to Recall Is a Powerful Democratic Reform — But Only with a Strong and Proper Draft

Image
Right to Recall Is a Powerful Democratic Reform — But Only with a Strong and Proper Draft Right to Recall (RTR) is, in principle, one of the strongest tools of democratic accountability. The idea that citizens should not be forced to wait five years to correct a mistake aligns deeply with the spirit of representative democracy. However, history shows that a powerful reform without a carefully designed draft can create instability instead of accountability . Today, multiple recall proposals are being discussed: Haryana Government’s Sarpanch Recall Law Varun Gandhi’s Recall Proposal Raghav Chadha’s recent recall advocacy Right to Recall Party’s (RRP) VoteVapsi Model This article compares them and explains why drafting determines whether recall strengthens democracy — or weakens it. 1️⃣ The Core Difference: Negative Recall vs Positive Recall Before comparing individuals and states, we must understand the structural divide: 🔹 Negative Recall Focuses only on removing the elected representa...
Read more

FDI: The Hidden Risks India Ignored but China Managed with Precision

Image
By The Sensible Arya Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is often celebrated in India as a symbol of economic progress—bringing in foreign capital, modern technology, and employment. However, beneath this optimism lies a critical economic risk. Unchecked FDI can damage sovereignty, destabilize currency, create monopolies, and weaken domestic innovation. While India opened its doors wide with minimal checks, China carefully engineered its FDI policy to extract maximum benefit without surrendering control. This article explores the often-ignored dangers of FDI and how China strategically avoided them while India fell into the very traps FDI critics have long warned about.   Common Disadvantages of FDI There are several dangers associated with unchecked or mismanaged FDI. The most obvious one is capital flight —foreign investors bringing in dollars, converting them into rupees via the RBI, and later demanding those dollars back along with profits. If done en masse, this causes a foreign e...
Read more

Why India Needs Access to the Rafale Source Code – And the Risks of Not Having It

Image
Why India Needs Access to the Rafale Source Code – And the Risks of Not Having It By The Sensible Arya India’s Rafale fighter jets are a cornerstone of its aerial defense strategy, especially as geopolitical tensions escalate in the Indo-Pacific region. But behind this high-tech military marvel lies a serious concern: France’s continued refusal to share the Rafale’s source code with India. This restriction is more than just a technical roadblock—it strikes at the core of India’s defense autonomy and strategic self-reliance. Why India Needs the Rafale Source Code 1. Indigenous Weapon Integration The Indian Air Force (IAF) aims to arm its Rafales with homegrown missiles like the Astra Mk1, the BrahMos-NG, and smart bombs like SAAW. However, integrating these weapons requires access to the fighter’s core software. Without the source code, India is forced to depend on foreign weapons, undermining its ability to support domestic defense manufacturing. 2. Reduced Dependence on Foreign Suppli...
Read more