Retracing Cambodia’s past

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  THE HINDU ARCHIVESDazed and ruined, a Cambodian farmer stands by the debris of homes razed by Khmer Rouge soldiers at Siem Reap.

The Khmer Rouge era was perhaps the worst patch in the nation’s history. Here’s a recap

The designs for a new genocide museum that will chronicle the crimes of the Khmer Rouge government during its rule between 1975 and 1979 were unveiled last week in Cambodia.-- October 11, 2014

1975: Cambodia under Khmer Rouge

The Communist Party of Kampuchea, also known as Khmer Rouge had recently gained power in the south-east Asian country Cambodia. Led by Pol Pot, the government embarked on a regimented restructuring of the Cambodian society. People were asked to leave the cities and congregate at the fields to participate in agricultural work. In a bid to transform Cambodia into a rural, classless society educational and religious institutions, government buildings and shops were closed or converted into prisons, re-education centres and granaries. Currency was abolished as the Khmer Rouge did not believe in accumulation of wealth and foreign labels, private property, leisure activities too met with the same fate.

Basic rights were denied, congregation of any sort discouraged and family relationships were abhorred. People were forced to work for long hours and those who opposed or failed to participate were mercilessly killed or tortured. Even the old, young and the invalid were made to participate in this vast program of social engineering which left as many as two billion people dead in the country in a period of four years due to exhaustion, starvation and torture. Read the full article at The Hindu.