Book Review : The Indian Doctrine

[Neo]

Book Review : “The India Doctrine”

Shah Mohammed Saifuddin, Canada
Monday October 30 2006

“ India will not tolerate any external intervention in a conflict situation in any South Asian country, if the intervention has any implicit or explicit anti-Indian implication. No South Asian government must, therefore, ask for external military assistance with an anti-Indian bias from any country.” (Bhabani Sen Gupta. ‘The India Doctrine’ India Today, 31 August 1983)

It is obvious from the above statement made by a renowned Indian strategic analyst that India perceives that all the smaller neighbours around fall within her security orbit and thinks these countries must sub-serve Indian interest, particularly in security and foreign policy matters.
Mr. MBI Munshi has eloquently described the far reaching Indian strategic vision in South Asia in his book titled “The India Doctrine”.

Inspired by the much talked about ‘Nehru Doctrine’ the current strategic planners in India have successfully tightened India’s grip on land-locked Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim as well as strategic Island of Sri-Lanka through various treaty obligations and carefully cultivated socio-political relations. Bangladesh being a close neighbour of India is also a prime target of India’s strategic planners to advance the strategic vision of India.

The writer has made a painstaking effort to elaborate the Indian attempt to reduce Bangladesh into a vessel state to be used to consolidate India’s grip on strategic North Eastern states and bolster Indian military preparation against any future Chinese invasion. The book has detail information on Indian involvement in different phases of Bangladesh’s history and how India advanced its strategic interest in this country. The writer has made commendable efforts to expose the nefarious activities of RAW—the prime Indian intelligence agency, inside Bangladesh.
RAW has targeted the following national sectors of Bangladesh to infiltrate its operatives to advance its strategic interest in Bangladesh:
• Politics
• Media
• Culture
• Armed forces

The writer has closely observed the ever increasing political violence in the country and the benefits India derives from it. The national leaders in India shamelessly support a particular political party in Bangladesh to create division and destabilize the political landscape of the country. The more volatile the political situation in Bangladesh will get, the less economic progress we will achieve and more dependent we will be on India for our economic survival. This is precisely the reason why RAW wants to see the political unrest to perpetuate in the country.

India is aggressively pursuing a policy of maligning Bangladesh through clever manipulation of the local and international media. The objective is that to isolate Bangladesh from rest of the world and make it a pariah state. Our isolation from the international community would give India an upper hand in our domestic affairs. RAW has hand picked a few misguided people in Bangladesh, who believe in United India, to conduct subversive activities within the country These heinous activities are being conducted under the direct guidance and supervision of RAW. India wants to uproot the anti-India section from the Bangladesh politics or at least kill its political growth.

The author has also pointed out the fact that, Indian intelligence agency has picked up several highly ambitious intellectuals of the country to use them to defame Bangladesh and its culture. Bangladesh has been the land of people who are proud of their cultural heritage and tradition. It is the belief of RAW that Bangladesh will remain strong as long as this sense of pride in cultural heritage and tradition is there within the people. So, they have drawn up a clever plan to impose West Bengali Hindu culture in the name of Bengali culture upon the people of Bangladesh.
A handful of corrupt and ambitious cultural activists are being used to propagate West Bengali Hindu culture to destroy the uniqueness of the Bangladeshi culture. RAW has also infiltrated its agents into various cultural organizations such as Bangla academy, and Shilpakola academy to promote Indian culture within Bangladesh. The cultural ministry is just playing into the hands of the Indian intel agency.

The armed forces are the symbol of national strength and sovereignty. Bangladesh armed forces have played a glorious role in the liberation war and other national crises. India has been following an aggressive policy to weaken the armed forces of the country through spreading propaganda and cleverly designed treaties. Right after the independence of Bangladesh, India entered into a 25 year friendship agreement with Bangladesh to promote good relations between the two nations. As per the treaty, Bangladesh would not raise a standing army for national defence. Indian military forces would help in any national crisis to protect the people of Bangladesh.

To implement the treaty the Mujib govt. did not spend money on the modernization of the armed forces rather raised a militia force called rakkhi bahini to downgrade the role and prestige of the national armed forces. Though after the assassination of Mujib the subsequent govt. forged a deep defence relation with the govt. of China, but the treaty was an obstacle and deterred Bangladesh from signing any military agreement with China. This has caused enormous damage to our armed forces because in the absence of any military agreement with China we could not obtain a lot of sensitive military technology. As a result the required infrastructure and manpower for high tech weapons manufacturing could not be installed until 1997.

The disintegration of Bangladesh is in the interest of India and absorption of Chittagong Hill Tracts is the final plan of RAW. Recently the Indian notorious intel agency has extended its vision and included the creation of a Hindu state within Bangladesh as a priority plan.

The Indian interest in CHT generates mainly from its proximity to Bay of Bengal that can be used to provide the troubled north eastern region with a valuable access to the sea and also the natural resources of CHT can used to feed the north eastern states. Shanti Bahini is just a pawn and the greater Indian plan envisions amalgamation of the CHT region to pacify the troubled north eastern region through increased economic benefits and consolidation of security through weakening Bangladesh and reducing the space for the rebel groups such as ULFA to operate.

The inclusion of East Bengal in Pakistan was not liked by many Hindus at the time of the 1947 partition. This led a group of fanatical Hindus to propagate for the creation of a Hindu state within the East Pakistan. A movement was launched with that aim from a platform named ‘Jono mukti Andolon’ soon after 1947 from the Indian city of Calcutta. The Jonomukti was reconstituted in Dhaka in late 1969 under the lead of Mohindranath Bhartacharya. The choosing of the time to launch the platform in Dhaka could not be any better, for the people of Dhaka were at the peak of an anti Pakistan movement at the particular period of time.

It is reported that the fall of the Mujib regime in Dhaka in August 1975 prompted a former Awami League member of parliament, Chittoronjon Sutar, to move to Calcatta to give a fresh impetus to the movement in the changed circumstances. Unconfirmed reports also have it that the President of this movement, Sri Partha Samontha, is in fact Mr. Sutar’s pseudonym. This Chittaranjan Sutar, an ex-Awami League M.P, is at the helm of Bangabhumi movement. The Hindu state is planned to comprise of the districts of greater Khulna, Jessore, Kushtia, Faridpur, Barisal and Patuakhali of Bangladesh. An armed wing of the organisation named 'Bangasena' has also been formed. The Commander of this armed force is Mr Kalidas Vaidya. The main organiser and trainer of Bangasena is Arun Ghosh.

The author has expressed his grave concern about the formation of a strategic relation between India and America. The impact of such a relationship on the security of the other nations of South Asia could be far reaching. The American initiative to arm India to counter China will have an adverse impact on the regional military balance, which will ultimately contribute to regional instability.

The yawning military imbalance between India and other regional countries will be a source of future conflicts in the region. It is a known fact that America supplies arms to the regional powers to destabilize a region where they have strategic interest. Middle East is one such example.

I think South Asia will be made volatile to subserve America's ambition in South and South-East Asia. The dialogue among the neighbours is the best way to resolve regional disputes. Forging deep strategic and military relations with a super power may not serve India's best interest in the long run. India must not forget she has to live with the neighbours forever and she cannot choose neoghbours. The best security for India is the best relations with her neighbours.

The writer has also included some invaluable articles written by Bangladeshi, Nepali, and Sri-Lankan strategic analysts for the readers to know about India’s strategic game plan in the region and how it is affecting the smaller nations in South Asia.

In my opinion, Mr. M.B.I Munshi has done a commendable job in analyzing the entire gamut of the strategic relations between India and its smaller neighbours in the book. It is my understanding that the readers would get a good insight into the strategic vision of India and how it wants to reshape the political and even the geographical landscape of the region.

As for the price, the book is moderately priced and well within the reach of the readers from Bangladesh and abroad.

I wish a great success for Mr. M.B.I. Munshi and his book, “The India Doctrine”.

Name: Shah Mohammed Saifuddin
Bangladesh Strategic & development Forum
http://www.bdsdf.com
Toronto Canada

http://www.bangladesh-web.com/news/...&hidType=OPT&hidRecord=0000000000000000133873

 

[Neo]

Anyone read the book already?

 

[akzaman]

Book Review: ' The India Doctrine'

by Isha Khan

Adorned in a saffron red jacket and embellished with a detailed map of South Asia the concept of an India Doctrine has been introduced to the readers in Bangladesh recently. The book 'The India Doctrine' has been published by the Bangladesh Research Forum and edited by Barrister M.B.I. Munshi and is priced at Tk. 300. Munshi's contribution to the book constitutes the largest section with several other writers from Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka providing some useful and informative chapters.

The book comes complete with a foreword written by esteemed scholar, Professor Ataur Rahman of Dhaka University who sets the theme of the book. We are reminded by Prof. Rahman that while India might have its own rationale for framing its regional policy compatible with its national interests, the fact remains that constant apprehensions, mistrust and tensions between India and the smaller neighbors including Bangladesh had its negative effects on any meaningful cooperation and security in the region.

This introduction neatly moves us into the chapters written by Munshi which are a series of discussions that covers the relations between India and East Pakistan/Bangladesh from 1947 to the present. It attempts a historical and geo-strategic appraisal of relations between the two countries but also offers a more wide ranging analysis involving the Indian external intelligence operations in Bangladesh and outside. The central idea of the chapters when taken as a whole appears to be that the India Doctrine as implemented by successive administrations in India is not limited to simply harming the economic interests of [its neighbours] but also has a historical and intellectual underpinning that comes from the thoughts and writings of Jawaharlal Nehru and Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar amongst others. The idea of a United India (or an 'Akhand Bharat') according to the author is still a goal of Indian policy making in South Asia.

Prof. Rahman is forced in his foreword to contend that this thesis may seem implausible and 'far-fetched' but also points out that Munshi supplements his ideas with an exhaustive and elaborate set of references and notes to back up his argument. However, a defect in this intricate framework of references is that the chapters lack a bibliography which would have made it easier to verify the arguments advanced by the author. The chapters also seems to be hampered by the fact that they were written originally as a 3 part article and the author clearly has had some difficulty in framing his arguments within this constriction. However, as we all know Francis Fukuyama and Samuel Huntington both started their seminal works in a similar manner with articles in prominent journals before they were rendered into book form and this does not seem to have affected the stream of their discussion and thoughts.

As this may be, the principle cause of disquiet will certainly be Munshi's interpretation of significant historical events and his commentary on the motivations of characters such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ayub Khan who are all now long dead. I was certainly surprised by some of his findings but it was difficult to find fault here as most of his views are backed-up with thorough research and investigation. His chapters on the 1971 war and the insurgency in the CHT are probably the most tantalizing in terms of historical data and comparisons.

Some of Munshi's arguments are further buttressed by a short chapter by Khodeza Begum who makes reference to events that occurred during the 1990's related to clandestine meetings held in Dhaka concerning the reunification of the subcontinent. In her chapter, there is an extensive discussion on the policies being pursued by the Indian government that according to her is detrimental to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bangladesh. She analyses the concept of a United Bengal that has featured in some of the Indian political literature in recent years. She has also summarized the tactics and strategies adopted by the Indian government and its intelligence agency to undermine the unity of Bangladesh and to inculcate the population of the country with a perspective adverse to the nations integrity.

Although solidly written there is a problem with the length of the chapter as well as the dated materials used by the author. A more contemporary approach may have served better but the evidence seems irrefutable and the author should update her research before a second edition is considered.

In a sudden change of location Brig. Gen. M. Sakhawat Hossain inexplicably takes us all the way to the Indian Ocean and the emerging strategic scenarios being played out in the area. One may legitimately question the relevance to the overall context and theme of the book but the author makes this abundantly clear when he remarks that rivalries in the South Asian region are primarily based on events in 1971 and India's intent on dominating the region has had to appreciate the ground realities that this cannot be achieved alone. Hossain expertly explains the intricate alliances being forged in the region and the importance of the Indian Ocean in the strategic thinking of India, China, the USA and Pakistan. His comments on the North-East insurgency and the recent uprising in Nepal are highly commendable and very insightful especially in the latter case where he had visited prior to writing the chapter.

Following the chapters by the Bangladeshi authors mentioned above come the section written by the Nepali writers. In the case of Madan Prasad Khanal, Nishchal Basnyat and Sanjay Upadhya their contributions to the book are highly articulate, elegant and almost near impeccable. Each author discusses differing aspects of Indian interference and intervention in Nepali internal affairs and in some cases provides possible solutions to these problems. But with a clear conception of the implications of Indian domination on Nepal Dr. Shastra Dutta Pant appeared a little confused in his expressions.

The final chapters of the book are by two Sri Lankan writers Dr Rohan Gunaratna and Arbinda Acharya. Both writers collaborated to produce a single chapter on the Sri Lankan attitude to Indian interference or as the authors themselves put it, "India's involvement in Sri Lankan ethnic imbroglio has been one of the most controversial, ironic as well as tragic aspects of New Delhi's foreign policy." While concentrating on the Sri Lankan situation the writers also manage to draw in examples from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan to back up their case on Indian aspirations in South Asia. Of significance is the Indian involvement in the protracted and apparently insoluble conflict with the Tamils. The chapter also involves a geostrategic appraisal of Sri Lanka and its growing relationship with China and Pakistan. It is unfortunate therefore that the authors were not as forceful about Indian interventions in Sri Lanka especially during the time of the premiership of Rajiv Gandhi. The chapter seems somewhat apologetic about Indian intervention rather than condemnatory which would have been an appropriate response from Sri Lankan nationals.

civillibertarianblogspotcom

 

[con]

Book Review : “The India Doctrine”


Right after the independence of Bangladesh, India entered into a 25 year friendship agreement with Bangladesh to promote good relations between the two nations. As per the treaty, Bangladesh would not raise a standing army for national defence. Indian military forces would help in any national crisis to protect the people of Bangladesh.

So since 1971,Bangladesh did not have a army? How did the military coups take place then?

Seriously all these "analysis" about Indian Hindu Plans for United India is getting really boring. Add Bangladesh to India and do what? Spend billions of dollars to provide housing for additional 400 millions people? Expend resource to prevent the two ladies and their henchmen from blowing each other up?

India is trying to chase off those illegal Bangladeshi's who have crossed over and the troubling they are creating in Assam.
And this writer is day dreaming about Indians plans about annexing Bangladesh.

India's Doctine formulated by Bangladesh!

 

[Adux]

What BullCrap

When did Sikkim become another state, i thought it was in the Indian Union not with Bhutan and Nepal.

Its one of those Akhand Bharat Scare Mongers. I would ******* overthrow the prime minister of iNdia myself he amalgamated bangaldesh into india with all its poors. How come no serious people in india is not talking about this crap.

 

[Contrarian]

Wow, so much crap in one article-the first one.

Sikkim is mentioned as a different country, when even China has ceded claim on Sikkim!
He says that it was Bangaldesh's big loss that they did not sign a military agreement with China and did with India, i can see which camp he belongs from. The article is complete BS. Why do people bother publishing such things.

P.S, Why the HELL would any one WANT to integrate Bangladesh in our country!! All they would bring is a military coup culture.

 

[akzaman]

The India Doctrine: Book review

Zainal Abedin

The theory of greater India is a threat not only to South Asian countries, but also the entire Indian Ocean region.

I always hail those who try to uncover India's hegemonic design and its notorious intelligence agency — RAW that ransacks the entire South Asian region to implement so-called ' India doctrine.'

The theory of greater India is a threat not only to South Asian countries, but also the entire Indian Ocean region. So M. B. I. Munshi's book deserves appreciation, as it will certainly awaken and alert the concerned policymakers of the region and beyond. The readers will get clear idea that the problems, including the secessionist ones, in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal are facing today were created and are nursed by India to implement its hegemonic designs.

Munshi accommodated 18 articles out of which credits of nine go to himself . The remaining nine articles are from contributors from Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka . It would have been better if he could accommodate some articles of Indian and Pakistani writers. That could weigh the merit of the book further.

The main theme of this book is Indian dream for greater and unified India , initially of the British India and later to bring those countries under Indian fold — from Afghanistan to Indonesia — that the Hindus believe were once under the empire of Rama or Ashoka. Inclusion of four contributors from Nepal and Sri Lanka and their concern for their respective countries are relevant to the theme of the book.

By attaching special interest in and more space to Bangladesh 's problems with India, the editor virtually uncovered this reality that Bangladesh is the most immediate and prime target of India. Indian policymakers feel that separate existence of Bangladesh is a serious threat to India. The Indian propagandists say that for India Bangladesh is more dangerous than Pakistan. For this reason Bangladesh tops the list of Indian hegemonic agenda. The socio-political violence that Bangladesh faces today is the creation of India to squeeze Bangladesh in every possible way. The board-bound 288-page book undoubtedly should be an eye-opener for the Bangladeshi policymakers and their counterparts in South Asian region and beyond.

The book on such issue should get better publicity and media coverage. The Bangladesh Research Forum undertook a praiseworthy initiative in publishing such a book on national and regional issues. This book will surely encourage others to come forward to uncover Indian designs against Bangladesh and other smaller countries. I wish the book gets proper appreciation and recognition.

The India Doctrine

Edited by MBI Munshi (MBIMunshi@gmail.com)
Published by Bangladesh Research Forum
Dhaka July 2006
Pages: 288
themuslimweeklycom

 

[Contrarian]

Why are we saying that the articles are utter crap. Its the book!
The author of the book still lives in delusional states and is a Chinses sympathiser no doubt.

 

[BanglaBhoot]

Nice to see such erudite and sophisticated reactions to the review of the book that I wrote. I guess there must be many Indians on this forum. Anyway if anyone is interested to obtain a copy of the book you may contact me. I hope you will reserve your opinion on the idea of a India Doctrine until after reading of the book. The reviewer had actually read the book and so has far more substantive material to go on then the prejudiced nonsense that some commentators have put up here. One important point that I think requires clarification is that India does not wish to physically occupy its neighbours which would be absurd because it is having enough trouble holding on to what it has. Instead India's program is domination and control politically, diplomatically, economically and strategically. I think the opinions expressed so far show a serious lack of scholarly objectivity as most propaganda about South Asian countries emanate from New Delhi but are never questioned, at least, in the West. But when an alternative viewpoint is presented it is trashed without debate. This is a sad reminder of the power of the Indian propaganda machine.

 

[Adux]

When you call Debate, i would like to do that with learned people, When did sikkim become another country. I dont like conpiracy theory propaganda, you aint Mel Gibson in Conspiracy Theory are you

 

[akzaman]

THE INDIA DOCTRINE – MATTERS BENEATH THE SURFACE

The book was recently launched in Dhaka. The writer and the Editor Barrister MBI Munshi said the following:

Thank you for all attending today on the launching of my book 'The India Doctrine.' I would like to say a few words on the circumstances surrounding the writing of the book and some of the ideas contained therein. As the book was published as a limited edition many people are still not familiar with its contents but there have been some remarkable reviews in several English and Bengali newspapers that have helped to explain the complicated issues contained in its pages.

Some of the reviewers have gone further and also added some new and personal insights that were not available or known to me but which I think is a beginning in an exchange of ideas that the book was intended to generate and encourage. It would be unfortunate if the fear or reluctance to speak openly on India-Bangladesh relations continues to persist as a more critical and objective analysis is now required in order to protect the economic advances made by Bangladesh over the last two decades.

The idea of an India Doctrine occurred to me in a rudimentary form in a two part article that I wrote in 2001 under the title 'Akhand Hindustan' which was published exclusively on the internet. It was mainly a theoretical piece consisting of quotations from 'The Discovery of India' by Jawaharlal Nehru and several other renowned statesmen like Henry Kissinger and J.N. Dixit.

Few practical examples were included of India's hegemonic and domineering attitude to Bangladesh but I did refer to the propaganda campaign launched against the country concerning Islamic extremism that appeared in the Indian press and media especially after the 4-party alliance led by the BNP came to power. In 2003 the article was substantially revised to include policy initiatives by the BJP government in India that was seen to have negative implications for Bangladesh.

I investigated the ideological pretensions of the Hindu fundamentalist and militant organization the RSS and its influential leader Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar who forcefully promoted the view of an 'Akhand Bharat' which had originally been conceived of by Nehru but the expression never appeared explicitly in his works.

It was only in 2006 that I had the opportunity to transform the articles into a book which was originally to be called 'Akhand Bharat' but this was thought too limiting as India's policy towards its neighbours did not necessarily imply physical occupation which would be costly both in money and lives. Indian interference has instead included intellectual, political, economic and diplomatic control facilitated by their external intelligence agency RAW and only occasionally through the intervention of the Indian military as occurred in Sikkim.

My chapters in the book cover relations between India and East Pakistan/Bangladesh from 1947 to the present. It attempts a historical and geo-strategic analysis of relations between the two countries but also tries to offer a more wide ranging analysis involving the Indian external intelligence agency operations in South Asia. The central idea of the chapters when taken as a whole appears to be that the India Doctrine as implemented by successive administrations in India has a historical and intellectual underpinning that was originally expressed by Nehru in the following terms on the advent of partition,

"If India is split up into two or more parts and can no longer function as a political and economic unit, her progress will be seriously affected but much worse will be the inner psychological conflict between those who wish to reunite her and those who oppose this. Thus we arrive at the inevitable and ineluctable conclusion that, whether Pakistan comes or not, a number of important and basic functions of the state must be exercised on an all-India basis if India is to survive as a free state and progress."

Nehru's argument is far more elaborate than this short quotation suggests but it does contain the germ for what some Hindu fanatics have called an Akhand Bharat and which finds expression in an aggressive policy prescription prescribed by Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi while Prime Minister and has been aptly called the Indira Doctrine. This doctrine can be divided into three parts but it is the last that is of relevance here,

"If a South Asian country genuinely needs external help to deal with a serious internal conflict situation, or with an intolerable threat to a government legitimately established, it should ask help from a number of neighboring countries including India. The exclusion of India from such a contingency will be considered to be an anti-Indian move on the part of the government concerned."

It is my contention in the book that internal conflicts or threats to the state in almost all cases in South Asia have been engineered by Indian intelligence of which I provide numerous examples not only from Bangladesh but also Nepal, Sri Lanka, Sikkim and Pakistan. The several other authors that graciously contributed to the book supplement my thesis in this respect. The Gujral Doctrine that was meant to supersede the Indira Doctrine actually only manages to make the former look diplomatically acceptable and is largely cosmetic in nature without any fundamental changes to the Indian outlook of South Asia as its backyard where its is at liberty to do as it wishes.

The two areas that I specifically concentrate on in the book are the events surrounding the 1971 independence war and the insurgency in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. It is my belief that independence was the only choice for Bangladesh and the sacrifices of those who fought in the war must never be forgotten and that we are duty bound to realize their dream of a prosperous and free Bangladesh.

However, the role played by India in the decade prior to the crack down on March 26, 1971 and its policy during the tenure of the war and also immediately after the surrender of Pakistani forces has not been properly researched and there is no original contribution to the understanding of these issues since independence 35 years ago.

This is because of an enforced censorship that describes any new finding or interpretation that is even slightly at variance with the accepted or orthodox view as a distortion of history which could result in legal penalties and even threats of physical violence from interested quarters trying to maintain the present fixed understanding of the country's struggle towards independence. Several generations of Bangladeshis have been born since 1971 and an open discussion on these issues of historical importance is now long overdue.

Only in this way will the nation be able to move forward no longer tied down by the shackles of history that still polarize and divide our political debates that has been characterized by violence, hartals, blockades and economic destruction which can only assist the Indian program for domination and control over Bangladesh. It is for this reason that foreign interference in the internal affairs of Bangladesh must be resisted to protect the independence and sovereignty of the nation.

In my chapters on the 1971 war I extensively refer to works by Indian authors such as Kalidas Baidya, Asoka Raina and Major General Uban who all come with backgrounds in Indian intelligence. It is clear from the books written by Kalidas Baidya in particular that RAW and many elements in the Indian government desired not to see an independent Bangladesh but instead promoted the formation of an entity that was wholly dependant on India especially for its security needs and inclined to adopt Indian foreign policy prescriptions in toto. It was for this reason that the Mujibnagar government based in Kolkata was forced to sign a seven point agreement that would have effectively left Bangladesh without a standing army and the only means of security would be a paramilitary force ( i.e. Rakkhi Bahini) trained and organized by Indian advisers. Only after the signing of this agreement did India actively intervene in the war.

The seven point agreement was only partially formalized by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Indira Gandhi in the 25 year Friendship Treaty in 1972. In order to keep Bangladesh within its orbit of influence Indian intelligence had trained two groups during the 1971 war as an insurance policy.

One group was the Mukti Bahini and the other the Mujib Bahini and both were mutually hostile and antagonistic to each other. India had hoped that after independence this enmity would continue allowing it to act as 'honest broker' between the two groups and at the same time control events inside Bangladesh. It has been assumed that the creation of the Rakkhi Bahini was an Awami League initiative but it was in reality set up to act as the tool or instrument of Indian policy to suppress opposition and to eliminate leftist elements opposed to it. The Rakkhi Bahini personnel were primarily recruited from the Mujib Bahini who were perceived to be more subservient to Indian interests.

After independence and the change in government in 1975 India again intervened to create disturbances in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. My chapters detail numerous examples and reports of Indian intelligence engaging directly with insurgent groups and also cited are many Indian sources of this assistance and cooperation. In recent years Indian intelligence has sponsored several international conferences intended to propagate the view that tribes in the region are actually indigenous.

This propaganda has been so successful that it is hardly refuted in Bangladesh but there is a wealth of historical information collected and interpreted by internationally reputed writers who have shown that the earliest inhabitants were in fact Muslim traders from Arabia. Over the centuries the area was then successively ruled by the Bengal Sultanate and the Mughal Emperors.

There are historical records of an indigenous people in the CHT but they bear no resemblance to the present day tribes. Many of the indigenous peoples converted to Islam, became extinct due to obnoxious social practices or were simply killed off by the intruding tribes from Arakan and China who are now residing in the CHT region and who have in the past unjustifiably sought autonomy from Bangladesh.

India's goal in fomenting the insurgency had been to destabilize the CHT and ultimately to seek its secession from Bangladesh so that it may have access to the Chittagong port facility and mineral resources in the area. When the insurgency began to loose steam in the 1990's India pushed for an unequal peace accord that would eventually achieve the same results but by other means.

While these two episodes constitute the most obvious examples of Indian interference in Bangladesh there is also evidence that RAW has been involved in instigating a communalist secessionist movement that feeds off the propaganda on alleged Hindu oppression in Bangladesh. The Bangabhumi Movement started its operations on August 15, 1977 under the name of 'Nikhil Banga Nagarik Sangha' (NBNS - All Bengal Citizen's Organization) with Dr. Kalidas Baidya as its General Secretary.

The NBNS also set up its own armed wing called the 'Banga Sena' with Dr. Kalidas Baidya as its commander. Over the years the Bangabhumi Movement has tried different methods of infiltration into Bangladesh under various guises with front organizations providing publicity and coordination which have included the Bangladesh Refugee Welfare Organization, the Mohajir Sangha and the Hindu-Buddha-Christian Oikya Parishad.

The latest manifestation of the Bangabhumi Movement has appeared in the form of the Human Rights Congress on Bangladeshi Minorities (HRCBM) which is an exclusively Hindu organization that intends to create communal violence in various parts of Bangladesh to force Hindus to relocate in border districts of the country and then oblige India to annex these districts into the larger Indian Union ( i.e. the program for an Akhand Bharat). In a report prepared by Alochona eForce the tactics and strategies of the group are intricately and comprehensively set out and include –

- portraying Bangladesh internationally as a Talibanised country

- encouraging the boycott of Bangladesh made products

- expounding that Islam is the cause of evils

- seeking support from extremist Hindus worldwide

- damaging relations between Bangladesh and the UN and other countries

- inciting India to be actively hostile against Bangladesh

- creating social unrest within Bangladesh

If the HRCBM organization had been able to continue its activities unimpeded a serious calamity would have certainly befallen Bangladesh but we cannot be complacent as conspiracies against the sovereignty and integrity of the nation continue.

Before I close this speech I should mention briefly the other writers that helped in making this publication possible and who have all generously contributed chapters to the book. Brig. Gen. Sakhawat Hossain is the foremost strategic and military analyst in Bangladesh today. He has kindly written two chapters expertly pointing out the intricate alliances being forged in the region and the importance of the Indian Ocean in the strategic thinking of India, China, the USA and Pakistan.

His comments on the North-East insurgency and the recent uprising in Nepal are highly insightful and will inform readers for many years to come. Khodeza Begum a teacher by profession has contributed a short chapter that centers on several clandestine meetings held in Dhaka involving a plan to reunite the subcontinent. She provides an extensive discussion on the policies being pursued by the Indian government that according to her is detrimental to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bangladesh. She analyses the concept of a United Bengal that has featured in some of the Indian political literature in recent years. She has also summarized the tactics and strategies adopted by the Indian government and its intelligence agency to undermine the unity of Bangladesh and to inculcate the population of the country with a perspective adverse to the nations integrity.

Following the chapters by the Bangladeshi authors there is a section written by Nepali writers Madan Prasad Khanal, Nishchal Basnyat, Sanjay Upadhya and Dr. Shrastra Dutta Pant whose contributions to the book are highly articulate, elegant and almost near impeccable in terms of research, language and style. Each author discusses differing aspects of Indian interference and intervention in Nepali internal affairs especially relating to the monarchy and the Maoist insurgency and provides possible solutions to these problems from a nationalist perspective.

The final chapter of the book is written by two Sri Lankan specialists Dr Rohan Gunaratna and Arbinda Acharya. Both writers collaborated to produce a single chapter on the Sri Lankan attitude to Indian interference or as the authors themselves put it, "India's involvement in Sri Lankan ethnic imbroglio has been one of the most controversial, ironic as well as tragic aspects of New Delhi's foreign policy." While concentrating on the Sri Lankan situation the writers also manage to draw in examples from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan to back up their case on Indian aspirations in South Asia. Of significance is the Indian involvement in the protracted and apparently insoluble conflict with the Tamils. The chapter also involves a geostrategic appraisal of Sri Lanka and its growing relationship with China and Pakistan.

I would also like to thank the Bangladesh Research Forum for giving me this opportunity to write this book and to Mr. Zaman for guidance, support and various materials and documents that were unavailable to me otherwise. Finally, I extend my appreciation and thanks to Maj. Gen. Fazlur Rahman for agreeing to be the Chief Guest on this occasion and to all the discussants who have shown a rare courage in speaking on this subject today.
bangladeshwebcom

 

[con]

Nice to see such erudite and sophisticated reactions to the review of the book that I wrote. I guess there must be many Indians on this forum. Anyway if anyone is interested to obtain a copy of the book you may contact me. I hope you will reserve your opinion on the idea of a India Doctrine until after reading of the book. The reviewer had actually read the book and so has far more substantive material to go on then the prejudiced nonsense that some commentators have put up here. One important point that I think requires clarification is that India does not wish to physically occupy its neighbours which would be absurd because it is having enough trouble holding on to what it has. Instead India's program is domination and control politically, diplomatically, economically and strategically. I think the opinions expressed so far show a serious lack of scholarly objectivity as most propaganda about South Asian countries emanate from New Delhi but are never questioned, at least, in the West. But when an alternative viewpoint is presented it is trashed without debate. This is a sad reminder of the power of the Indian propaganda machine.

Indians here dont shy away from debate. But then the topic should be worth the debate. Blaming internal political state of Bngladesh to some hyerbolic Indian Hindu Grand Plans is not something worth wasting bandwith on.

If you do like debate,please provide us with proper historical instances and reference from reliable source to prove the points,that you have raise. Just because some author in Bangladesh have heard of bunch of weirdos in India dreaming of making Bangladesh part of India doesn't meant it is the policy of GOI or the common thinking among the Indian population.

Otherwise it is just waste of time.

The Indian Propaganda machine as you say ,has taught us that Akand Bharat means what is India is today.It does not include neither Bangladesh,nor Pakistan,nor Srilanka,Bhutan or Nepal. It is united India with whatever is within it's border. It does not advocate expansion of borders.
We see ourselves as Indians or the country is called Bharat. You refer it as Hindustan. Believe me just this difference in perception means a lot.

 

[Contrarian]

Nice to see such erudite and sophisticated reactions to the review of the book that I wrote. I guess there must be many Indians on this forum. Anyway if anyone is interested to obtain a copy of the book you may contact me. I hope you will reserve your opinion on the idea of a India Doctrine until after reading of the book. The reviewer had actually read the book and so has far more substantive material to go on then the prejudiced nonsense that some commentators have put up here. One important point that I think requires clarification is that India does not wish to physically occupy its neighbours which would be absurd because it is having enough trouble holding on to what it has. Instead India's program is domination and control politically, diplomatically, economically and strategically. I think the opinions expressed so far show a serious lack of scholarly objectivity as most propaganda about South Asian countries emanate from New Delhi but are never questioned, at least, in the West. But when an alternative viewpoint is presented it is trashed without debate. This is a sad reminder of the power of the Indian propaganda machine.

Well saying Akhand Bharat does not imply that India wants to dominate politially and strategically, but rather physically. You also mentioned reunification, that also means physically.

Apart from that your book loses credibility when you mention Sikkim as separate from India. And apart from that you mention that it was BD's loss when she did not sign a military pact with China. I can see to which camp you subscribe. Seriously, your book is not worth discussing.

 

[BanglaBhoot]

Reunification had been the original plan but wisdom in the end prevailed and only portions of neighbouring countries are now required. This is the whole idea behind the RAW devised plan to balkanise parts of Bangladesh which was explicitly admitted to by former RAW operative Dr. Kalidas Baidya. This was also the reason that RAW started an insurgency in the CHT and you should also look at Asoka Raina's book on RAW. My book on the whole uses Indian sources to substantiate the claims made therein so basically you are arguing against yourselves.

 

[EagleEyes]

MBI Munshi,

Welcome to Defence.pk.