Bangladeshis can’t accept repeated BSF intrusion as destiny
Aggressive Indian attitude towards the people of Bangladesh remains unchanged despite repeated assurances of the political establishment in Delhi that its Border Security Force would behave with the Bangladeshis living in the border. The BSF continues to forcibly enter Bangladesh, kill Bangladeshis, assaults them, and loots their houses and crops, et cetera. The BSF killing of a small Bangladesh girl, Felani, in January 2011 and keeping her body hanging on the barbed wire fence remains a fresh, bitter memory, which caused international outcry against Indian brutality. In the face of international uproar, the Indian political authorities made fresh commitments to take care of their trigger-happy border guards. Since then, the BSF has unlawfully entered Bangladesh on many occasions. Besides, it has also been seen, and duly reported in the media, that the BSF has deliberately backed Indian citizens illegally entering Bangladesh to take away crops planted by Bangladeshis in their own bordering land, loot their livestock, catch fish, assault men, women and children and go back under the BSF cover. The last such incident took place on Friday night.
According to a report of Dhaka-based private news agency United News of Bangladesh, some hundred armed Indian citizens, backed by the BSF, attacked Gajukata at Beanibazar in Sylhet on Friday night. The report, printed by some newspapers including New Age on Sunday, the Indian intruders also resorted to attack on the house of an elected member of Dubag union council.
The report says that the panicked villagers shut the doors of their houses but the attackers hammered the doors with rifle ***** and threatened their lives. The local people ultimately gathered to chase the intruders beyond the border. The intruders then left but only after damaging a number of houses. Informed citizens by now understand from their experiences, without being told by anyone, what would happen next: a flag meeting between the officials of the BSF and the BGB, the border guards of Bangladesh, in no man’s land the next morning, the BSF officials’ assuring BGB counterparts of no recurrence of such events, BGB officials requesting Bangladeshis to stay calm, et cetera. These have been routine affairs for quite some years now. This was exactly what happened on Saturday morning. Anyone one can predict the next course too. The Bangladesh prime minister, likely to see her Indian counterpart in Tehran towards the close of August, would discuss bilateral issues, including the border situation and the Indian prime minister would give fresh assurances of no recurrence of such intrusion, as BSF officials routinely tells their BGB counterparts. But the situation will hardly change.
But the things need to be changed, and for that to happen, the Bangladesh government needs to give a clear message to the Indian authorities concerned that a populace securing its national independence through blood and fire never accepts it as a destiny to endure injustice from a neighbouring state forever.
New Age | Newspaper
