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'Natun Bangla’ slogan: A
tool to put pressure on
Bangladesh.
Mohammad Zainal Abedin
To get more concessions,
including corridor
through Bangladesh to
connect its seven States
of Eastern Asia (whom
India brands as
Northeast India) and
privileges of Chittagong
Seaport, India
government and its
intelligence agency
floated another pressure
group in India that
openly demanded to
create a new country
named ‘Natun (New)
Bangla’ inside
Bangladesh for the
Indian
Bengalee Hindus. Earlier
many other groups were
also active in
Indian Kolkata that
demanded to create
Hinduland or Bangabhumi
for
the Indian Hindus who
left for India prior to
and after the
partition of the
subcontinent. Bangabhumi
movement died down, as
the Indian payrolls in
India and Bangladesh
failed go ahead with
their notorious agenda
due to the lack of
public support. They
repeatedly declared to
enter Bangladesh
territory, but the
Bangladeshis living in
the bordering areas,
alongside the BDR
personnel, remained
vigil to foil the
intruders. Now the same
menace resurrected in
the name of ‘Natun
Bangla’. This new
group, ‘Nagarik Sanga’
on March 26, 2008 dared
to bring out a
procession carrying a
banner on which a map of
so-called “Natun
Bangla’ was printed.
They chanted slogan
against Bangladesh and
in
favour of ‘Natun Bangla’
comprising 25 districts
of Southwestern
Bangladesh. The
procession was followed
by a rally where the
speakers claimed (1)
they left Bangladesh
after 1971, (2) they
were
clandestinely active
since 1977 and (3) they
have their cadres in
West Bengal, Assam,
Tripura and even
Bangladesh to implement
their
design. They alleged
that Hindus are
persecuted in
Bangladesh. So
they demand the creation
of new country inside
Bangladesh,
named ‘Natun Bangla’ for
the Bengalee Hindus. Now
let me uncover
the absurdity of such
demand and allegation.
(The speakers of the
rally deserves thanks as
they unveiled a bitter
truth that there
are ‘cadres’ inside
Bangladesh who in favour
of ‘Natun Bangla.’ It
is open secret that
there are many Hindus in
Bangladesh who
Bangladesh treat India
as their homeland. They
always serve for
Indian interest. They
never protest when India
blockades waters of
international rivers,
floods Bangladesh during
the rainy season,
kill Bangladeshis in the
border areas, exploits
Bangladesh under
the cover of trade,
promotes anti-Bangladesh
terrorists and
secessionists. These
Hindus are rather
engaged in espionage
works
and smuggle the
sensitive information to
India, who have direct
links with Indian
intelligence agencies.
They send their income
to
India and invest the
money in land and
business or deposit in
Indian banks. They
strongly believe
Bangladesh will one day
become
a part of India and they
work day and night to
that direction. )
No group of the Hindu
community, whether they
are Bangladeshis or
Indians, has any moral
or political or legal
right to claim
creation of any
Hinduland inside
Bangladesh. Bangladesh
inherits
the geographical
territory of the then
East Pakistan that was
created on the basis of
two nation theory,
Lahore Resolution and
India Partition Plan.
According to India
Partition Plan, Muslim
Pakistan comprised those
areas whose majority
inhabitants were
Muslims. Besides,
British government held
a referendum in Muslim
majority-areas whether
the inhabitants opted to
remain with India
or join Pakistan. 97%
Muslim inhabitants of
the area that now
comprises Bangladesh
voted for in favour of
Pakistan. Though the
Muslim leaders like
Suhrawardy, Abul Hasem,
A K Fazlul Haq, etc.
opted for United
Independent and
Sovereign Bengal, Hindus
at the
instigation of non-Bengalee
Hindu leaders like
Gandhi and Nehru
opted to join India.
Thus Bengal was divided
and East Bengal
today’s Bangladesh
joined Pakistan, naming
it East Pakistan — a
homeland for the Muslims
and Hindu majority West
Bengal merged with
so-called secular India
— a homeland for the
Muslims and all non-
Muslim communities,
including the Hindus. So
the Hindus who left
for India do not have
any right to segregate
even an inch from
Bangladesh for the
Hindus. The Hindus who
are in Bangladesh live
here in peace enjoying
equal. No Indians have
any right to claim
any region of Bangladesh
and none will be allowed
to divide
Bangladesh. (Indians
should keep it in mind
that emergence of
Bangladesh was the
fullest implementation
of the Lahore
Resolutions, based on
two nation theory, that
demanded independent
and sovereign states for
the Muslims comprising
India’s Northwester
and Northeastern
regions. Bangladesh of
1971 is the changed name
of East Pakistan. India
recognized the same
territory and map of
East Pakistan as
Bangladesh. Map of East
Pakistan was inlayed in
the first flag of
Bangladesh. So it is
very clear that neither
India nor Indians should
have any right to claim
in part of
Bangladesh for the
Hindus.)
Indian policymakers
should not play with
fire let loosing their
agents to disturb
Bangladesh in the name
of ‘Natun Bangla’. We
lost
many vast areas during
the partition of the
subcontinent. The
Muslims of Bengal were
deprived of those areas
which were supposed
to be part of East
Pakistan in 1947.
According to partition
plan,
the Muslim majority
areas of Bengal and
Assam were to be the
part
of East Pakistan, but
they are still within
India. Those areas
deliberately were not
included with East
Pakistan, which are
Muslim
majority even today, not
to speak of in 1947.
Nadia, Maldah and
Murshidabad districts of
West Bengal are still
Muslim majority.
According to the census
of 1941 Muslims were
majority in Birbhum
(61.25%) and 24 Pargana
(55.70 %) districts.
Still these two
districts were given to
India. Muslims were
minority (49.36%) in
Khulna district, as
Hindus were majority in
its Sadar subdivision,
while Muslims were
single majority its two
other subdivisions —
Satkhira and Bagerhat.
Hindu leaders claimed
Khulna a part of India
and later deliberately
exchanged Khulna in
exchange of Muslim
district Maldah to get
control over the water
of the Ganges where
the fatal Farakka
Barrage was constructed.
Murshidabad was taken
away due to its
historical importance
where millions tourists
pay
visit every year that
fetch huge money for
India.
Muslims are majority
still today in five
districts of Assam.
These
districts are Goalpara
(it was originally a
district of Bengal and
merged with Assam in
1874), Kachar, Hojai,
Dubri and Haliakandi.
Even Karimganj, a
subdivision of Syhlet
district was given to
India
to connect Tripura with
Indian railway. In this
way huge Muslim –
inhabited areas, which
should be part of
Bangladesh, are now in
Indian occupation.
In 1947 Hindus were
majority in none of the
25 districts of
Bangladesh, which under
were five districts in
1947. Now the Indian
Hindus demand to create
so-called ‘Natun Bangla’
comprising those
five districts —
Faridpur, Kushtia,
Jessore, Khulna and
Barisal.
Pathuakhali got the
status of a district
during the Pakistan
period. It was a
subdivision of Barisal
district. I mentioned
earlier that referendum
was held in British
Bengal which of its
regions will merge with
Pakistan and India.
People of all the
districts that formed
East Pakistan opted to
accede to Pakistan. So
the Hindus whether they
are Bangladeshis or
Indians have no right
to form any Hinduland
inside Bangladesh.
After the partition many
Muslims and Hindus
voluntarily migrated to
Pakistan and India
respectively. On the
other hand, a good
number
of Hindus opted to
remain in East Pakistan
and their successors are
still live in
Bangladesh. Since 1971
no anti-Hindu riot
occurred in
Bangladesh still date.
Hindus got more
privileges in Bangladesh
than that of their
Muslims counterparts. It
is difficult to get an
unemployed Hindu in
Bangladesh. So there is
no question of
migration of the Hindus
to India after 1971. The
demanders of so-
called ‘Natun Bangla’
are virtually Indian
nationals who migrated
to India far before
1971. They will fail to
show any acceptable
documents that they
migrated to India after
1971. According to an
agreement co-signed by
Mujib and Indira says,
those who left the
then East Pakistan
before March 26, 1971
would be treated as
Indian
citizens. For this
reason India uses her
agents to claim that
they
entered India after 1971
so that Bangladesh
remains obligated to
take them back.
India floated this group
to put pressure on
Bangladesh. India may
use this group to start
subversive activities
inside Bangladesh.
Speakers openly
confessed that they have
their cadres in West
Bengal, Assam, Tripura
and even inside
Bangladesh. It means
some
Bangladeshi Hindus have
joined their hands with
the Indian
nationals to dismember
Bangladesh. C R Dutta,
Nim Chandra Bhumic,
Devpriya Bartacharrjee,
Ramendra Majumdar, etc.
and many more
directly and indirectly
frequently speak against
the existence of
Bangladesh. These
traitors serve for India
and work day and night
to implement India’s
hegemonic designs in
Bangladesh. They are not
apprehended and tried,
as they are the
accomplices of India and
our
policymakers are not
dared enough to annoy
India by arresting them.
Nagarik Sangha’s
allegation of anti-Hindu
persecution in
Bangladesh
is unfounded and fake.
No international media,
other than the
Indian ones, could ever
claim communal
disharmony in
Bangladesh.
India and its hired
journalists, fake human
rights groups, pro-
India political groups
and parties, newspapers,
cultural activists,
NGOs, so-called civil
societies, etc.
deliberately propagate
alleged persecution on
the Hindus mainly to get
Indian blessings.
But their allegations
repeatedly proved false
when on-spot
investigation was made.
Even were repeatedly
apprehended when they
were making video
footage of fake
persecution on the
Hindus. Local
people and police caught
such agents red-handed
in remote villages
of Barisal and some
other districts, along
with their cameras, who
were videoing killing
Hindus or raping Hindu
girls. It is alleged
that India sends these
fake video footages to
western world and
other countries to
create anti-Bangladesh
opinion. Western media
and human rights groups
take these fake
documents as true and
put
pressure on Bangladesh.
Political observers who
are quite aware of
Indians’ psyche
brand ‘Nagarik Sanga’ as
pressure group to bend
the Bangladesh
government to get more
concessions. It is their
studied conclusion
that Indian policymakers
succeeded in identifying
the weakness of
their Bangladeshi
counterparts who kneel
down if pressure is
applied on them
(Bangladeshi rulers).
Due to this weakness,
successive governments
and policymakers of
Bangladesh adopted the
policy of surrendering
national interest to
India to please Indians
so that India does not
disturb our rulers so
long they remain in
power. But no
governments, right from
Sheikh Mujib to
Fakharudin,
remained undisturbed.
India availed
concessions from them
and still
disturbed them to get
more. This policy of
India will persist till
our governments remain
submissive to India.
This process will
continue so long
Bangladesh either
becomes India’s
satellite state
or it merges to India.
The more our rulers
concede to India and the
Hindus the more India
will become rigid and
behave harshly with
Bangladesh. The present
government disappointing
the nation provided
anti-nation
concessions to India. It
agreed Dhaka-Kolkata
train service which
one day will turn to
Kolkata-Assam -Tripura
train transit. This
government also allowed
air cargo transit to
India. The Army chief
during his recent visit
to India also agreed to
launch military
operation against the
freedom fighters of
seven Eastern Asian
States. Still now India
wants to get road
corridor and authority
to
use Chittagong port.
With this end in view,
India exerts pressure
on Bangladesh by
restricting food export
to Bangladesh, let
loosing
the Indian Hindus to
demand 40% portion of
Bangladesh for Natun
Bangla, creating
internal disturbance.
India designs to create
famine in Bangladesh so
that the people revolt
against the Army,
the main eyesore of
India. Our policymakers
and Army generals
should comprehend this
reality and take a
hardline in facing
Indian
covert and overt
designs. The path of
submissiveness will be
fatal
for Bangladesh. They are
to be rigid and
determined in securing
our
strategic interests.
They should depend on
the Bangladeshis, not on
Indians to remain in
power or to attain
power.* (Mohammad Zainal
Abedin is a Bangladeshi
researcher &
journalist.)
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