With BAL in power, the BDR has been emasculated and Indian dominance has become absolute.
The next time you hear a BAL supporter singing "ey Padma..." be sure to slap their faces with your shoe.
BAL and its supporters are traitors. That's all.
All others are greedy. But greed can be managed, treason cannot.
Emanur Rahman | m. +447734567561 | e. emanur@rahman.com
From: Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com>
Sender: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2010 10:32:59 +0600
ReplyTo: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [ALOCHONA] India's provocation campaign takes a new turn
India's provocation campaign takes a new turn
SUNDAY'S incident on the Jaintapur border in Sylhet, in which 10 Bangladeshis were wounded when members of India's Khasia community opened fire from the other side of the frontier, had been in the offing for quite some time now. According to a report front-paged in New Age on Monday, the Khasia people have been tilling cropland about 200 metres inside Bangladesh since June 25, 17 hours after a high-level meeting between the Bangladesh Rifles and the Border Security Force of India. While the BSF and, by implication, the Indian government have paid little heed to the protests lodged by the BDR, the Khasia people have sought to make it clear that they would not stop their incursion into Bangladesh territory for tilling cropland. On June 26, a Bangladeshi teenager was wounded when he was shot from across the border. Death of, and injury to, Bangladeshis in gunshots fired from across the border is neither unprecedented nor isolated. In fact, Jaintapur has become a flashpoint of border skirmishes these days. The oddity about the latest incident is that this time around it was not the BSF soldiers but people of the Khasia community, themselves repressed and exploited by the Indian state, who had pulled the trigger. It seems that the Indian state and its ruling class have chosen to use an underprivileged and exploited section of the Indian society as fodders to carry on with its campaign of brazen provocation against Bangladesh.
The other disturbing facet of Sunday's incident is the attack on the BDR outpost by people of the bordering villages. According to the New Age report, the agitated villagers also blocked the Sylhet-Tamabil road for two hours in protest at the unresponsive role of the BDR following the shooting by the Khasia people. They were also unhappy with the BDR for not allowing them to drive away the trespassing Indians by themselves. While the anger and frustration of the villagers is understandable, the BDR has certainly played a commendable role by not letting the villagers take charge. Had it not intervened the situation might very well have gone out of control and resulted in the loss of lives on both sides of the border. In fact, the BDR has consistently displayed its commitment to maintaining peace and order on the border despite relentless provocations and atrocities by the Indian border guards. Unfortunately, neither the BSF top brass nor the Indian government has shown any signs that may suggest that they are appreciative of the BDR's role. Disturbingly still, the Awami League-led government, due to either inability or unwillingness to effectively raise the issue, has exposed the BDR to wrath of the people in the bordering villages. The BDR, already weakened by the February 25-26 rebellion and its aftermath, must not be projected as 'villains', so to speak, for the sake of greater national interest.
According to a report also front-paged on Monday, the government on Sunday initiated a move to lodge a protest with the Indian government against the shooting by the Khasia people. We are also told that the Indian high commissioner in Dhaka was called in by the government and asked to inform New Delhi of the development on the Jaintapur border. Regrettably, however, there are hardly any reasons for us to be reassured. After all, the incumbents have thus far appeared rather docile in their diplomatic exchanges with their Indian counterparts. In fact, the government's foreign policy towards India has been criticised as being subservient by different quarters. Hence, it is time for the government to assertively raise the issue with India and persuade it to take effective actions so that such provocative actions by either the BSF or Indian nationals do not recur. At the same time, the government needs to clarify its position vis-à-vis India to the public and also take steps to inform the democratically-oriented citizens of India and beyond about New Delhi's aggressive role. After all, mobilisation of public opinion across the borders is imperative to create pressure on New Delhi so that it refrains from such acts of aggression – for the sake of peace and stability in the region.
