Editor,
The editorial, “Hasina out, Army in” (ST August 7, 2024) made interesting reading. It is more than 53 years now that India liberated Bangladesh and the role played by the ‘first line of defence’ the Border Security Force (BSF) was immense in that 13-day war in December 1971 that ultimately liberated Bangladesh. My dad who was in the BSF was in that battlefield and narrated how cruel and inhumane were the Pakistani Army who engaged themselves in committing rape, murder, arson and genocide while the struggle to liberate Bangladesh was on. In the subsequent event the Indian Army took 56,200 km from Pakistan in 13 days and forced the surrender of 93,000 POWs and suffered minimum casualties. Three lakh Indian armed forces did not commit one murder or rape. Retired Deputy Inspector General, BSF SK Mitra who also fought in the war mentioned, “They (Pakistan Army) had ammunition that could have lasted them for three months. But a force that rapes women is an immoral force. And a morally defeated force can never win a battle.”
If Bangladesh today takes an anti-India stand, irrespective of who rules there or opts to play the tunes of China or Pakistan they will be inviting trouble for themselves and face the consequences. I salute the ‘first line of defence’ the BSF who is maintaining vigil at the moment along the 4,096 km India-Bangladesh border in the wake of the developments in Bangladesh and wish them well. It is heartening that the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah has assured that no infiltration will be allowed. When one thinks of the creation of Bangladesh, one generally thinks of the 13-day war in December 1971. Little attention goes to the covert operations from March 25, 1971, when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared independence, until the actual war. Key to that was the BSF, largely unsung. Until now: Ushinor Majumdar has written, “India’s Secret War: BSF and the nIne months to the birth of Bangladesh” (Penguin), an action-packed recounting of key moments in that insurgency.
Yours etc;
VK Lyngdoh,
Via email
Rough road ahead for Bangladesh: Sinister forces at play?
Editor,
‘Those who cannot pay heed to the past are doomed to repeat it’- George Santayana. The compound raid at Sheikh Hasina’s palace brings history to life, as non-state actors and militant outfits increasingly incorporate Benghazi-style attacks into their playbook. Bangladesh’s unemployment problem and unstable socio-economic conditions have become intertwined with the venomous grip of religious fundamentalism. At the backdrop of these events it is unknown and messages are confusing whether this chaos has been sponsored either by the Chinese or Pakistani deep state but the closeness of the ISI and DGFI cannot be overlooked. At this critical juncture diplomatic channels should be opened to find out Indian interests and embassy staffers who are sandwiched at Dhaka and elsewhere in the country. Several companies of Indian origin with a visible footprint have already suffered, including Adani Power, which penned a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) in 2017 for supplying 1,496 megawatts of power to Bangladesh. Levers of power at South Block should be calculated by understanding the porous borders of Assam, West Bengal, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Tripura, which it shares. A country known for its strong garment industry needs the world’s attention to bring political stability and control the backfire which it can cause. The book “Many Rivers, One Sea: Bangladesh and the Challenge of Islamist Militancy” by London based journalist Joseph Allchin reveals why this nation is caught between the devil and the deep sea and highlights the visibility of those scars.
Yours etc.,
Christopher Gatphoh,
Shillong-10
Census survey an imperative
Editor,
I laughed when I heard the story about the head of a joint family who could not clearly answer how many members there were in his family. More often than not, he called even his own son by the name of his other son. He even failed to recognise a young member of the joint family. Although he had good memory he just didn’t care to know and remember the composition of his family and even he pooh-poohed at the suggestion of keeping a register to note down the names and other necessary details of every member of the joint family.
A similar situation has surfaced because of the delay in conducting the census. It has uninterruptedly been conducted every 10 years from 1881 to 2011. The first phase of this decade’s Census was expected to begin on April 1, 2020, but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But even after the pandemic subsided there is no sign that the census will start anytime soon.
In the absence of fresh data, government agencies are still formulating policies and allocating subsidies based on the data accrued from the 2011 Census. The government estimated that around 81 crore people required food assistance for 5 more years. However, the 81crore estimate is based on the 2011 census. Economists pointed out that more than 10 crore deserving Indians would not get the benefit of the 5-year extension because of the government’s failure to conduct the long-due population census.
A government cannot function without updating necessary and detailed data on the population of the country every ten years. It has been a practice for 140 years. The delay hinders the government from taking necessary action, and when action is taken, it has to be without proper planning based on the latest data.
The Women’s Reservation Bill, for instance, was passed in the Parliament in September last year. It provides one-third reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. But it has two strings attached to it. The first one says it will wait for the census conducted after this bill has been published. Then comes the second string in the form of delimitation. It says that on the basis of that census report, delimitation will be undertaken to reserve seats for women. To procrastinate in conducting census will further delay the implementation of the bill.
Recently, the Supreme Court passed a verdict allowing sub-classification of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the context of reservation. The Court, in that judgement, has directed the State to collect data on the inadequacy of representation in the services of the State because this is used as an indicator of caste backwardness. This is an important indicator of backwardness, no doubt. However, a caste census can only bring out the real picture of caste backwardness.
Caste hatred and caste nepotism are like fractures in our society. After a suspected fracture, a doctor always makes decisions after doing at least an X-ray. Any action on caste reservation must similarly be taken after collecting necessary data by conducting a caste census.
A caste census will not add to the cost of conducting a census. A caste census can be done only by adding a question or two to the questionnaire for the census. No development intervention can be successful without accurate data. Hence a census now is imperative.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata