The Birth Of Bangladesh: Injustice To The Asomiya Community
By Nava Thakuria, New Age Islam
24 May 2025
In the decisive war against Pakistan in 1971, India won and a new nation named Bangladesh was born, but a small State in eastern part of Bharat had to pay a heavy price with millions of East Pakistan refugees, for which Assam still cries but nobody seems to care. With a porous border with poverty stricken Bangladesh, relatively little political will from the government and continued callous attitude of majority Asomiya people, the situation continues to be grim even today. The Union government in New Delhi supported the Mukti Bahini (read freedom fighters of East Pakistan) in their movement against West Pakistan and subsequently the atrocious Pakistan forces had to surrender on 16 December 1971. But the newly born sovereign Bangladesh was not officially approached to return back its refugees and migrants from eastern Indian localities.
(From Files)
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The situation turned so complicated that when a kind of accord was signed in 1985 to address the historic Assam agitation, the cut off year for detecting illegal migrants in the State had to be compromised with the national base year (slipping to 25 March 1971). The argument from New Delhi was that the Bangladesh government in Dhaka was not ready to accept East Pakistani nationals. Hence it was not possible to deport those illegal migrants (mostly Muslims) from India and uneven pressure was mounted on the representatives of Assam agitators to accept all those illegal migrants as Indians. But the question remains why the agitators (precisely All Assam Students Union) did not ask the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (who was present on the occasion) to sign the memorandum of settlement and how come a State alone should take the burden of migrants?
No debates took place in the Parliament, precisely little was written in the mainstream media and learned intellectuals raised voices for the injustice to the Asomiya community by imposing the burden of nearly 2.5 million East Pakistanis turned Indians. Even it was not realized that if Assam had to bear with the refugees, some day negative implications will surface across the country. Not to speak of others, the very Assamese political analysts, journalist-writers and social activists did not highlight the menace properly for the benefit of common dwellers in Assam. Almost everybody emerged a winner in the anti-foreigner movement and post-agitation era except the Asomiyas, who are still crying for justice, and they all lived ‘happily’ until the demographic changes hit the State severely and many parts of India lately started witnessing the peril of illegal Bangladeshi migrants in their respective localities.
The issue came alive with a strong message from Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, where he categorically stated that creation of Bangladesh was only a part of the goal and hence a historic opportunity was lost in the process. India's military victory (in Bangladesh Liberation War) was decisive and historic, which broke Pakistan in two and gave birth to Bangladesh. But while the soldiers delivered a stunning battlefield success, India's political leadership failed to secure lasting strategic gains, asserted the Bharatiya Janata Party leader, adding that ‘what could have been a new regional order was reduced to a one-sided act of generosity’. Had Indira Gandhi been alive today, the nation would have questioned her for mishandling the decisive victory won by the Indian armed forces, opined Sarma.
The prominent saffron face in northeast India pointed out that no agreement was signed with Dhaka for sending back those illegal Bangladeshi migrants and as a result, Assam along with other north-eastern States and West Bengal have to face unchecked demographic changes instigating political instability and social unrest. Moreover, India supported a secular Bangladesh and yet Islam was declared their state religion by 1988 and now the political Islam thrives in Dhaka undermining the very values New Delhi fought to protect, stated Sarma, adding that Hindus, once over 20% of Bangladesh’s population have currently dwindled to below 8% ‘due to systematic discrimination and violence’.
Reacting to the recent Congress outbursts over the ‘abrupt ceasefire’ against Pakistan (after the Pahalgam massacre of 26 innocent civilians by the Pakistan sponsored Islamist terrorists), where it was tried to establish that Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned soft unlike his predecessor Indira Gandhi during the Bangladesh Mukti Sangram, the outspoken Assamese politician reiterated that the then Congress government lost the opportunity to negotiate on Silliguri corridor (Chicken's Neck), the narrow strip of land connecting North-east with the rest of India). Sarma also questioned why the Gandhi-led Congress government did not secure access to the strategic Chittagong port in Bangladesh and reclaim the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The opposition Congress, which made a hue and cry after New Delhi agreed to cease the military escalation against Islamabad- erupted after the Pahalgam terror attack in the Kashmir valley on 22 April 2025-opined that the former premier defeated Pakistani forces led by General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi in Bangladesh to divide the Islamic Republic. The oldest political party of India also raised a serious question, if PM Modi accepted the ceasefire proposal from Islamabad on 10 May under the direction of US President Donald John Trump, who made a series of comments on social media about the de-escalation between the two neighbouring countries in south Asia taking some credits for himself over the resolution.
Lately, a large number of Indians came out wishing to divide Pakistan again (repeating Bangladesh episode in Balochistan) and the social media eruption indicates they are also not happy with the ongoing cessation of armed confrontations against Islamabad even after a successful Operation Sindoor and follow-up aggressions. Meanwhile, the Baloch community residing in India came asking New Delhi to extend support to their causes by raising the issue of Balochistan at the national and international levels. They also appealed to the lawmakers for adopting a resolution in the Parliament recognizing and supporting the legitimate freedom struggle of Baloch people. Under the banner of Baloch Welfare Association, they also requested the government for permission to establish a Balochistan Representative Office (or Embassy) in India.
Needless to mention, the emergence of Balochistan will hardly affect any Indian State as the prerequisite (with no border sharing) is missing unlike that of Bangladesh.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/current-affairs/birth-bangladesh-injustice-asomiya/d/135650
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