We don’t know whether to be happy or content with this news: the Indian authorities have taken up the issue of the Felani murder by the trigger-happy high-jinks of the Indian border guards.
More assuring has been the TV grabs depicting the actions of Felani’s relatives and BGB officials on their way to Koch Bihar to have their say in the proceedings.
Felani is not the first case of the Indian border forces’ premeditated and perverted actions, nor will it be the last. Following Felani’s gruesome murder at the hands of an over-eager member of the Indian border security force, there have been more killings of Bangladeshis along the fence.
Let’s take a closer look. After the death of a Bangladeshi at the hands of BSF men, the Indian authorities, in meetings with their Bangladeshi counterparts, assured us that there would be no more of such atrocious, criminal acts.
Even before such meets are over, news of yet another such brutality by BSF gunners reaches our collective ears.
Lately the Indian authorities have begun compensating the families of individuals who fell prey to the BSF’s itchy trigger fingers, with the Felani murder trial in progress in an Indian court now. To our unreserved consternation, we have learnt that the assassin/soldier had no qualms in committing such an odious act.
The world has witnessed with shock and awe as the innocent Felani hung against barbed wire fencing. Her corpse was handed to her parents the very next day. It was a pathetic image of the feeble young girl, with her hands and feet tied up to a staff.
This unpleasant incident moved most souls in Bangladesh, but the Indians showed little empathy. Rather they gave a cold shoulder to this heartbreaking incident.
Bangladesh could not convince their bigger neighbour that their border guards have been murdering her people on the plea of them being cattle-lifters or smugglers or criminals of sorts.
Why did it take more than two years for the Indian authorities to take up the trial? Is it yet another trick that they have up their sleeves? It is hard to trust their motives as there is more to this than we are aware of.
A sensible portion of the general society believes that this move is borne out of pure political consideration. It is not for the Indians to benefit, rather the government of India would like to fine-tune the “India policy” of Bangladesh.
Post 1971 has been different for New Delhi; it has found a more comfortable plane in the sub-continent following the disintegration of Pakistan.
People, the government, and political parties in Bangladesh have found the changing moods of India often unfriendly, difficult to cope with. Throughout the entire scenario, from trade to civil relations, Bangladesh has been on the receiving end.
What goes on in the Indian political minds is not very hard to surmise; the rapport is still far from mutually beneficial. India holds the upper hand and a “strategy of imposition” is in place. India is doing little to gain the confidence of a large majority here. In the heat of things, New Delhi and regional leaders (BJP, TMC and the like) forget the importance of a healthy and happy neighbour.
See the contrasting picture in the western front. India has more thoughtful and cautious policies in Pakistan, and Pakistan has never been easy to handle!
Since very little has been done to favour the present Awami League government regarding its India policy, New Delhi might be considering this trial as a measure to help repair the fractured reflection of the AL regime.
For India has been unkind to Bangladesh on many counts. Even the so-called friendly parties (AL in Bangladesh and Congress in India) at power could do little to bring about respectable solutions to the problems faced by Bangladesh. The Test issue and land boundary agreement are major concerns while many smaller ones still remain.
Compensating the family of the victim killed by the BSF and the Felani trail could be an eye-wash move. How far this will go at pacifying the people is an entirely different question.
If India thinks that these two acts would be immense favours from her and be counted as an achievement on the present government’s part, or even the people of Bangladesh, they are still wrong. Neither will help the AL government in taking credit for its India policy, nor will it be of any consequence to the people of Bangladesh.
India’s Bangladesh policy needs some considerable revision, pragmatic thinking and a dignified approach.
