One fine morning around three decades ago, possibly in 1985-86, the residents of my hometown Naogaon heard a rumour about the sudden “escape” of a leading Hindu businessman who used to control the business in the northwestern district near the Indian border. The businessman, whose name I cannot recall, owned a huge palatial red building, adjacent to the Naogaon Pourashabha. That was breaking news for the residents of the tiny town, still considered one of the more peaceful places in Bangladesh with no report of communal riots or violence.
Despite being a boy of around 12 years, I joined the human flock that headed towards the four-storey abandoned rectangular house with a courtyard in the middle – a typical structure of a Hindu Brahmin house. The group of people reached the premises within 10 minutes. The whole house turned into an apparent fair of curious people converging from all corners of the town, once dominated by Hindus, especially Marwaris.
Everyone was discussing the same thing: “How could he escape so clandestinely? He smuggled his money and wealth to India. What would happen to the big house on this huge land in the heart of town?” They peeped through the windows and doors of the rooms. They never thought they would get the chance to look inside the house because of the Brahmins’ restricted lifestyle. The interesting fact was that the master of the house took away all valuables, including the utensils, without the knowledge of the people having access to the house.
A couple of days later, I came to know that the businessman had sold the house to a local Muslim, of course at a throwaway price, with the condition that they must not make the disclosure until they had crossed the Bangladesh border. The children of the middle-aged couple used to study in Kolkata – they used to send money there for their education.
More than 25 years later, in late 2012, a hotelier in Naoagon, Sudev, 55, sold his established restaurant at Muktir Morh, situated at the heart of the town, and left for India. The residents knew that all of his family members had left Naogaon much earlier and had settled in India already. Possibly his intention was to live the last days of his life on a land where his fellow Hindus were the majority, unlike the Muslim-majority Bangladesh.
These two stories of Hindu migration to India are linked with the pre-poll comments of India’s Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi, who made the “intrusion of the illegal Bangladeshis” as one of the election issues, making the remaining Hindus in Bangladesh afraid of whether they would face another spell of violence by Muslim bigots as a reprisal of any probable attack on the Muslims by Hindu zealots in India.
According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Hindus constituted for 22% of the Bangladeshi people in 1951, which was then a part of Pakistan created for Muslims. The proportion dropped to 18.5% in 1961, and further dropped to 13.5% in 1974. It further came down to 12.1% and 10.5% in 1981 and 1991 respectively. After the 2001 general elections in Bangladesh, another spell of violence further shrank the number of the Hindus to 9.2%, and in 2011 it was 8.5%.
The reason for which Hindus leave Bangladesh is (an apparent sense of) insecurity coupled with inaction of the successive governments to protect our minorities.
During and after the partition period in 1947, political leaders in India welcomed Hindus from Bangladesh, and helped them to settle on the new land. The wealth Bangladeshis transferred with them contributed to the Indian economy too.
The other side of the coin is – the attackers here mainly want to grab the land and property of the minorities, and weaken the political opponents as Hindus apparently vote for the Awami League.
Unfortunately, the state mechanism and the AL that enjoy the exclusive voting of most religious minorities have failed to put in place an environment in which they can feel secure from repression or intimidation.
Now, the question is, is Narendra Modi’s comment justified or not? Was the Indian Supreme Court’s observation on “illegal” migration or “silent demographic invasion” right? Of course not, because Hindus who settled in India have integrated into Indian society, and they are no longer Bangladeshis.
Every country has the right to protect its territory from any unauthorised entry of foreign nationals and take action against intruders. Modi’s announcement that “illegal Bangladeshis must pack and leave India” involves huge risk of widespread violence against the targeted people, presumably the Muslims. He allegedly led such a program in his state of Gujarat in 2002. If he tries to push the (Indian) Muslims into Bangladesh terming them “illegal” without proper proof, then it will result in deterioration of its excellent relations with Bangladesh.
Again, the Indian society that has nurtured diversity and accommodated Hindus from Bangladesh will ultimately protect them, albeit they apparently supported Modi’s anti-migration role. Despite the AL government’s tough stance against the Rohingyas, local sympathisers have been sheltering the illegal Myanmar nationals, considering their economic usefulness and religious commonality.
So, any purported repressive actions against so-called “illegal” Bangladeshis are sure to cause tension on both sides of the border. Are Modi and the BJP really ready to face that situation?
