The impact of the political earthquake in the neighboring country Bangladesh is visible everywhere. Even after the formation of the new interim government, violence is continuing against minorities, especially Hindus. This history of atrocities is old, which is reflected in the decreasing population of Hindus. Even Hindus have been demanding a separate country there.
Pakistan was formed after the partition of India. East Pakistan had a lot of expectations from this separation on the basis of religion. Their population was more and they felt that on this basis they would get the right to be in Parliament. But language became a hindrance in this happening. Actually, Pakistan made Urdu the official language, whereas Bengali speakers used to live in East Bengal.
The matter did not stop here. There was a ban on speaking Bengali in the Pakistani assembly, saying that the language of Muslims is Urdu. Also violence started happening against Bengali speaking people.
The inequality with the Bengali population increased so much that the entire East Pakistan started finding itself isolated. It was from here that the foundation of Bangladesh was laid. Adding fuel to the fire was Cyclone, who came there in the seventies. A large number of people from this area died in the Bhola cyclone, but the Pakistan government manipulated a lot in providing relief to them.
Soon after this, Bangladesh fought for separation. A lot of blood was shed. Pakistan is accused of committing serious war crimes while keeping human rights at bay. Ultimately, due to India’s intervention, the Pakistani Army had to surrender, and Bangladesh was formed. This is from March 1971. Now what should have happened was that people who were separated on the basis of language and dialect should live together and live together, but this did not happen.
This time Hindus living inside Bangladesh started alleging that the majority population discriminates against them. This was also happening. From politics to society, he was seen to be at a lower level. When Pakistan was formed, the Hindu population in East Pakistan was 30 percent, which has now come down to 8 percent.
A new movement started rising in the south-western part of Bangladesh. It got the name – Swadhin Banga Bhoomi Movement. Vanga or Banga was ancient Bengal situated on the banks of Ganga. Taking this into account, the agitators decided that they would create a new country for Bengali speaking Hindus, the proposed name of which was – Banga Bhoomi. At the forefront of the movement that started in 1973 were those people who had endured atrocities by those speaking their own language during separation from Pakistan.
Banga Sena worked to take this movement forward. This was an organization of Hindu protesters, which was led by Kalidas Vaidya and Dhirendra Nath Paul. Like other protesters, these people were rarely seen taking to the streets demanding a separate country. Allegations continued to be made that this group works more underground. Bangladeshi officials alleged that separatists are working in collaboration with West Bengal and are bringing instability in the country.
Exactly two decades ago, the then DG of Bangladesh Rifles, Major General Jahangir Alam Choudhary had said that Banga Sena was an extremist group. In the same year, the DG had also brought out a list, which allegedly contained the names of all those extremists who were running anti-Bangladesh agenda from West Bengal, Assam and Tripura.
This proposed country included large parts of Khulna, Jessore, Kushtia, Faridpur, Barisal and Patuakhali districts. Later Chittagong was also included in it. This is 20 thousand square miles, which would be almost one-third of the entire Bangladesh.
The matter was not limited to just imagining a separate country. For this, even the national flag was planned. It was a combination of green and saffron colors, with a white sun-like shape. With time the Hindu population reduced significantly. The separatists started being crushed and with this the discussion of a separate country also ended. However, it cannot be denied that the spark is still burning inside.
Talking about minorities in Bangladesh, there are many tribal groups here too. He also formed a group – Parbatya Chattagram Jan Sanhati Samiti (PCJSS). The population living in and around Chittagong Hills continued to agitate. However, they were not directly demanding a separate country, but were demanding autonomy.
PCJSS had a military wing – Shanti Vahini. It also gave weapons training to its fighters. The separatist youth used to carry out covert attacks from the hilly areas, which led to instability in the newly settled Bangladesh. Finally, in 1997, an agreement was reached between the then government and PCJSS. In this, the military wing was abolished and this organization joined active politics. Let us tell you that at that time also Awami League Party was in government. Even now this party is in politics and talks about the rights of the tribes of Chittagong Hills.