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a fake concept |
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[[Image:Greater_Bangladesh.PNG|thumb|200px|Map of Greater Bangladesh showing most of North East India as a part of Greater Bangladesh.]]'''Greater Bangladesh''' (translated variously as {{lang-bn|বৃহত বাংলাদেশ}}, ''Brihat Bangladesh'';<ref name=Ved1>Col. Ved Prakash, ''Terrorism in India's north-east: a gathering storm'' (Volume 1),Kalpaz Publications, 2008, ISBN 8178356600</ref> {{lang-bn|বৃহদ বাংলাদেশ}} ''Brihad Bangladesh'';<ref>Mahendra Gaur, ''Indian affairs annual'' (Volume 2), 2007, ISBN 8178354349</ref> {{lang-bn|মহা বাংলাদেশ}}, ''Maha Bangladesh'';<ref>James Warner Björkman, ''Fundamentalism, revivalists, and violence in South Asia'', page 38, Riverdale Company, 1988, ISBN 0913215066</ref> and {{lang-bn|বিশাল বাংলা}}, ''Bishal Bangla''<ref>Venkata Siddharthacharry, ''Jambudwipa, a blueprint for a South Asian community'', page 256, Radiant Publishers, 1985, ISBN 817027088X</ref>) is an assumption circulated by a number of Indian policticians and writers that [[People's Republic of Bangladesh]] is trying for the territorial expansion to include the [[India]]n states of [[West Bengal]], [[Assam]] and others in northeastern India.<ref name=Schendel1/> The assumption is principally based on fact that a large number of Bangladeshi illegal immigrants reside in Indian territory.<ref name="C"/> |
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==History== |
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The ethno-linguistic region of Bengal encompasses the territory of [[Bangladesh]] and the Indian state of [[West Bengal]], as well as parts of [[Assam]] and [[Tripura]]. During the rule of the Hindu [[Sena dynasty]] in Bengal the notion of a Greater Bangladesh first emerged with the idea of uniting Bengali-speaking people in the areas now known as [[Orissa]], [[Bihar]] and Indian North East (Assam, Tripura, and [[Meghalaya]]) along with the [[Bengal]].<ref>Mikey Leung and Belinda Meggitt, ''Bangladesh'', page 7-8, Bradt Travel Guides, 2009, ISBN 1841622931</ref> These areas formed the [[Bengal Presidency]], a province of [[British India]] formed in 1765, though Assam including Meghalaya and [[Sylhet District]] was severed from the Presidency in 1874, which became the Province of Assam together with Lushai Hills in 1912. This province was partitioned in 1947 into [[Hindu]]-majority West Bengal and [[Muslim]]-majority [[East Bengal]] (now Bangladesh) to facilitate the creation of the separate [[Muslim]] state of [[Pakistan]], of which East Bengal became a province. |
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===United Bengal=== |
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{{see also|Partition of Bengal (1947)}} |
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In January 1947, [[Sarat Chandra Bose]] resigned from [[Indian National Congress]] in partially in protest against partition of Bengal. He called for an Independent Bengal separate from both India and Pakistan, and formed his own party - the [[Socialist Republican Party]].<ref name=Fraser/><ref>Anton Pelinka and Renée Schell, ''Democracy Indian style'', page 79, Transaction Publishers, 2003, ISBN 0765801868</ref> At that time, [[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]] and [[Abul Hashem]], two Bengali leaders of the [[Muslim League]] also advocated for an Independent Bengal comprising both the Eastern (now Bangladesh) and Western (now West Bengal) parts of Bengal.<ref name=Fraser/><ref>M. Bhaskaran Nair, ''Politics in Bangladesh: a study of Awami League, 1949-58'', page 46, Northern Book Centre, 1990, ISBN 8185119791</ref> [[Akram Khan (politician)]] and [[Khawaja Nazimuddin]], two other Muslim League leaders wanted a United Bengal as part of Pakistan. [[Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha]] and [[Syama Prasad Mookerjee]], founder of [[Bharatiya Jana Sangh]] which later was succeeded by [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP), opposed the idea of an Independent Bengal or a United Bengal.<ref name=Fraser>Bashabi Fraser, ''Bengal Partition Stories: An Unclosed Chapter'', page 24-25, Anthem Press, 2008, ISBN 1843312999</ref> Hindu Mahashabha and Mookerjee was concerned about Bose and Suhrawardy discussing the a sovereign state of Bengal, while opposing the idea of a United Bengal even as a part of the Union of India. [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], then a leader of the majority faction of the Congress, was opposed to a United Bengal unconnected to the Union.<ref>Benjamin Zachariah, ''Nehru'', page 136, Routledge, 2004, ISBN 041525017X</ref> |
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===Militant organizations=== |
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{{see also|Bangladesh–India relations}} |
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A number of Indian politicians and journalists alleged that advocates of a Greater Bangladesh seek the expansion of Bangladeshi hegemony in [[Northeastern India]], including the states of Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya and [[Tripura]], as well as the [[Arakan]] province of [[Burma]] (Myanmar), where there is a considerable population of Bengali Muslims.<ref name="C">{{Cite book|title=Illegal migration from Bangladesh|author=Braja Bihari Kumara|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|year=2006|isbn=9788180692246}}</ref><ref name=Ved1/> It was also alleged that [[United Liberation Front of Asom]] (ULFA) conspired with state of Bangladesh to secede four to five Muslim majority districts of Assam to form a Greater Bangladesh, though Bangladesh in the contrary arrested a number of ULFA leaders,<ref>M. Sakhawat Hussain, ''South Asian tangle'', page 204, Palok Publishers & Bangladesh Research Forum, 2007</ref> including Ranju Chowdhury, [[Arabinda Rajkhowa]] and [[Anup Chetia]], to support Indian action against militancy.<ref>PTI, "[http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article448844.ece ULFA leader arrested in Bangladesh]", ''[[The Hindu]]'', 2010-06-07</ref> |
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In 2002, nine Islamic groups including Indian militant organizations [[Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam]] (MULTA), Muslim United Liberation Front of Assam (MULFA) and Muslim Volunteer Force (MVF), Pakistani militant organization [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] (HUM), Myanmar groups [[Rohingya Solidarity Organization]] (RSO) and Arakan Ronhingya Islamic Front of Mynamar (ARIFM), and [[Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami]], a pan-South Asian militant organization outlawed in Bangladesh with leaders sentenced to death,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7797096.stm Three to die for UK envoy attack], BBC, 2008-12-23</ref> formed a coalition that declared the formation Greater Bangladesh as one of their aims.<ref>Hiranmay Karlekar, ''Bangladesh: |
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the next Afghanistan?'', page 169, Sage Publications, 2005, ISBN 0761934014</ref><ref name=Ved1/> Historically India has been accusing Bangladesh of supporting extremist organizations like ULFA and [[National Socialist Council of Nagaland]] (NSCN), while Bangladesh accused India of supporting similar organizations like [[Swadhin Bangabhumi Andolan]] and [[United People's Democratic Front]] (UPDF).<ref>Ashley J. Tellis and Michael Wills, ''Strategic Asia 2007-08: domestic political change and grand strategy'', page 231, National Bureau of Asian Research, 2007, ISBN 0971393885</ref> |
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==Illegal immigration== |
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{{see also|Illegal immigration in India}} |
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At the turn of the 21st century, Indian political circles started to take a serious look at Bangladeshi illegal immigrants infiltrating into India.<ref name=Schendel1>Willem van Schendel, ''The Bengal borderland: beyond state and nation in South Asia'', page 233-34, Anthem Press, 2005, ISBN 1843311453</ref> Achieving a "Greater Bangladesh" as [[Lebensraum]] (additional living space) is alleged to be the reason for large-scale illegal immigration from Bangladesh into India's northeastern states.<ref name="C"/> Similarly it is alleged that illegal immigration is actively encouraged by some political groups in Bangladesh as well as the state of Bangladesh to convert large parts of India's northeastern states and West Bengal into Muslim-majority areas that would subsequently seek to separate from India and join Muslim-majority Bangladesh.<ref name="C"/> It is claimed, though, that the figures of Bangladeshi migrants in India are to far-fetched to be accorded any credence.<ref name=Soman/> There also is an alleged parallel threat of turning Assam into a part of a Greater West Bengal.<ref>Harendranath Barua and Yogeśa Dāsa, ''Reflections on Assam, 1944-1983'', page 185, Harendranath Barua Memorial Society, 1992</ref> In 1950s, [[Atulya Ghosh]], a leader of the Congress, had called to form a Greater West Bengal by annexing territory of neighboring Bihar.<ref>Joya Chatterji, ''The spoils of partition: Bengal and India, 1947-1967'', page 46, Cambridge University Press, 2007, ISBN 0521875366</ref> |
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Bangladesh is under pressure from India as a source of rebellion in Indian North-East for this Indian perception.<ref name=Soman>Zakia Soman and Jimmy Dabhi, ''Peace and Justice'', page 138-39, Pearson Education India, 2010, ISBN 8131729443</ref> It is also hard pressed to convince India that encouraging migration is not a state policy of Bangladesh.<ref name=Soman/> The diplomatic difficulty is increased by the failure of India to comprehend that supporting Indian rebels in a plot to carve out a Greater Bangladesh would bring very little strategic dividend to Bangladesh.<ref name=Soman/> The state of Bangladesh denied the existence of these immigrants while stripping them of their Bangladeshi citizenship.<ref name=Schendel1/> The Centre for Women and Children Studies estimated in 1998 that 27,000 Bangladeshis have been forced into prostitution in India<ref>Donna M. Hughes, Laura Joy Sporcic, Nadine Z. Mendelsohn and Vanessa Chirgwin, [http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/banglad.htm Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation], Coalition Against Trafficking in Women</ref><ref>Bimal Kanti Paul; Syed Abu Hasnath, "Trafficking in Bangladeshi Women and Girls", ''Geographical Review'', p.268-276, April 2000</ref> |
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One Indian proposition is that the state of Bangladesh is pursuing an territorial design seeking a Lebensraum for its teeming population and trying to establish a Greater Bangladesh.<ref name=Schendel1/> Another proposition called for capturing one or two districts in Bangladesh and sending illegal immigrants there.<ref name=Schendel1/><ref>"Send All Infiltrators to a Space in Bangladesh", ''The Shillong Times'', 20 January 2003</ref> Yet another proposition called for killing off Bangladeshi immigrants in India to thwart the designs of state of Bangladesh.<ref>Falguni Burman, "Check Bangla Influx for Survival: VHP", ''The Assam Tribune'', 20 January 2003</ref> Scholars have also reflected that under the guise of anti-Bangladeshi immigrant movement it is actually an anti-Muslim agenda pointed towards Bangladeshi Muslims by false propaganda and widely exaggerated claims on immigrant population.<ref>[http://arts.monash.edu.au/mai/asaa/rizwanashamshad.pdf POLITICS AND ORIGIN OF THE INDIA-BANGLADESH BORDER FENCE, p: 12]</ref> |
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===Nellie massacre=== |
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{{see also|Nellie massacre}} |
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In [[Assam]], [[Assam agitation|agitation]] against immigrants started as early as 1979, led by [[All Assam Students Union]].<ref>[http://dm.architexturez.org/digitalNE/assam%20agitation.htm From 1979 to 1985: The Anti-Foreigners Movement in Assam]</ref> Their demand was to put a stop on the influx of immigrants and deportation of those who have already settled.<ref name="ReferenceA">[http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/assam/documents/papers/illegal_migration_in_assam.htm Report on illegal migration into assam]</ref> It gradually took violent form and ethnic violence started between Assamese and Bengalis, mostly Muslim. It eventually led to the infamous [[Nellie massacre]] in 1983 due to a controversy over the 1983 election.<ref>[http://www.twocircles.net/special_reports/nellie_1983.html Nellie 1983: A series by TwoCircles.net]</ref> In 1985 [[Government of India|Indian Government]] signed the [[Assam accord]] with the leaders of the agitation to stop the issue.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>[http://aasc.nic.in/Acts%20and%20Rules%20(GOA)/Implementation%20of%20Assam%20Accord%20Deptt/Assam%20Accord.pdf Full text of the accord]</ref> As per the accord India started building a fence along the Assam-Bangladesh border which is now almost complete.<ref>[http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/assam/documents/papers/assam_accord_1985.htm#Assam_Accord Achievements of Assam accord]</ref> However Assam also has a large number of genuine Indian Muslim Bengalis. It is difficult to distinguish between illegal Bangaldeshis and local [[Bengali people|Bengali]] speakers.<ref>[http://www.gcim.org/attachements/GMP%20No%2042.pdf Indifference, impotence, and intolerance:transnational Bangladeshis in India, Sujata Ramachandran]</ref> In some cases genuine Indian citizens have been discriminated<ref name="satp.org">[http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/assam/documents/papers/illegal_migration_in_assam.htm Report on illegal migration into Assam]</ref><ref>[http://newsblaze.com/story/20091013071308shan.nb/topstory.html India Ignores Illegal Migration In Northeast India, People Continue to Suffer]</ref> Allegations exist that [[Hindu nationalism|nationalist]] parties such as the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] as well as the [[Indian National Congress]] have discriminated against Bengali-speaking Muslims.<ref>[http://nation.ittefaq.com/artman/exec/view.cgi/44/24518 Making a 'menace' of migrants, Vir Sanghvi] The Nation - 6 January 2006</ref> |
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Ethnic and religious tensions in the Indian North East had led to massacre of Bengali-speaking Muslims in Nellie in February 1983.<ref>K. Warikoo, ''Himalayan Frontiers of India'', page 174, Taylor & Francis, 2009, ISBN 0415468396</ref> The greatest carnage against immigrants occurred in 18 February when 990 in Neille and 585 in Barbori were killed.<ref>Hemendra Narayan, ''25 years on Nellie Still haunts'', Nellie India Massacre Assam, 2008, ISBN 8175259426</ref> Villages were burned while women and children identified as immigrant Muslims were hacked into pieces.<ref name=Harsh>Harsh Mander, "[http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/12/14/stories/2008121450100300.htm Nellie: India’s forgotten massacre]", ''[[The Hindu]]'', 2008-12-14</ref> Smuggling and illegal immigration along the Indian-Bangladeshi border has been identified as major cause of killing of more than 3,000 people in the massacre.<ref>Gupta, Basu and Chattarji, ''Globalization in India: Contents and Discontents'', page 66, Pearson Education India, 2010, ISBN 813171988X</ref> The Neille Massacre has been identified one of the earliest state-sanctioned attempts at [[ethnic cleansing]] that was followed by similar incidents in [[1984 anti-Sikh riots|Delhi (1984)]], Bhagalpur (1989), [[Mumbai Riots|Mumbai (1993)]] and [[2002 Gujarat violence|Gujarat (2002)]].<ref name=Harsh/> |
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===The Sinha Report=== |
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{{see also|India–Bangladesh border}} |
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In a 1998, Lieutenant General [[S.K. Sinha]], then the [[Governor of Assam]] and later the [[Governor of Jammu and Kashmir]], wrote a report to [[K.R. Narayanan]], then the [[President of India]] claiming that massive illegal immigration from Bangladesh was directly linked with "the long-cherished design of Greater Bangladesh," and also quoted pre-1971 comments from late [[Pakistani Prime Minister]] [[Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto]] and late [[President of Bangladesh]] [[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]] endorsing the inclusion of Assam into [[East Pakistan]] (now Bangladesh).<ref name="C"/><ref name="R">{{Cite web|title=Assam governor asks Centre to seal Bangladesh border|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/feb/13secu.htm|author=Arup Chandra|date=1999-02-13|accessdate=2010-08-21}}</ref> Anxiety and popular anger over illegal immigration prompted political unrest in the state of Assam, and criticism has increased over the Indian government's failure to secure its borders with Bangladesh and stop the illegal immigration.<ref name="C"/><ref name="R"/> |
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[[Indian National Congress]] and [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] accused Sinha of raking up communal passion.<ref>Special Correspondent, "[http://www.hindu.com/2008/07/01/stories/2008070156341200.htm Congress blames S.K. Sinha]", ''The Hindu'', July 01, 2008</ref><ref>Noorul Huda, "[http://pd.cpim.org/2005/0918/09182005_assam.htm On Supreme Court’s Verdict On IMDT Act-II]''Peoples Democracy'', September 18, 2005, CPIM</ref> Willem van Schendel compared the report of Sinha with similar of instances of inferring state sponsored plots from smuggling and immigration, which is an identified political phenomenon.<ref>Michael Rosler and Tobias Wendl, ''Forntiers and Borderlands: Anthropological Perspectives'', page 91, Peter Lang, 1999, ISBN 3631350139</ref> Indian Council of World Affairs wrote about the report that "his suggestions regarding a Greater Bangladesh are... highly biased and prejudiced as well as unrealistic."<ref>India quarterly, Volume 49, page 82, Indian Council of World Affairs, 1993</ref> Sinha was accused by Muslim politicians of Assam as a "Hindu chauvinist" who "virtually doubted the patriotism of indigenous Muslims" as his report claimed that Muslims in areas bordering Bangladesh might opt to join Bangladesh.<ref>R.K. Pruthi, ''An Encyclopaedic Survey Of Global Terrorism In 21St Century'', page 90, Anmol Publications, 2002, ISBN 8126110910</ref> In context of a "phobia" of Greater Bangladesh, a Muslim Member of the Parliament was quoted as saying that the assumption of Muslim immigrants flocking into Assam is a part of a subversive conspiracy is as imaginary as assuming a traitor or a rebel in every Muslim.<ref>Bimal J. Dev and Dilip Kumar Lahiri, ''Assam Muslims: politics & cohesion'', page 155, Mittal Publications, 1985</ref> |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist|2}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2010}} |
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{{Bangladesh-India relations}} |
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{{Conspiracy theories}} |
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[[Category:Bangladesh–India relations]] |
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[[Category:Geography of Bangladesh]] |
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[[Category:Politics of Bangladesh]] |
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[[Category:Politics of India]] |
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[[Category:Conspiracy theories]] |
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[[Category:Fringe theory]] |
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Revision as of 18:02, 12 September 2011
a fake concept