Bangladesh seems to be playing an extremely dangerous game with its national security. If the recent steps taken by the interim government which is a stooge of the ISI are not reversed then Bangladesh is not just staring at a grave problem, but will also ensure that the menace slips into India.
India is already affected by the illegal migration that takes place from Bangladesh. Further, India has also been dealing with the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (HuJI-B) a proscribed terror group in India.
A mass movement broke out in Bangladesh which eventually led to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League. The protests have however not died down as yet and Dhaka continues to be on the boil.
In the midst of all this, the interim government coming under pressure from the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement banned the students’ wing of the Awami League under the anti-terror law. The order banning the students’ wing called the Chhatra League had indulged in rape, torture, harassment in student dormitories and tender manipulation. The order said that even after the fall of the Awami League government, the Chhatra League has been involved in conspiratorial, destructive and provocative activities.
Witch-hunt
The order banning they Chhatra League is manipulative and a miscalculated move. There is no indication that the body had been involved in acts of terror. Moreover India has multiple dossiers on terror groups and their sympathisers operating on Bangladesh soil. However none of the dossiers even have a mention about the Chhatra League and the same could be said about the other countries as well.
Bangladesh watchers tell Organiser that this is a move that could backfire. A group that has remained quiet could hit back as the ban would place them underground. This would well see the mushrooming of another students’ uprising and would ensure that Bangladesh plunges into further crisis.
The order clearly reeks of bias and amounts to a witch-hunt against Sheikh Hasina’s party. The interim government would eventually have to announce elections in Bangladesh and prior to doing so, it would want to finish off Hasina and anyone connected with her, so that this would pave the way for an ISI backed party the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Jamaat-e-Islami to form the government.
The formation of a government by the BNP and Jamaat would give the ISI a further free hand to operate in Bangladesh as both parties are close to the Pakistan spy agency.
Double standards
While on one hand, the interim government in Bangladesh banned the Chhatra League, on the other hand it had lifted the ban on the lifted the ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami and its students’ wing, the Islamic Chhatra Shibir. Both these organisations are known sympathisers of terror activities and yet the government led by Muhammad Yunus lifted the ban.
The various dossiers prepared by several Intelligence agencies says that the Islamic Chhatra Shibir had secured a membership of the International Islamic Federation of Students Organisation. The outfit also maintains close links with the ISI. With the support of the ISI, it is working to back Islamist subversive agenda in many regions in India, particularly in areas bordering Bangladesh. The outfit receives a considerable amount of funds from the ISI. In addition to this the outfit has also received funds from Saudi Arabia, the Intelligence agencies say.
Further the agencies say that terrorist outfits operating in South Asia and Afghanistan carry out their activities in Bangladesh through the Islamic Chhatra Shibir. The outfit has also been accused of helping terror groups in South Asia recruit Muslim youth and indoctrinate them into becoming fanatics. Further it was found that these youth were sent to Pakistan and Afghanistan and many were brought under the command of Osama Bin Laden when he was alive. The Islamic Chhatra Shibir is also part of the large network of the HUJI, Jamaat-e-Islami, and Islami Oikyo Jote. It has also aided terror groups in developing infrastructure for training and also setting up of camps and shelters to stockpile weapons and supplies in Bangladesh.
The Jamaat on the other hand is banned in India for aiding and abetting acts of terror. Founded in 1941 by Abdul Ala Maudadi, this outfit played a major role in setting up terror groups in Bangladesh at the behest of the ISI following the liberation of Bangladesh. It has actively been pushing terrorists and illegal migrants into India at the behest of Pakistan in a bid to change the demographics in states such as West Bengal and Assam. The aim of the ISI is to make these states into a Muslim majority. Further the intention is also to carry out acts of terror in India.
In addition to this the Kashmir wing of the Jamaat had encouraged and aided insurgency in Jammu And Kashmir.
In 2019, US Congressman, Jim Banks had raised concerns over the growing influence of the radical Jamaat in South Asia and said much of the violence in Kashmir is linked to the outfit. He also said that the violence is being perpetrated by the Jamaat with the help of its factions in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Looking at the manner in which these outfits operate and the larger agenda they have, it is clear that these have direct links to terrorist groups and yet the interim government in Bangladesh lifted the ban based on the instructions from Pakistan.
The implications in India
For India, these developments are obviously worrisome. With the ban being lifted on these two terror groups, they can now indulge in institutionalised terrorism from Bangladesh. They will have the complete backing of the administration to aid, abet terror and also enhance their infiltration drive into India.
While Assam under the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma is battling this menace, the same cannot be said about the Mamata Banerjee ruled West Bengal. With the Jamaat getting unbridled power and an assurance that its activities would go unchecked, their obvious target would be India and create trouble in the region.
Intelligence Bureau officials have warned that there could be a major push by these groups to revive the HuJI in India and also enhance illegal immigration into India.
The illegal immigrants do not just come to India in search of work. There is a clear pattern that is involved and that is to change the demographics in the bordering states of India.
In Bengal, there have been multiple instances when these elements have entered and then become dominant in several parts of the state owing to political patronage. Following their entry, these persons have indulged in acts of terror, counterfeiting and drug smuggling. With the kind of money that is being pumped in and the money they make through illegal means, they have become extremely rich and powerful. In many areas, they have with the help of the local politicians driven Hindus out of their homes and land. If the Hindus refuse to give up their lands for a throw away price offered by these Islamists, they use their political clout to drive the Hindus out.
The road ahead would be tough for the Indian states bordering Bangladesh. The problem however has not been restricted just to the bordering states. These elements are found in the Southern states of Karnataka and Kerala in large number. They go down South under the garb of working as plantation workers and in many cases, the NIA has learnt that some of them have even set up terror modules in Karnataka and Kerala. The same lot of people were roped in by the HuJI backed by the Jamaat to carry out the blast at Bodhgaya.
However there is a problem on hand for Bangladesh as well. The lifting of the ban on these two outfits will only give further rise to radical Islam and the country like Pakistan would be ruled by the Mullahs. This would only lead to a more rigid Bangladesh where sensible voices will be crushed and radical Islam would prevail.
