|
NEIGHBOURS: BANGLADESH
HOW THINGS SPUN OUT OF CONTROL
| Pyrdiwah: BDR's surprise
aggression |
 |
 |
| 1.
Villagers warn BSF outpost of BDR movement. The platoon ignores
it. 1,000 BDR men sorround them on the night of April 15. |
2.Claiming
to liberate their land, the BDR starts digging trenches. BSF stays
put. On April 17, BDR chief Rehman says mission done. |
|
3.
Flummoxed, BSF chief Jagat and Home Secretary Kamal Pande order border
alert. Controversy over who cleared the counter-strike. |
| Boraibari: BSF's bungled
counter-strike |
 |
 |
| 4.
On April 18 India's counter offensive to capture a BDR post inside
Bangladesh flounders. 16 BSF personnel tortured and killed. |
5.Foreign
Secretary Chokila Iyer reads the riot act to the high commissioner.
Bangladesh restores status quo ante on April 19.' |
|
6.Nation
outraged by pictures, but PM Vajpayee and counterpart Hasina downplay
the incident for the sake of strategic bilateral ties.
|
Force Strengths
India: Border Security Force (BSF)
In the North-east sector the BSF has 50
battalions totalling 50,000 men. Each battalion patrols a 90 km stretch.
Armed with automatic rifles and mortars.
Bangladesh: Bangladesh Rifles (BDR)
Consisting of 25 to 30 battalions, BDR
is trained by the army and led by army officers. They too have automatic
rifles and infantry mortar.
The BDR Cowboy
 When
BDR chief Major-General A.L.M. Fazlur Rehman met his BSF counterpart Gurbachan
Jagat for the bi-annual border conference in March this year, he told
him that he had been authorised by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed
to sort out the border dispute with India. A fortnight later Rehman translated
those words into reality by asking his troops to "reclaim" Pyrdiwah
village from India. Rehman has always been sentimentally attached to Pyrdiwah.
He received his army training in a Mukti Bahini camp in this very village
towards the end of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Known for his cowboy
tactics, Rehman has advocated a tough line on India and Myanmar. BDR troops
were involved in a skirmish with the Myanmarese Army in January this year.
Dhaka watchers describe Rehman as a motivated soldier with an average
professional and academic record. A deputation to the BDR is considered
as the end of the road for career officers. However, Rehman feels otherwise.
From the day the Government sidelined him to the BDR in 1999, he is out
to prove that the force is in no way inferior to the Bangladesh Army.
During the recent border conference at Delhi, BSF officials found him
to be an arrogant and haughty man who arrived late for conferences and
ceremonial dinners. He flew in for the conference from Kathmandu with
his wife and sister-in-law and enjoyed a holiday in Goa and Bangalore
at the Indian Government's expense.
-Shishir Gupta
Combat Zone
Pyrdiwah: In East Khasi Hill district
of Meghalaya. It is an enclave claimed by Bangladesh but in India's control.
The village of 230 acres of arecanut trees sees frequent skirmishes
Boraibari:In Kurigram district of Bangladesh
bordering Assam. It is a slushy enclave claimed by India but under Dhaka's
control. Population of 1,000 is hostile to the BSF as it frequently fires
on them.
The Dead: Signs Of Torture
Of the 16 bodies handed over only seven could
be identified. And these bore clear marks of torture:
Constable Sukhwinder: Cut injury on forehead
and point-blank range bullet injury on body..
Dy Commandant B.R. Mondol: Cut injury
on neck and cheek. Was probably killed a day after capture.
Sub-Inspector Panna Lal: Bullet injury
on left arm. Vertical knife cut mark on forehead.
Head Constable Raman Gouda: Cut injury
on head and right arm, cut injuries on right leg.
Constable Mafiuddin: Four cut marks on
body.
Constable Gurbax Singh: Cut injury on
right temporal region and arm by sharp object.
Constable S. Dhala: Bullet injuries on
chest/arm.
The Border: Crux Of The Problem
India and Bangladesh share 4,096 km of border
based on a dividing line drawn by Sir Cyril Radcliffe during Partition.
Only 6.5 km are yet to be demarcated. The crux of the problem, however,
are 161 enclaves in each other's territory that continue to be disputed.
India claims 111 enclaves spread over 17,000 acres that fall in Bangladesh
territory. Bangladesh's 50 such enclaves are spread over 10,000 acres
in Indian territory. The 1974 India-Bangladesh Border Agreement was signed
to settle such disputes. In December 2000, foreign secretaries of the
two countries agreed to set up two joint working groups to demarcate the
boundary and exchange enclaves. While India has sent terms of reference
for the groups, Bangladesh has not replied.
|
METRO TODAY
Web
Exclusives