Agartala, Aug 12 (Representative) Apprehending a fresh exodus from trouble-torn Bangladesh, the Border Security Force (BSF) has stepped up vigil along the international boundary in Tripura, even as rights and religious bodies here demanded Indian authorities intervene to secure the life and livelihood of minorities in the neighbouring nation. Sources at the border said a large number of Bangladeshi families and Awami League supporters have assembled on the other side of the wire fencing in different locations of Tripura seeking entry into India alleging atrocities and attacks on them over the week. “Thousands of homeless minorities from in and around Dhaka, Patuakhali, Syllet, Srimangal, Brahmanbaria, Comilla, Noakhali, Feni and Chittagong have been moving towards the border along Tripura and Meghalaya and pleading with the BSF to allow them to enter India, but they have not been allowed,” said a senior state home department official. During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, a similar situation arose, but there was no fencing then between th countries. As a result, about 16 lakh people especially Hindus and Buddhists from then East Pakistan took shelter in Tripura. Assam, Meghalaya, and West Bengal also witnessed a huge influx and settlement subsequently because the Indian government allowed refugees. The BSF sources said villagers assembled on the other side of the fencing in the isolated pockets in Kailashahar, Kamalpur, Khowai, Simna, Narshinghar, Belabar, Kamalasagar, Sonamura, and Sabroom seeking entry into Indian territory. Since India has decided not to allow anybody from Bangladesh now, BSF took a tough stand to prevent them. “In a few places, we have spoken to the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) after listening to the horrifying experience of the sufferers and requested they be taken back with assurance that their security and dignity will be protected.
We are also trying to convince them not to leave the country, but rather apprise the local administration of their plight,” said a BSF official posted at the Tripura border. Meanwhile, the rights and religious bodies of Tripura separately demanded a boycott of Bangladeshi goods and a stop to issuing medical visas to Bangladeshi citizens except for minorities of that country “following atrocities, loot, attacks, murders, and killings of Hindus for a week”. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) demanded that India ensure the protection of Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and the formation of a committee under the Additional Director General of BSF eastern command to secure the life and livelihood of minorities in that country. “Unless the caretaker government in Bangladesh takes immediate steps against the communal forces and compensates for the losses suffered by the minorities, we shall have no other option but to resort to the blockade against the majority community of Bangladesh. But we shall go to the last extent internationally to ensure the rights and privileges of minorities in Bangladesh and no one should leave their motherland,” they warned. “Every day lakhs of Bangladeshi citizens come to India through Tripura, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and Assam for medical treatment in various Indian cities, shopping, and tourism. Bangladesh is fully dependent on India for sugar, onion and cosmetic items besides medical care. But with the patronage of the Bangladeshi Army, so-called protestors raised slogans against India and spread hatred, which was shocking and unacceptable,” said Chandan Chakraborty, a member of the Sanatan Rights Association here.