The images from Bangladesh are disturbing and the anger on the streets is palpable. They are reminiscent of scenes from Colombo just two years ago, when the Presidential Palace was ransacked after then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka.
According to a NDTV report: “On Monday, protesters set fire to a temporary shed at the residence of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh (now former Prime Minister). They also looted and vandalized Sheikh Hasina’s official residence in Dhaka, broke a statue of her father, Mujibur Rahman, with hammers, and set fire to his party offices as they celebrated her departure as Prime Minister.”
Such images have been widely circulated and analyzed by commentators in the last two days. I will refrain from commenting on whether Bangladesh is falling into the hands of radical Islamic groups or whether there was foreign involvement in Monday’s regime change.
My focus here is different. I want to explore the range of emotions that an average Indian has towards a country that has largely been a good neighbor. Next to the term ‘ghuspaithiye‘ (which gained notoriety with the influx of migrants shortly after 1947 from then-undivided Pakistan) and the range of emotions it evokes, there is a mixture of empathy, pain, shared legacy and a common love for Rabindra Sangeet-all experienced in degrees varied and at different times.
O ‘Ghuspaithiye‘ Feeling
For people living in parts of Assam, Tripura and the border districts of West Bengal and Bihar, mass migration from what was then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) between 1948 and 1965 had a significant impact on local demographics. The influx increased following the riots that surrounded the birth of Bangladesh in 1971. According to reliable estimates, there are nearly two million Bangladeshis in India, with half of them settled in Assam and West Bengal alone.
Since then, the term ‘ghuspaithiye‘, or ‘illegal immigrant’, has become ingrained in the Indian psyche, especially in the Bangladeshi context. The attitude towards these immigrants has often been contemptuous, motivated mainly by class prejudices. They are seen as poor, persecuted and a drain on scarce resources. However, they are not hated, probably due to another powerful feeling towards Bangladeshis: empathy.
We played a role in his release
This feeling of empathy arises from India’s active role in liberating Bangladesh from Pakistan after a bloody struggle. The partition of Pakistan was also seen by many Indians as vindication of the belief that the creation of a nation-state based on religion was a flawed concept – a belief that led to the partition of India in 1947. This sentiment persisted, and occasionally the Anti-India protests in Bangladesh are considered minor deviations from a well-behaved neighbor and are therefore mostly ignored.
Pain beyond the border
Growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, my generation was often exposed to news about nature’s fury in Bangladesh and its devastating impact. Reports of the November 1970 cyclone, one of the deadliest on record, indicated that close to 5,00,000 lives were lost in what was then East Pakistan. Another cyclone in 1985 killed 11,000 people and one in 1991 claimed nearly 1,50,000 lives.
These reports of widespread destruction often left us sad and there was a sense of shared pain. Combined with empathy, this constituted a significant part of the positive feeling we had towards Bangladesh.
They also love their Rabindra Sangeet
A strong Bengali identity played a crucial role in the transition from East Pakistan to Bangladesh. After liberation, Rabindranath Tagore’s Amar Sonar Bangla, written in 1905, became the national anthem of the new country. Rabindra Sangeet is as popular in West Bengal as it is across the border in Bangladesh. The beautiful Padma River that separates the two geographies has done nothing to diminish this shared legacy.
Given that ties between India and Bangladesh remained warm throughout Bangladesh’s tour, the feelings and emotions described above persisted. Hence the feeling of loss now that we see widespread vandalism taking place on the streets of Bangladesh.
As the Indian government considers its position and options amid the current turmoil in Bangladesh, it must remain aware of the shared legacy and common feelings held by people across the border. It should, therefore, strive to ensure that Bangladesh continues to be a good neighbor in the years to come. It’s not a difficult question, given the long history of bonhomie between the two countries.
(Mayank Mishra is Consulting Editor at NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
This story originally appeared on Ndtv.com read the full story
