BSF atrocities continue

It is indeed a matter of serious concern that India-Bangladesh borders remain as dangerous as ever, courtesy of the persistent violence being perpetrated by the Indian border guards, Border Security Forces, despite a number of top level initiatives from both countries and assurances from the highest level of government in India. If reports in the last few days are anything to go by, the situation along the border appears to have worsened. On Saturday, the BSF shot dead a Bangladeshi and injured three others along the Benapole border. On Friday, Indian smugglers abducted a Bangladesh Border Guards havilder and a flag meeting between BGB and BSF failed to secure his return. He was however returned early Saturday after intervention of the highest level of officials. On Thursday, the Bangladesh government formally protested the inhuman torture of Bangladeshi national Habibur Rahman who was brutally tortured by Indian border guards at Mairashi camp in Murshidabad for failing to pay Tk 2,000 in bribe. Worryingly, according to a report published in New Age on Saturday, an Indian human rights group alleged that the Indian government was putting pressure on the Bangladeshi authorities to make Habibur Rahman change his statement. Bear in mind, last year, in March, the BGB and BSF chief signed an agreement on the use of non-lethal weapons along the Indo-Bangladesh border, while the Indian prime minister, through the joint communiqué published after the visit of the Bangladeshi prime minister to Delhi in February 2010, had provided assurances on stopping extra-judicial killings of unarmed Bangladeshis along the border. In May last year, the Indian home minister further reiterated India’s assurance on the issue. Given the prevailing situation, time has come to seriously question the commitment of the Indian government and its authorities to address the issue of the killing and torture of Bangladeshis along the border, something which is not just a cause of serious grievance and injury, but also an ‘insult’ to the notion of friendly relations, for the people of Bangladesh.

While the government of Bangladesh and India over the last two years worked towards forging stronger ties, it is indeed noteworthy that during every single major diplomatic and political event between the two countries – be it Hasina’s visit to Delhi, Sonia Gandhi’s and Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka – the BSF resorted to killing Bangladeshi nationals along the borders. One would not be mistaken in interpreting a ‘message’ in the timings of the killings. Moreover, the use of non-lethal weapons along the borders seems to have turned into a curse for Bangladeshis, as BSF has now resorted to medieval forms of killing such as stoning, beating, hacking, torture and running speed boats over victims. Now, if it is indeed true that the Indian government is trying to make the Bangladeshi authorities to make the victim change his statement, then the ‘message’ from India becomes all the more clearer.     

At a juncture when the many parts of the world, including the Indian media and human rights groups, are waking up to the atrocities of BSF on Bangladeshis, the Bangladeshi government would well-advised to revisit their relations with the big neighbour, to revisit the pledges to India they are too eager to deliver on so far, to refrain from trying to protect India’s interest ahead of Bangladesh’s, for example, by trying to change the victim’s statement, and make India diplomatically accountable for failing to respect the rights of Bangladeshi citizens. 

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Brutality at the borders

Need a change in BSF attitude. 

 

The Tv footage of a Bangladeshi being tortured by BSF personnel was, to say the least, appalling and contemptible. It shows a depraved mentality. The Indian TV channels deserve compliments for exposing the brutal side of the BSF behaviour at the borders. The pictures were a shocking and outrageous narrative of how one cattle smuggler was tied hand and feet after being deprived of his clothes and mercilessly beaten up by the BSF jawans, apparently for not paying up the BSF for plying his trade, smuggling cows. 

We have in the past repeatedly highlighted the issue of BSF highhandedness and their rather trigger free attitude on the borders, and called for reining in the Indian border guards. If anything, the TV footage has vindicated our position.

Killings of Bangladeshi nationals at the borders by BSF have been taking place with impunity. Nothing has been done to bring down these killings despite assurances from the highest quarters in India. Regrettably, according to human rights bodies, in the last three years more than 200 Bangladeshi nationals have fallen victims to BSF firing, among them many women and children, and many tortured to death by the BSF. 

It is a matter of regret that these should continue to occur given the state of bilateral relationship between the two countries. Descriptions of the Indo-Bangladesh border as the “world's deadliest frontier” or “one of the world's most dangerous border” are some of the testimonials to the insensitive way that the border is being managed. 

Although such incidents have been termed as human rights violation by the Human Rights Watch in 2010, the perpetrators have apparently gone scot-free so far. We are glad that the Indian authorities have acted quickly by suspending the jawans. We would hope that these errant BSF men would be made examples of.

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‘Fun-tastic’ education and campus killings

Corporal punishment is often defined broadly as bodily punishment of any kind. Bangladesh is celebrating the first anniversary of the abolition of corporal punishment in schools on January 13. The credo of Sir Frank Peters, the pioneer in this noble campaign, is: Learning should be FUN-tastic – help them know; help them grow.” We sincerely admire his endeavour.

As a knowledgeable person Sir Frank should be aware what The Bible Says: “He who spareth the rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him correcteth him betimes” (Proverbs 13:24). Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his soul from hell.” (Proverbs 23:13-14). This was the inbred belief among parents that beating children was a corrective method. But modern professional organizations of physicians and psychologists have suggested that spanking is damaging and leads to family violence and child abuse. They have suggested that spanking teaches physically aggressive behaviour which the child will imitate. Well, though the conclusion is not definitive, but it is incontestable that severe forms of physical abuse does more harm than good. At least this can be asserted with certainty that corporal punishment does induce fear among school goers.

One of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy, Aristotle – who believed that liberty as well as equality are chiefly to be found in democracy and they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost – asserted over twenty-three hundred years ago that Man is by nature a political animal. So there is no argument over the necessity and importance of politics; but nowhere else in the world politicking and politicisation have assumed such an intolerably demonic perilous shape in the political scenario as in Bangladesh where the people – even professionals like lawyers, physicians, journalists, freedom fighters et al – are sharply divided into two distinct political camps. It is anybody’s guess what might happen unless the ongoing imbroglio over the caretaker government issue and the next general election are not amicably resolved.

No other people know better than the Bangladeshis how politics can vitiate academic environment. Nevertheless, what are posing potential threat to academic atmosphere are the violent fights on the DU and all the other ‘varsities as well as colleges since 1974 when several students were shot dead near the TSC. Over the past three years the pro-Awami League Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) factions have been engaged in internecine mortal clashes. A fourth-year student of Jahangirnagar University succumbed to his injuries on January 10 after he was brutally beaten up allegedly by activists of a rival faction of BCL. Statistics of the victims of campus murders may not be readily available, but the figure should be terrifying.

Let us turn to our foremost centre of higher education. The University of Dhaka (DU), which celebrated its 90th birth anniversary last year, now boasts 10 faculties, 48 departments, 9 institutes and 26 research centres, and 17 dormitories. Two-thirds of the faculty members have degrees from European, North American, Australian and other foreign universities; and some of them achieved international renown for their scholarship and have taught at well-known ‘varsities and institutions abroad.

This ‘Oxford of the East’ had a very stormy start when many Calcuttan leaders were unhappy with the government’s intention to set up a university in Dhaka. A delegation headed by Dr Rash Bihari Ghosh, met the viceroy and contended that “Muslims of Eastern Bengal were in large majority cultivators and they would benefit in no way by the foundation of a university”. Lord Hardinge told Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, vice-chancellor of the Calcutta University, that he (Hardinge) was determined to establish a university in Dhaka in spite of their vehement opposition. However, modelled on modern British universities such as Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool, the DU itself became a model for Indian universities at Allahabad, Aligarh, Annamalai, Benaras, Hyderabad and Lucknow.

 There is no gainsaying that Sir Frank has inspired many teachers and parents here to seriously look into the issue of corporal punishment. Can he begin his second phase of campaign against senseless murders on the campuses taking place with horrifying frequency? For example, he may organise countrywide human chain to press home the issue. But a word of caution! Before doing so he must get assurance from the Home Minster that that his harmless programme shall not be attacked by the police.

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Ghulam Azam taken into custody

A major step forward in the trial process.

 

The arrest of former ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Ghulam Azam on Wednesday adds a vital phase to the trial process begun against the war criminals and those who committed crimes against humanity in 1971.

This is an important turning point in the trial process. Just as men like Tikka Khan were perpetrators of war crimes, Ghulam Azam symbolised betrayal and collaboration with the occupation forces of Pakistan and of crimes committed by Al-Badr, al-Shams, etc. 

As the ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami, he was instrumental in aiding the Pakistani forces to form the al-Badr and al-Shams killer squads. 

These storm troopers were created to annihilate freedom fighters, political leaders and workers, commit arson, and carry out loot, plunder and rape. He was allegedly behind the creation of Razakars as the ancillary force of a murderous Pakistani regime.

What we particularly recall with horror is the heinous snuffing out of Bengali intellectuals just hours before the dawn of independence with the ulterior motive of crippling the new nation.

Without any prejudice to the trial process, now that this man has been taken into custody, the law should take its own course to bring him to justice. Though he is responsible for a shameful betrayal of his countrymen and committed crimes of historic proportions against humanity, we would like to see a fair and just trial against all the accused persons in the International Crimes Tribunal. 

That the trial could not take place during the last forty years is a national shame. Successive governments either deliberately adopted a laid back attitude or were reluctant to initiate any process of trial. We recall here with anger that President Ziaur Rahman abolished the Collaborators' Act and allowed the return of Golam Azam to Bangladesh, thus facilitating a restoration of his citizenship.

Ghulam Azam was among those who did not show even a hint of remorse for their vicious betrayal of the people even in an independent Bangladesh and went about doing their politics defending their past role. They deserve nothing but our scorn. 

Thus, it is with a sense of accomplishment that we view the trial of the war criminals, however belatedly our process of repaying our debts to the martyrs can be said to have begun.

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A good initiative

Personal visits are good, but the system needs to be fixed.

The communications minister deserves compliments for giving his personal attention to many things in his ministry that are virtually in a state of decay. The other day he was at the BRTA office to see for himself the condition there. And we are not surprised to learn of his reaction at finding most of the things there in disorder.

Of the many things that were not working, or were there that should not have been, were 'dalals' using both money and links in the BRTA office, to get vehicle documents renewed, newly issued etc. And many of the officers were absent from their work places - quite a normal phenomenon in our country we must add. There were many things that the local heads of the office should have done without having to be directed by the minister, for example, increasing the number of booths for the public. It only shows that those in charge are least interested in enhancing the quality of service that they are obligated to provide to the public.

In fact several departments in the ministry of communications, particularly the BRTA, are reported to be hot bed of corruption. Much of the ailments that afflict the transport sector, we are constrained to suggest, stem from this office. There is a strong nexus between the crooks and certain category of officials at the BRTA that collude to issue fake documents including vehicle registration and licenses. 

But we feel that while such visits are necessary these may prove to be very temporary and short-lived palliatives unless something more permanent was done. What we have in mind is the correction of the systemic flaws. And the system should set up in a manner that it should function normally and have mechanism for internal oversight. There too must be strong action against those that are guilty of dereliction of duty.

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