Understanding West Bengal Politics (Indo-Pak War 1971 and Immigration)

This is in continuation of our previous three blogs

1) Understanding West Bengal politics The Partition – 1905 and the Reunification – 1911 
2) Understanding West Bengal politics Partition in 1947 – West Bengal and East Pakistan 
3) Understanding West Bengal Politics (Unresolved Border Problem in 1947 Partition of Bengal)

and in our preceding blog we mentioned we will look into Indo-Pak War in 1971 and subsequent immigration of Bangladeshi Hindus to India, but immigration had been a regular phenomenon since partition of our country in 1947.

In 1947, there was lesser exchange of population in Bengal as it happened for Punjab. Though Punjab passed through the initial months of mayhem, for following 67 years there has been no Hindu-Muslim problem or Sikh-Muslim problem in either parts of Punjab. East Punjab (Indian part of Punjab) had 33.09% of Muslims in 1941 which got reduced to 1.8% in 1951 and has not increased much. The Muslim population which stood at 29.5% in 1941 in West Bengal got reduced to 19.5% in 1951, has shot back to 25.5% in 2001.

After hindu migration in 1946 and 1947, further migration continued from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)to West Bengal. In 1950, it is estimated that a further 10 lakhs refugees crossed into West Bengal. The 1951 Census of India documented that 27% of Kolkata's population was East Bengali refugees.In 1960s, migration continued, right up to the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, both on an on-going basis and with sudden spurts during periods of communal unrest, such as the 1964 riots and the 1965 India-Pakistan War, when it is estimated that 600,000 refugees left for India. Estimates of the number of refugees up to 1970 are over 50 lakhs to West Bengal alone. This includes around 41 lakhs coming between 1946–1958 and 12 lakhs coming between 1959 and 1971.

The majority of East Bengali refugees settled in the new state of West Bengal, but a significant number also moved to the Barak Valley of Assam and the princely state of Tripura which eventually joined India in 1949. Around 5 lakhs were also settled in other parts of India, including the East Pakistan Displaced Persons' Colony (EPDP) in Delhi, subsequently renamed Chittaranjan Park and in Orissa. The estimated 5 lakhs Bengalis in Delhi and 3 lakhs in Mumbai are also largely East Bengali refugees and their descendants.

Another major influx came in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It is estimated that around 1 Crore refugees entered India during the early months of the war, of whom 15 lakhs may have stayed back after Bangladesh became independent.

We will look into Indo-Pakistani conflict which was sparked by the Bangladesh Liberation war later in this blog, before that we would like to bring in front of our readers how these refugees were exploited by political parties during those days.

The politics – ‘50s and ‘60s

The refugees in ’50s were mostly from Caste Hindus. They were sure that they had no future in East Pakistan and left for good, even that meant residing in a thatched hut on a marshy land parting the huge farm house in East Pakistan. Their desperation for a good living in this new land made the refugee movement slowly more violent. The Communists used this anger to take control of this movement. A very detailed description of events have been documented by the historian Prafulla Chakraborti. The Left leadership could channelize the movement to their ‘anti-imperialistic’ goal, suppressing the mayhems of Islamic rule in East Pakistan. So the United Central Refugee Council (UCRC) processions started to raise slogans totally unrelated to refugee problem, like the slogan against Imperialism in Korea or slogan for peace not war and against Anglo-American imperialism!! Not only that, one UCRC convention in 1952 adopted a list of resolutions which included:

‘vii) Exploitation of the country by foreign powers and discrimination against Russia and China in the field of international trade must be ended

vii) Equipment should be imported from Russia for the improvement of indigenous heavy industries.’

The Left-influenced refugee movement not only suppressed the continuous harassment of the Hindus in East Pakistan, they even went ahead in support of Pakistan. On 18 October 1952, UCRC meeting at Wellington Square condemned Shyama Prasad Mookherjee for demanding sanctions against Pakistan.On 7 April 1953, UCRC held a big demonstration and presented a charter of demands to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Significantly it had one of the demands as ‘Rehabilitation of displaced Muslims and grant of interim relief to them’, but no mention of refugees themselves for safely returning to East Pakistan in accordance with Nehru-Liaquat Pact!! The betrayal of the upper caste refugees about their own people in East Pakistan ensured the future illegal migration and continuous flow of today’s refugees, who are mostly what is considered as Scheduled Castes by Indian Constitution. This caste difference sealed the fate of the Hindu refugees for later years, an expression of upper caste Hindu leadership in Left, right and centre and their indifference.

West Bengal accepted the fate of Hindus in East Pakistan as normal. Throughout 60’s and 70’s, the political scenario in West Bengal was a race towards a communist revolution. The politically conscious people of different left stands were busy in engaging in violent actions against class enemies to bring revolution. The leftists slowly have conquered the total intellectual gamut of Bengali Hindus. The situations of the Hindus in East Pakistan never became any issue of debate amongst left, nobody mentioned that even after massive migration of the Hindu refugees in West Bengal.

The left influence on the Bengali Hindu mind was always strong. It has attracted Bengali youth from the days of the IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association). By 60’s the West Bengal intellectual world was overwhelmed by leftist ideas. The ’68 student rebellion in France, Vietnam War and Cold war between United States and Soviet Union, made the socialist liberation a dream for the youth in the world. Communist Party of India’s prominence (much due to refugee power), the revolutionary zeal of Naxalite movement and the support of the writers, academics, film directors, musicians to all these political movements - all practically turned West Bengal in a leftist state without the state power.

Bangladesh Liberation War

Bangladesh Liberation war, a fight between the habitually overriding West Pakistanis and the majority East Pakistanis. The Bangladesh Liberation war kindledjust after the 1970 Pakistani election, in which the East Pakistani Awami League won 167 of 169 seats in East Pakistan and secured a simple majority in the 313-seat lower house of the Majlis-e-Shoora – The Parliament of Pakistan. Awami League leader Sheikh MujiburRahman, popularly known as Bangabandhu(বঙ্গবন্ধু) presented the Six Points to the President of Pakistan and claimed the right to form the government. Leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, refused to return the premiership of Pakistan to Mujibur, President Yahya Khan called the military, dominated by West Pakistanis, to suppress dissent in East Pakistan.

Mass arrests of dissidents began, and attempts were made to disarm East Pakistani soldiers and police. After several days of strikes and non-co-operation movements, the Pakistani military cracked down on Dhaka on the night of 25 March 1971. The Awami League was banished, and many members fled into exile in India. Mujib was arrested on the night of 25–26 March 1971 at about 1:30 am (as per Radio Pakistan's news on 29 March 1971) and taken to West Pakistan. The next action carried out was Operation Searchlight, an attempt to kill the intellectual elite of the east.

Pakistan army carried out genocide for nine months. R. J. Rummel , the researcher on killings by the state authorities, described a chilling gendercidal ritual, similar to Nazi procedure towards Jewish Males:

“In what became province-wide acts of genocide, Hindus were sought out and killed on the spot. As a matter of course, soldiers would check males for the obligatedcircumcision among Moslems. If circumcised, they might live; if not, sure death.“

Approximately 1 Crore people fled East Pakistan and took refuge in the neighbouring Indian states.The East Pakistan-India border was opened to allow refugees safe shelter in India. The governments of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura established refugee camps along the border. The resulting flood of impoverished East Pakistani refugees placed an unbearable strain on India's already overburdened economy.

India- Pakistan War 1971

By November 1971, war seemed inevitable. Throughout November, thousands of people led by West Pakistani politicians marched in Lahore and across West Pakistan, calling for Pakistan to Crush India. India responded by starting a massive buildup of Indian forces on the border with East Pakistan. The Indian military waited until December, when the drier ground would make for easier operations and Himalayan passes would be closed by snow, preventing any Chinese intervention. On 23 November, Yahya Khan declared a state of emergency in all of Pakistan and told his people to prepare for war.

On the evening of 3 December Sunday, at about 5:40 pm, the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) launched a pre-emptive strikewith not more than 50 planes, on eleven airfields in north-western India, including Agra, which was 300 miles (480 km) from the border. This preemptive strike known as Operation Chengiz Khan.At the time of this attack the TajMahal was camouflaged with a forest of twigs and leaves and draped with burlap because its marble glowed like a white beacon in the moonlight.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi held that the air strikes were a declaration of war against India, in an address to the nation on radio that same evening. Indian Air Force responded with initial air strikes that very night. These air strikes were expanded to massive retaliatory air strikes the next morning and thereafter.

This marked the official start of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the immediate mobilisation of troops and launched a full-scale invasion. This involved Indian forces in a massive coordinated air, sea, and land assault. Indian Air Force started flying sorties against Pakistan from midnight. The main Indian objective on the western front was to prevent Pakistan from entering Indian soil. There was no Indian intention of conducting any major offensive into West Pakistan.

The Indian government repeatedly appealed to the international community, but failing to draw any response,the Indian leadership under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi quickly decided that it was more effective to end the East Pakistan genocide by taking armed action against Pakistan than to simply give refuge to those who made it across to refugee camps.Exiled East Pakistan army officers and members of the Indian Intelligence immediately started using these camps for recruitment and training of MuktiBahini guerrillas.

Pakistan attacked at several places along India's western border with Pakistan, but the Indian army successfully held their positions. The Indian Army quickly responded to the Pakistan Army's movements in the west and made some initial gains, including capturing around 5,795 square miles (15,010 sq.km) of Pakistan territory. Land gained by India in Pakistani Kashmir, Pakistani Punjab and Sindh sectors was later ceded in the Simla Agreement of 1972, as a gesture of goodwill.

                                                                   T-55 tank in 1971 war

On the eastern front, the Indian Army joined forces with the MuktiBahini to form the MitroBahini (Allied forces); the strategy adopted was a swift, three-pronged assault of nine infantry divisions with attached armoured units and close air support that rapidly converged on Dhaka, the capital of East Pakistan.Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, who commanded the eighth, twenty-third, and fifty-seventh divisions, led the Indian thrust into East Pakistan. As these forces attacked Pakistani formations, the Indian Air Force rapidly destroyed the small air contingent in East Pakistan and put the Dhaka airfield out of commission. In the meantime, the Indian Navy effectively blockaded East Pakistan.

The Indian campaign employed "blitzkrieg" techniques, exploiting weakness in the enemy's positions and bypassing opposition, and resulted in a swift victory. Faced with insurmountable losses, the Pakistani military capitulated in less than a fortnight. On 16 December, the Pakistani forces stationed in East Pakistan surrendered.Lasting just 13 days, it is considered to be one of the shortest wars in history.

On the brink of defeat around 14 December, the Pakistani Army, and its local collaborators(রাজাকার), systematically killed a large number of Bengali doctors, teachers and intellectuals, part of a pogramme against the Hindu minorities who constituted the majority of urban educated intellectuals. Young men, especially students, who were seen as possible rebels were also targeted. The extent of casualties in East Pakistan is not known. R.J. Rummel cites estimates ranging from 10to 30 lakhs people killed. Other estimates place the death toll lower, at 300,000. Bangladesh government figures state that Pakistani forces aided by collaborators killed 30 lakhspeople, raped 200,000 women and displaced millions of others.

Bangladesh became an independent nation, the world's fourth most populous Muslim state. MujiburRahman was released from a West Pakistani prison, returning to Dhaka on 10 January 1972 and becoming the first President of Bangladesh and later its Prime Minister.

In 2010 Bangladesh government set up a tribunal to prosecute the people involved in alleged war crimes and those who collaborated with Pakistan. According to the Government, the defendants would be charged with crimes against humanity, genocide, murder, rape and arson. Taking a cue to which Shahbag Protest began on 5^th February 2013 and later spread to other parts of Bangladesh. 

After so much turmoil in a society within the period from 1947 to 1971, there are nearly no books, films or literature on this subject of forced migration of such a large number of people. There have been only stories and films made on the misery of refugee lives but never mentioning who made them refugees. Celebrated film maker Ritwik Ghatak’s films are its best examples. Its not that the refugees have forgotten their past, rather they flaunt their link with East Bengal ceremoniously. There is a famous football club named ‘East Bengal’ which is supported by the refugee youth and old. There are many societies in West Bengal named after different former districts of East Bengal e.g Chattagram Sammilani (Chittagong Association), Mymensingh Sammilani, etc. They organise different programmes but never they would touch upon any subject related with happenings in East Pakistan or today’s Bangladesh. You may go to any refugee organisation’s meeting, hear fiery lectures about the government’s apathy about the refugees’ demands but never any discussion about their past or the present situation of their own brothers and sisters in Bangladesh.

Understanding Illegal migration, Undeclared Refugees and Infiltrators.

It is simply that whoever enters a country without proper legal papers or reside without legal permission after entering legally is an ‘illegal migrant’. There should be no ambiguity in that. How that illegal migrant has to be treated is a different issue altogether.

A Refugee is defined in Article 1 of the 1951 UN Convention as amended by the 1967

Protocol as:

“A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it..”

However India, Pakistan, Bangladesh are not signatories to this convention or protocol. So by international law there have never been any refugees in between these countries. The 2005 UN data shows that in India there are 77200 refugees from China, 50730 from Sri Lanka, 9700 from Afghanistan, 1471 from Myanmar and 104 from Somalia. So UN keeps no data on the refugees of the subcontinent. On 19 June 2007, a minority rights group Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities has filed a writ petition at Calcutta High Court on June 19th, 2007 appealing that Government of India should grant Refugee status to Bangladesh Minorities, who took shelter in India to escape violence in their country.

So the term refugee is considered here following the definition of UN convention though India or Bangladesh is not a signatory. By that definition the Hindus from Bangladesh are entitled to be considered as ‘Refugee’. Till 25 March 1971, the Hindus who crossed over to India from East Pakistan were issued a receipt of their entry into the country. This receipt or slip was the proof of their ‘refugee’ status and they were subsequently granted citizenship of the country. These people are considered as legal refugees. Even Government of India’s notes also refer them as ‘refugees’.

On 29 November 1971, Government of India through its Under Secretary C.L.Goyal issued an Express letter No. 26011/16/71-10 to the Chief Secretaries to all State Governments and Union Territories Administrations. Its Subject: Grant of Indian Citizenship to refugees from East Bengal who have crossed over to India after 25th March 1971. Instruction that application from such refugees for Indian Citizenship should not be entertained. According to the Sec 5.1 (a) of Citizenship Act 1955, persons of Indian origin who are ordinarily resident in India and have been resident for five years immediately before making an application for registration. The refugees from East Pakistan naturally became Indian citizens afterwards.

The situation changed from 26th March, 1971, the category of ‘Undeclared Refugees’ came into being.

So the ‘illegal migrants’ other than ‘the undeclared refugees’ can be termed as ‘infiltrators’. By this definition infiltrator is a Bangladeshi Muslim as others like Hindus, Christians, Buddhists or Ahmedias can claim the status of a refugee due to religious persecution.

Though the provision of obtaining citizenship for these undeclared refugees were stopped by a notice, it was thought to be a temporary affair as there was still no legal bar from obtaining the citizenship. The act has been amended seven times. Till 1986 anyone born in India had the right to be an Indian citizen. Sons and daughters of the ‘undeclared refugees’ could therefore be Indian citizen. After 1986, only son or daughter of an Indian citizen can be a citizen. So the refugees who entered after 1986, not only they but their future sons and daughters are to be all illegal migrants.

The scenario changed further after the passing of Citizenship Act 2003. The Hindu Refugees from Bangladesh coming after 25 March 1971 was further restricted the chance of getting citizenship for this undeclared refugees by stating that if the father or mother is an illegal migrant, their son or daughter is also illegal migrant. So several millions of undeclared refugees from Bangladesh have lost all hopes of citizenship

But West Bengal remained silent. West Bengal politics was dominated by the communists till 2010 who utilised these refugees as their Vote Bank and diverted the attention of these people to special issues of ‘Soviet Union (till 1991)’,’Cuba’, ‘Vietnam’, ‘Palestine’, ‘China’, ‘Anti-America’ and even to ‘Bird Flu’ and ‘HIV Aids’, but never touched such an important issue. Present Trinamool Congress Government in West Bengal is following the same path which was previously adopted by Communists with a difference. They are continuing to exploit these refugees but the special issues of communists are replaced with stories of development (উন্নয়ন)– Trident, Blue and White painting of walls and building, Fairs and Festivals. But the issues of East Bengal Hindu refugees are yet to get addressed.

Writer: Rajiv Chanda

Reference

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