Indian Defence Review

They were often the agents that committed atrocities on Hindus and Awami League supporters. The civil war is said to have caused close to 3-6 lakh civilian deaths and rapes of women. Pakistan had raised para military battalions from the non-Bengalis, called the Mujahids. These operated with impunity and were responsible for most of the genocide.

Soon after the liberation, Mukti Bahini or the Bangaldeshi freedom fighters wanted to wreck revenge on them but it was the Indian army that saved them.

After the war Pakistan govt appointed an enquiry commission under Justice Hamidur Rehman to enquire into the causes of the debacle and conduct of Pakistani army. As a sample the statement of Lt. Col. Aziz Ahmed Khan, the commanding officer of 8 Baluch and later of 86 Mujahid battalion is worth quoting,

 “Brigadier Arbbab also told me to destroy all houses in Joydepur.  To a great extent I executed this order. General Niazi visited my unit at Thakurgaon and Bogra.  He asked us how many Hindus we had killed.  In May, there was an order in writing to kill Hindus.  This order was from Brigadier Abdullah Malik of 23 Brigade.”

In 1971, East Pakistan became the independent state of Bangladesh. Bangladesh refused Biharis citizenship because they had “supported the enemy”. Pakistan denied them permission to emigrate, fearing a massive influx could destabilise the country. It is reported that there are around 3-4 lakh Biharis still in 64 camps. After 60 years, twenty Biharis were granted citizenship by Bangladesh.

There are several anomalies in this whole narrative. Most records maintain an absurdly low number at 5 lakh Biharis. The number in 1971 itself was close to 10 lakhs. By natural progression that number would have easily crossed 10 million or 1 crore. Yet the number in camps in Bangladesh seem to be too small.

It is crystal clear that Bangladesh government has pushed these unwanted people into India through porous borders. Politicians on this side found them a captive vote bank and got their votes in return for various documents like adhar cards etc.

Unlike in any other country, any attempt at detecting these illegal migrants in India, is dubbed as anti-Muslim and the Indian Muslims have rallied in the support of these migrants. It is a near impossible situation that hard core and hard liner Islamists have entered India and at present their number could easily be over 10 million. These people are mostly spread to major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru etc and live in slums. Soon they acquire houses and all other perks meant for Indian citizens. These are no economic migrants but a section of Bangladeshi population that committed atrocities on people according to Pakistani sources themselves. 

These pro Pakistani illegal migrants not only deprive genuine Indian citizens of their dues but also act as a pool of sleeper cells and fifth column for the Pakistani intelligence. With a pool of close to a million supporters in major cities, Pakistan has a tremendous capability to conduct sabotage and subversion.

Unlike the economic migrants in the US, who are grateful for the American citizenship and are loyal to the country, the Pakistani migrants from Bangladesh retain their love for Pakistan and muddy the water for Indian Muslims.