Bangabhumi ( bn, বঙ্গভূমি, meaning the land of

Vanga The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', Malagasy for the hook-billed vanga, ''Vanga curvirostris'') comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to which the family ...

, also spelt Bongobhumi) also known as Bir Bongo ( bn, বীর বঙ্গ), is a separatist movement to create a

Bengali Hindu Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Benga ...

country for Bangladeshi Hindus in southwestern

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, envisioned by Banga Sena. Banga Sena ( en, Vanga Army) is a separatist Hindu organization which advocates formation of a Bangabhumi for

Bengali Hindus Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Benga ...

in Bangladesh. The group is led by Kalidas Baidya. The movement was founded in 1973 in India soon after the

independence of Bangladesh Independence of Bangladesh was declared on 26 March 1971, celebrated as Independence Day, from Pakistan. The Independence Day of Bangladesh is celebrated on 26 March when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the Independence of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh ...

to support the Hindu refugees from Bangladesh, who were targeted by the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...

in the

1971 Bangladesh atrocities The genocide in Bangladesh began on 25 March 1971 with the launch of Operation Searchlight, as the government of Pakistan, dominated by West Pakistan, began a military crackdown on East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to suppress Bengali call ...

. However, this movement did not receive much support at that time. In an interview with BBC News in 2001,

Chittaranjan Sutar Chittaranjan Sutar (23 March 1928 - 27 November 2002) is a Bangladeshi politician and former Member of Parliament of Bangladesh from Bakerganj-14 (now Pirojpur-1). Biography Suttar was an Awami League politician, he was sent to India to act a ...

, one of the alleged organisers of the movement, denied supporting the creation of a new nation.Bangladesh alleges 'separatist plot'
BBC, 22 December 2001

Banga Sena

Major General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, the Director General of the

Bangladesh Rifles Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) are a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The force is known as "The Vigilant Sentinels of the National Frontier". The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the borde ...

(BDR), in a talk with the Director General of the

Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...

(BSF) Ajay Raj Sharma in 2004 said that the extremist group Banga Sena was carrying out terrorist and secessionist activities against Bangladesh from its bases in the Indian state of West Bengal. Khodeza Begum in an article in the ''

Global Politician ''Global Politician'' was an online magazine of politics that published analysis of current events, as well as interviews with politicians, government officials, diplomats, book authors and terrorists. It was founded in October 2004 and is based ...

'' accused India of helping to organize the Banga Sena. In March 2006, a senior official of the home ministry of Bangladesh expressed concern over the anti-Bangladesh activities by the Banga Sena. Regarding this he added that Bangladesh wants a peaceful border with neighboring India and the situation has vastly improved following coordinated border patrolling by both countries. A Bangladeshi official stated that the organization is a "threat to the sovereignty of Bangladesh". More than 400 members of the Banga Sena were arrested in India on 18 February 2003, for trying to cross over into Bangladesh from the district of

North 24 Parganas North 24 Parganas (abv. 24 PGS (N)) or sometimes North Twenty Four Parganas is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the tropical zone from latitude 22° 11′ 6″ north to 23° 15′ 2″ north and f ...

in southern West Bengal. According to police sources, activists belonging to the organization began gathering at the Indo-Bangladesh border at Halencha, North 24 Parganas in the jurisdiction of the Bagda police station since morning that day. In January 2004, the director general of the Bangladesh Rifles gave a list of the camps of the remaining Shanti Bahni elements in the North-East Indian states of

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east ...

and

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur t ...

and in adjoining Indian provinces to the director general of the Border Security Force. The list documented that the Banga Sena, along with several other groups, carried out communal tension and separatist activities against Bangladesh from West Bengal. Indian Foreign Secretary said that India will cooperate in tackling the Banga Sena and other

insurgent An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irreg ...

groups. In September 2007, the representatives of two NGOs, Diphu Citizen Peace Forum and Karbi Human Rights Watch, in the Karbi Anglong District of Assam said that the Banga Sena was involved in extortion and it could pose a threat to the peace in the region. Regarding the activities of the Banga Sena, the Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury made it clear that his country will not tolerate any statement or move against its territory or sovereignty. The All India Minority Forum, an organization for religious minorities in India, also expressed concern over this organization.

References

{{Hindu Nationalism Hinduism in Bangladesh Hinduism-related controversies Politics of Bangladesh Hindu organisations based in Bangladesh Hindu political parties in Bangladesh Secessionist organizations in Asia Militant Hindu groups Hindutva Bangladesh–India relations Separatism in Bangladesh

Banga Sena

See also

References