Outrageous Act: Bangladesh’s Border Guards Cross Over Into India, Try To Stop Construction Of Mandir

In what can only be termed as a highly outrageous act that violates all international laws, a contingent of Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) armed with lethal weapons crossed over into Indian territory in Assam’s Sribhumi district Thursday (December 5) afternoon and tried to stop the renovation of a mandir dedicated to Goddess Manasa. 

The reason given by the BGB: the mandir, after its renovation, will ‘offend the sentiments’ of the people of the Islamic country and will trigger unrest there! 

The BGB contingent, led by a subedar, crossed the Kushiyari river that forms the boundary between the two countries and told the labourers working on renovation of the mandir that’s located on the banks of the Kushiyari river to stop work immediately. 

Sribhumi town is the headquarters of the eponymous district in the Barak Valley of Assam and the mandir, which has been in existence for many decades, had fallen into disrepair. 

The local BJP MP, Kripanath Mallah, had recently sanctioned Rs three lakh for the mandir’s renovation. The renovation works included the construction of a tall shikara (spire) atop the mandir that will be visible from far away, even in Bangladesh. 

Such a sight, according to the BGB, would be offensive to Bangladesh’s Muslims and, hence, they crossed over into India to stop the renovation of the mandir. 

In crossing over into India, the BGB personnel violated international laws and well laid-down border protocols between the two countries which required the BGB to inform the Border Security Force (BSF) and seek its permission before entering Indian territory. Also, border protocols prohibit the BGB and BSF from carrying arms or weapons while entering each others’ territories. 

The BGB personnel from the Zakiganj border outpost crossed the river in a speedboat belonging to the force and not only told the construction workers to stop work on the mandir, but also threatened them and some local Hindu men who had gathered there.  

“They (the BGB) personnel warned us that if the construction works resumed, they would shoot the workers from their outpost across the river. They told us that the temple is an offensive sight for Muslims,” Mintu Paul, a local resident who runs a grocery store located at the town’s Brajendra Road told Swarajya over phone from Sribhumi. 

Paul was present when the BGB personnel landed on India’s shores and started threatening the construction workers and local people. 

“I had gone to that area, which is very near to my shop, on some work when I saw the Bangladeshi personnel land and make their way to the mandir. I heard them telling the workers to stop all work. Some people who had gathered there wanted to know why. The BGB personnel then said that the mandir would be visible from across the river and would be offensive to Muslims. They said it was ‘haram’ for Muslims to see a place of idol-worship. The mandir, they said, would be easily visible to people who go to a masjid located across the river and setting eyes on a mandir from a masjid or after offering namaz there is haram (forbidden) in Islam,” said Paul. 

“We were dumbfounded by their statements. How does the construction or renovation of a mandir amount to spiting or provoking Bangladesh? We told the BGB personnel that if the sight of a mandir is offensive or haram to Muslims of their country, they should close their eyes and not look towards India. All of us were very agitated,” Mondal, who used to work as a clerk in the office of the deputy commissioner of the district, added.  

The agitated Hindus who had gathered there started calling up their friends, relatives and acquaintances in the town to gather at the mandir to confront the BGB personnel. 

But a team from the BSF, which had observed the BGB personnel crossing over into India unannounced, reached the spot by that time and defused the situation. 

The BSF personnel, led by an Inspector, told the BGB team that they had no business to come into India and threaten Indians. They also told the BGB that the mandir was an old one and was only being renovated now. They also told the BGB personnel that the renovation works on the mandir would not be halted and would go on as planned. 

The outnumbered BGB team retreated in the face of the BSF remaining firm and locals protesting their presence and outrageous threats. The BSF said it would guard the workers engaged in the renovation works. 

Hindus who had gathered at the site raised anti-Bangladesh slogans while the BGB personnel were retreating. The BGB personnel were also warned by locals against trying to set foot in Indian territory again. 

Sribhumi district’s additional district commissioner, Uday Sankar Datta, said that the district administration is preparing a report on the incident and sending it to the state home secretary. 

“All measures have been taken to ensure that the renovation of the Manasa Mandir goes on according to plans. We will ensure there are no disruptions. The BSF has stepped up security and we have also deployed additional police personnel in the area,” Datta told Swarajya. 

Incidentally, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had renamed the district, which was known as Karimganj earlier, as Sribhumi late last month to honour Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore who had, during a visit to the area, described it as ‘Sribhumi’, the land of Goddess Lakshmi, due to its bountiful nature and commercial importance. 

The renaming had led to protests by Muslims in Zakiganj upazila (sub-district) of Bangladesh’s Sylhet district which lies across the border from Sribhumi. The Muslims there held that the renaming amounted to a grave insult for Muslims of the world! Demonstrations were held in Zakiganj against the renaming. 

The BGB has become quite aggressive after the interim government led by Mohammad Yunus took power in Bangladesh. The BGB has even protested and tried to stop construction of the border fence in one sector in Assam a couple of weeks ago.