From: Anita Ray <mail@change.org>
Date: Fri, Jan 6, 2012 at 3:00 AM
Subject: His Excellency, Hon. Prime Minister of India: Stop the Talibanisation of W.Bengal's border; Protect India's Sovereignty
To:
Hello,
I just signed the petition "Honourable Prime Minister of India: Stop the Talibanisation of West Bengal's border; Protect India's Sovereignty" and wanted to see if you could help by adding your name.
Our goal is to reach 10,000 signatures and we need more support. You can read more and sign the petition here:
If you agree, PLEASE sign this online petition and forward it to your contacts.
Every time this online petition is signed by each supporter, a copy of the petition letter is automatically emailed to all the officials in the TO and CC lists below.
Overview:
This is a Petition to the Hon. Prime Minister of India, requesting immediate action to Stop the Talibanisation of West Bengal's border; Protect India's Sovereignty".
Why This Is Important:
This is an urgent petition, requesting the Hon. Prime Minister to take immediate cognisance of the Frequent Trans-Border Violations of India's Sovereignty (which has been Repeatedly Compromised) and take stringent action to Stop the Talibanisation of West Bengal's lawless border with Bangladesh.
We request an immediate enquiry into the drastically worsening Law & Order situation in the international border towns of Bangaon and Taki-Hasnabad, as well as the border villages of Sutia and Bagan Gaon (P.S.Bangaon) - all of which are in North 24 Parganas district.
We request the Hon. Prime Minister to take immediate action to stop the repeated transgressions of India’s national sovereignty, since the Government of India is duty bound by the Indian Constitution to preserve our country’s sovereignty, failing to accomplish which would prove to be quite disgraceful for the Government.
We implore the Hon. Prime Minister to direct the errant Border Security Force (BSF) officials to stop pandering to extremist elements by willfully turning a blind eye towards cross-border terror and take immediate steps to prevent the atrocities being committed by the extremist culprits on those tens of thousands of Indian citizens who refuse to kowtow to the Talibanisation of Paschim Banga (West Bengal).
We urge an end to official abetment and collusion with cross-border fanatic infiltrators who endanger India's National Security, worsen the Law and Order situation, commit wanton Atrocities on Women, indulge in Human Trafficking and openly violate the fundamental Human Rights and Animal Rights laws enshrined in the Indian Constitution, thereby creating an adverse impact on Poverty and Environmental Sustainability in this vulnerable border region.
Please click on the "Letter" tab (right next to the "About" tab) to see the full draft of the petition.
Text of the Letter:
Protect India's Sovereignty Against Intrusions from Bangladesh
Dear Hon. Prime Minister of India (His Excellency Dr. Manmohan Singh),
Whilst New Delhi celebrates the New Year in a carefree manner, those tens of thousands of Indian citizens, who live along West Bengal's lawless international border with Bangladesh, are spending each and every day in excruciatingly dangerous environs, reminiscent of the dark days preceding India's partition in 1947.
We request an immediate enquiry into the Frequent Cross-Border Violations of India's Sovereignty (which has been Repeatedly Compromised) and proactive steps to reverse the drastically worsening Law and Order situation in the international border towns of Bangaon (P.S. Bangaon) and Taki (P.S. Hasnabad in Basirhat), as well as the border villages of Sutia and Bagan Gaon (P.S. Bangaon) - all of which are located in North 24 Parganas district.
Here is a detailed assessment of the alarming situation vis-à-vis important issues regarding national security from Mr. Tapan Kumar Ghosh, who is a renowned human rights activist, grassroots community organiser and social reformer in West Bengal.
1) Bangaon:
Bangaon is the most important check-post on the India-Bangladesh border. The regions under Bangaon Police Station and Bangaon Sub Division are Hindu majority. Demographically, on the Indian side of the border, there are more Hindu-dominated villages and fewer Muslim-dominated villages.
But Bangaon is nevertheless the hotbed of illegal Human Trafficking (into India) and clandestine Cow Smuggling (into Bangladesh) for beef slaughter. Touts (dalals) are directly involved in bringing thousands of infiltrators from Bangladesh into India on a daily basis. This reflects the ground reality in not just Bangaon, but also in several locations throughout the India-Bangladesh border.
All these movements described above do NOT include legal passage (with passports and visas). These are entirely illegal movements of infiltrators accomplished by the touts bribing the officials of the Border Security Force (BSF), Border Guards Bangladesh (formerly known as Bangladesh Rifles or BDR), West Bengal Police and local clubs. All it takes is a bribe of 500 rupees per infiltrator to persuade the Indian border officials to let the infiltrator through. No questions are asked. No passports or visas are required for entry into India. Just a 500 rupee currency note, emblazoned with the smiling visage of Mahatma Gandhi, substitutes for the passport and visa. In other words, the price of India's sovereignty is on sale for a paltry 500 rupees.
Considering the demographic pattern in Bangaon and the entire India-Bangladesh border in Bangaon sub-division, it should not be difficult for the BSF to “control” the area in view of National Security. (In sharp contrast, the neighbouring Basirhat sub-division, especially along the international border, is entirely Muslim majority and Muslim dominated, which can understandably prove to be a tougher area for the BSF to “control” and enforce the rule of law.)
But, for the past one year (since 2010-2011), it is a veritable understatement to say that the gates of Bangaon are absolutely wide open to the Bangladeshi infiltrators. Every day, scores of Bangladeshi infiltrators are freely entering India and loitering in the predominantly Hindu majority Bangaon town, and going to their respective destinations inside West Bengal and the rest of India.
It is shocking to see that the Border Security Force (BSF) has become totally defunct and non-existent at Bangaon. We apprehend that this treacherous metamorphosis is either due to extreme corruption at the upper echelons of BSF or due to a clear directive from the Government officials or both.
The end result is invariably that National Security is being seriously compromised. And the side effect is that the position and security of Indian citizens are being increasingly weakened in Bangaon town and all surrounding villages throughout the border region.
2) Taki-Hasnabad:
Another dangerous incident occurred recently at Taki (under Hasnabad P.S) in neighbouring Basirhat sub division. One can only guess the powers-that-be at whose behest this travesty was orchestrated.
This small town Taki-Hasnabad is situated on the international riverine border, where the Ichhamati river flows between India and Bangladesh, separating the two countries. It is a tradition that on the day of Vijaya Dashami, the villagers from both sides, i.e. West Bengal and East Bengal (now Bangladesh), meet together on boats in mid-river on the occasion of joint immersion of Durga Deities. Taking advantage of this opportunity, every year, some Bangladeshi infiltrators sneak into India. In the past, the BSF kept a vigil.
However, during the most recent Durga Puja immersion (October 6, 2011), the BSF was totally absent and/or defunct in Taki. The BSF facilitated the free entry of foreign nationals and allowed one and all to enter India without any type of checking. The Indian citizens of Taki were shocked to see that, since the very morning, thousands of Bangladeshi infiltrators were pouring into India with their luggage, trunks etc. But the BSF and West Bengal police did not take any cognisance and did absolutely NOTHING - which is an unforgivable act of treason given that none of the interlopers carried passports or visas.
While officials conservatively estimate that more than 20,000 illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators openly entered into India on that single day, the Indian residents of Taki contend that 100,000 cross-border miscreants entered Indian territory on that very day, sexually molesting Indian women and girls while rampaging and ransacking Indian shops before proceeding to their final destinations inside West Bengal and the rest of India.
In their October 8, 2011 and October 10, 2011 editions, two prominent Bengali newspapers in India reported the details of this blatantly shocking invasion and "Open Door Policy" of the BSF that has severely compromised the National Security and Integrity of India.
Ananda Bazar Patrika: http://www.anandabazar.com/archive/1111008/8pgn2.html?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=email
Bartaman Patrika: http://bartamanpatrika.com/archive/2011/october/081011/index.htm?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=email
3) Sutia and Bagan Gaon (P.S. Bangaon):
More recently, on the night of Dec 31, 2011, about 60 Bangladeshi Cow Smugglers entered Indian territory by crossing the knee-deep waters of Kudulia river into the border villages of Sutia and Bagan Gaon. In a routine operation, these smugglers intruded into India to collect thousands of Indian cattle (kept ready by their Indian counterparts) and herd them into Bangladesh for beef slaughter. These two Indian villages faced the fourth such intrusion within the past 3 months; the first one being on October 10, 2011.
The third intrusion was on the night of Dec 30, 2011 where over 500 Bangladeshis crossed into Indian territory for the same purposes. BSF jawans had chased them back to the “zero line” of the border. When the intruders retaliated with heavy brickbats, some BSF jawans were injured. But the BSF jawans could NOT open fire in self-defence as there is a strict order to the BSF from the Government of India not to open fire, under any circumstances, at any Bangladeshi smugglers, infiltrators or dacoits who rule the roost in the border areas. The Bangladeshi intruders know this "open secret" very well and so, they are taking full advantage of the fact that the BSF is pretending to go about the motions of defending India with both hands tied behind its back.
During the fourth intrusion on the night of Dec 31, 2011, in spite of desperate appeals from Indian villagers, BSF jawans did not even bother to come to the spot because of their previous night's traumatic experience. So, this time, there was no BSF and no West Bengal police to stop the intruders and assist the Indian villagers. While the BSF shirked its primary responsibility, the only resistance came from about 50-odd unarmed Indian villagers and civilian volunteers who kept valiantly chasing the well-armed infiltrators, even though they were outnumbered and outgunned by the Bangladeshis. This night is a shameful New Year’s Eve that will live forever in infamy in Indian history.
Ananda Bazar Patrika, in its January 1, 2012 edition, covered this incident of Cow smuggling on Friday night in page 15.
http://www.anandabazar.com/jibjagat.html
http://www.anandabazar.com/1jibjagat1.html
The photographs and details of the raid on October 10, 2011 are available at:
http://www.hindusamhati.blogspot.com/2011/10/armed-bangladeshi-muslim-intruders_14.html
Not only does these recurring incidents point to the willful transgression being condoned (and even encouraged) by the complicit or fearful Indian authorities conveniently turning a blind eye to this massive problem looming on our frontiers, but these also underline how the entire border region of West Bengal has become the bastion of anti-Indian smugglers whose writ runs unchallenged throughout the India-Bangladesh border.
In addition, these routine cross-border smuggling raids result in a great deal of damage to Indian-owned farmlands. For example, when thousands of cows are smuggled, they are driven through Indian agricultural fields thereby damaging both fields and crops irreparably. Such unlawful activities are a clear violation of the Constitutional Rights of the Indian citizenry and exacerbate Animal Cruelty, Agricultural Land Degradation and the Criminal-Official Nexus.
Therefore, the people of West Bengal, nay India, are forced to wonder if the BSF actions, or the lack thereof, are a direct result of possible "concessions" gifted by the elected Government of India to the Bangladeshi Government during the September 2011 visit by Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh where bilateral agreements on land boundary demarcation and exchange of adversely held enclaves were signed under the cloud of the last-minute scrapping of the Teesta Water Sharing Deal.
The motivation for the authorities’ blatant contravention of the law and their turning a blind eye to such atrocities is debatable. The root cause may be monetary or a new rule of pandering to extremist elements to appease their political masters. Such unscrupulous elements bring notoriety to the uniform they wear and the positions they hold.
We request the Hon. Prime Minister to take immediate action to stop the repeated transgressions of India’s sovereignty, since the Government of India is duty bound by the Indian Constitution to preserve our country’s sovereignty, failing to accomplish which would prove to be quite disgraceful for the Government.
We request the Hon. Prime Minister to take immediate action to stop the growing Talibanisation of West Bengal's lawless border with Bangladesh as it is the dire need of the hour. We urge a thorough investigation of these issues (which have deep repercussions) and take stringent action against such errant public servants, who break the very law they are supposed to enforce.
We implore the Hon. Prime Minister to direct the errant Border Security Force (BSF) officials to stop pandering to extremist elements by willfully turning a blind eye towards cross-border terror and take immediate steps to prevent the atrocities being committed by the extremist culprits on those tens of thousands of Indian citizens who refuse to kowtow to the Talibanisation of Paschim Banga (West Bengal).
We urge an end to official abetment and collusion with cross-border fanatic infiltrators who endanger India's National Security, worsen the Law and Order situation, commit wanton Atrocities on Women, indulge in Human Trafficking and openly violate the fundamental Human Rights and Animal Rights laws enshrined in the Indian Constitution, thereby creating an adverse impact on Poverty and Environmental Sustainability in this vulnerable border region.
Sincerely,
CC:
Hon. Home Minister of India (Mr. P.Chidambaram)
Hon. President of India (Dr. Pratibha Patil)
Hon. Chief Justice, Supreme Court of India (Mr. Sarosh Homi Kapadia)
Hon. Finance Minister and Member of Parliament from West Bengal (Mr. Pranab Mukherjee)
Hon. Chief Minister of West Bengal (Ms. Mamata Banerjee)
Hon. Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal (Mr. Samar Ghosh, IAS)
Hon. Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Government of West Bengal (Mr. G.D. Gautama, IAS)
Hon. Director General, Border Security Force (Mr. U.K.Bansal)
Hon. Director General of Police, West Bengal (Mr. Naparajit Mukherjee)
[Your name]
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