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Indian Government Fears Bangladeshis

January 6, 2008 – 2:17 am

In every corners of India, especially in the urban areas, Bengalis are migrating there for jobs. Muslim Bengalis from Bangladesh are migrating there because Bangladesh is so small and the job market is just too competitive in Dhaka, Chittagong, and in other urban areas of Bangladesh; there are just not enough jobs for everyone in Bangladesh.

Currently, without counting the fellow West Bengalis of India, Bangladeshis are an enormous labor force for many Arab countries, Malaysia, and in sweat shops in India. They provide easy cheap labor for big Western companies. They also affect the demographics of an region they migrate to.

Image Source: BDMilitary.com

Current Bangladesh is an independent nation; however, even though it broke away from the Pakistani Union in 1971, Bangladesh still has connections with Pakistan. India restrains Bangladesh from developing and bashes the country’s reputation in the international arena, which provokes hatred towards India from the Bangladeshi citizens, especially from the country’s elite. The current high-ranking Bangladeshi military generals were once officers of the Pakistani military during the time of East Pakistan so, after years of separation good relations with Pakistan is growing based on Islamic brotherhood as animosity grows every day with India. The Bangladeshi military are pro-Islamic, and there is worry from Western observers and the Indian government that Bangladesh will become another Pakistan with the military imposing militia law and Muslim extremists gaining ground.

Bangladesh is not far from being a Muslim military state. The country has high number of poor individuals with no hope as they scurry in the streets living under the poverty line. Islamic groups such as Jamaat-I-Islami gives refuge to these poor individuals by giving them food, care, and education. Sometimes these religious groups teach the poor hatred against India which provokes abuse and violence towards Bangladeshi Hindus, who have religious ties to India, a Hindu majority country.

The overwhelming Bengali population cannot be contained in the small state of Bangladesh. The Indian government is spending $2 billion to build and Israeli-type fence around Bangladesh to contain the Bangladeshis from illegally coming in to India. Bangladesh’s census every year shows that Bangladeshis are leaving to neighboring Indian states and establishing permanent settlements there. As the Bangladeshis make massive migration to India, we can see the containment is no use. In the states of northeast India, especially in Assam, Bangladeshis have settled and affect the outcome of the state elections there. Bangladeshis migration to northeast India have caused tremendous changes on the ethnic and religious diversity; as the tribal population is decreasing Bengali Muslim population is increasing.

India is loosing land to Bangladeshis everyday and so the Indian government fears that Bangladeshis will take over northeast India which is what’s going on now.

Tags: assam, bangladesh, india, migration, military

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