Activist demands white paper on Bangla mess

kolkata: is the situation in bangladesh as grim as it is made out to be? opinion seems divided. the official position, as reflected in the recent media reports from dhaka and in the statements released by bangladeshi diplomatic missions, is that the reports of atrocities are highly exaggerated. on the other hand, leading bangladeshi journalist and film-maker shahriar kabir has demanded a white paper on the conflicting reports of atrocities against the hindus in bangladesh.speaking to tnn in kolkata on friday, kabir, also an office-bearer of the committee for resisting killers and collaborators of bangladesh liberation war 1971, said the government must make its position clear on the issue. according to kabir, the recent atrocities on the hindus and other minorities were part of a grand design to bring the bangladesh nationalist party-led four-party alliance to power. "on behalf of the committee, we feel that secular forces will cease to exist in bangladesh if corrective steps are not taken," remarked kabir. "nearly 8.2 million hindus residing in bangladesh were prevented from casting their votes. the caretaker government, the army and political parties acted in collusion to ensure this. we were particularly disappointed by the role played by the caretaker government," he added. kabir's outburst notwithstanding, the situation at the border do not seem to indicate any cause for panic. those concerned with the border administration on the indian side at bongaon have not found anything alarming as yet. "during the pujas, there was a slight increase in the numbers of those coming to india," said a bsf commandant manning the haridaspur checkpost at bongaon. though locals contend that people are pouring in "thousands", the question is where are they going. touts in bongaon said that business is somewhat better and they are offering package deals. people, without papers of course, are ferried in from across and put into buses bound for kolkata and other towns in west bengal. the tab ranges between rs 300 and rs 800, depending upon the bargaining power. only those who are unable to afford these deals get picked up by the bsf. bhola, an area with a substantial hindu population mainly engaged in trading, seems to be the current hotspot in bangladesh. kabir pointed out that ready cash in every household was attracting the extortionists in droves. "you must realise that the threat this time is more against hindu property and wealth, a reason why bhola has become a hotspot. buyers are waiting in dhaka and other towns with wads of currency notes to pick up hindu properties going at throwaway prices," said kabir. this is one of the reasons why hindus crossing over is just a trickle. those coming in are people with contacts and relations on either side of the border. package deals at bongaon and other border areas are working fine for them as they get scattered all over west bengal. the rest are mere numbers as the sdo office is yet to decide whether those fleeing bhola are refugees or infiltrators.