New Delhi needs to make an unreserved apology to Bangladesh for the brutal conduct of its Border Security Force personnel who were seen in a recent video torturing a Bangladeshi man. Not surprisingly, the telltale video has caused widespread outrage in Bangladesh. A remark by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee that the incident must not be hyped, echoed by a Bangladeshi Minister, seems only to have provoked more anger and fuelled opposition allegations against the Sheikh Hasina government for being “pro-India”. With the Bangladesh Army claiming the other day that it averted a coup against the government by an “anti-India” section of officers, New Delhi needs to guard against becoming an unwitting cause for political instability in its eastern neighbour. Anti-India sentiment has been high in Bangladesh since the killing of three of its nationals by the BSF in two separate incidents on the border last month. A March 2011 agreement between the two countries not to use firearms in dealing with illegal activities on the border has brought down the number of such incidents, but the video is evidence that the guards feel free to use other forms of violence. It underlines the fact that such bilateral agreements on the management of their complex boundary are worth nothing unless accompanied by a change in the mindset of those responsible for it on the ground.
The distressing 11.56 minute footage, circulated through YouTube, is quite evidently a trophy video, the guards happy to pose as they strip their victim, tie his hands and feet, and beat him mercilessly while discussing among themselves other severe options of dealing with him. The man was a suspected rustler — the border is notorious for cattle smuggling — and it has been alleged by rights activists in Bangladesh that the guards were punishing him for not paying them a bribe. The guards appear to have such an entrenched sense of impunity that the thought of being found out and punished does not seem to cross their minds as they participate in the abuse. The BSF has suspended the eight guards involved in the distressing episode and ordered an investigation. While it may be convenient for the paramilitary to treat this as an isolated incident of “rogue” personnel, the enquiry needs to focus on the overall climate of impunity that makes such incidents possible. The BSF must also reflect if there is something missing in the training of its recruits that some of them are capable of such brutality. This is important because their conduct not only brings disrepute to the organisation but also risks jeopardising India's relations with an important neighbour.
Comments:
This is really disheartening that the armed forces which we consider in very high esteem are garnering gross disrepute to themselves. Such behaviour is totally reprehensible. Irresponsible behaviour of a few heartless maniacs cost us, the image of our country.
some years back 17 BSF personnel were tortured and killed by Bangladeshi body guards and villagers. The BSF is doing a tough job here,kind of policing. We need a policy at high levels, that will not allow these kind of savage incidents to recur, and also effective in stopping illegal immigrants who are changing the demography and smuggling cattle. On a side note, we should also think about the same thing happening to the fishermen of Tamil Nadu ,who are harrased on a daily basis by Sri lankan navy. If a single incident is causing stress to the relationship with Bangladesh, how Srilanka has killed nearly 600 Indians with Impunity and constantly harassing our fishermen daily. They dont want good relationship with India ?
Even if we arrest such smugglers. It is very important to treat them with dignity. These guards who put India's relations with Bangladesh at risk, needs to be punished severely for their conduct. At the same time, BDR should be requested to also check these smugglers from entering India.
New Delhi needs to make an unreserved apology ...Yes, It should. Humility is one of the best virtue. India is known for proper conduct. In international community, There should be right image of our great country.
The men in uniform are a frustrated lot all over the world, always finds
the common man to bite. The US behaviour in Iraq, IPKF in Srilanka and
so on. The lower rank vent their frustration on poor and high level
liking the boots of high command to add more stars on their soldiers.
I fully agree with the sentiments expressed in the Editorial relating to the action of the BSF.Bengladesh has never been a threat to the security of India.More over it is a country with sufficient internal problems to deal with.We should not resort to such extreme actions for insignificant provocations because we as a nation stand much higher than any country.We must show the patience and decorum of a dignified nation at the same time must on our guard.
I don't think that this incident has that much significance as it is portrayed in bangladesh.The enviornment around boundary area is so much complex and number of people who cross it illegally make it very tough to deal with it.BSF has already orderd an enquiry,Pranab mukherjee has shown concern,now what else they want.A very large section of radical islamist there always in a search of loose point to take on India.If this attitude will persist there as has been till now.I guess it will be very tough for Sekh hashina government to move ahead with India.
although the manner in which the BSF personnel have conducted this checking operation is incorrect,they cannot be blamed wholly for what has happened.
There needs to be strong actions in order to check the illegal entry of bangladeshis,given the fact that due to illegal immmigration there is significant change taking place in the states like assam,adjioing our neibour. even its right that we need to mentain a healthy relationship with the neibour that doesnot mean we always need to appease them compromising our own interest in terms of security.
I completely agree with you editorial. Violence in any form, against anybody, is condemnable. Our security forces, police need to be sesnitized about human rights. Just a passing thought - had you written any article/editorial when 6 of our BSF javanas were killed by pouring boiling water on them by Banglasdeshis and there mutilated bodies were tied to bamboos and then handed over to us? I just expect that that sensitivity should be shown in all issues and not the select ones. I again reiterate that our javans shouls not have tortured the Bangladeshi person.
The man was without any arms in his hand .He was not resisting as the Video says.One can suspect that the criminals are working in indian BSF.Normal citizen can not do such an act. He was just obeying .He might have crossed the border for one yarn stomach . There is an international law to deal such people ,entering without arms in his hand.India can not show such cruality to our neighbour.If it is so where is the Ahimsa..? It is better to verify the back ground of the individual before recruting the individual to police forces.it shows the indiscipline of paramilitary forces .Indian police forces should be trained under the wings of Indian Army .
As rightly mentioned by you,had this been an isolated or exceptional case the guards would not have acted with such impunity.The real problem is who we recruit into the military and paramilitary forces.The fact is that these people have an inflated ego(not aided by the fact that the mainstream media ceaselessly hero worships them) and are invariably mediocre thanks to the selection process.The country must have a relook at its recruitment procedure as well as look towards automation and technological upgradation of its forces.In the long run,this will save costs and make the forces much more efficient and humane.
I totally agree with the editor.BSF people behaved with a very mean attitude whom we all hold with high esteem.Human Rights violation will obviously instigate the counter part to create a hostile environment between both the countries.I feel human rights should be included as a part of Army and Navy training since incidents like violation of human rights in India-Bangladesh border and molestation of women in Manipur and treating tribal woman savagely in Andaman are all recently in news.
A strong action should be taken against Officers who involve in such kind of violations so that these incidents might not occur in future,.
i have watched the footage after reading The Hindu's correctly expressed
Editorial. the video is really disturbing from human perspective.
Outrageous. Just when we seem to be making some headway in our bilateral co-operation with Bangladesh some untoward incidents happen that make furtherance of that even more difficult. We certainly can't take friendly relationship with this eastern neighbour for granted for there is sufficient evidence to suggest that a noticeable fraction within the rank and file of their politicians and military are heavily tilted against India; the recent coup attempt is just an illustration of the same. India should apologize and ensure that such incidents do not recur. Noble policies framed in the South Block would be meaningless if our borders remain a theatre for mutual retribution between the security forces of our two countries. We have no dearth of hostilities in the western and norther flanks of our territory. We therefore cannot afford to have a neighbour with similar amount of vengeance towards us to our east.
This should be the role of the media take issue that matter and project them to the people so we could tell the government what to do. Nice to see these issues are brought out in public and are discussed. The armed personal have been doing such acts of disgust from a long time. There should be laws for a common man to bring them to justice than just court martial/suspend these mentally sick people. Also there should be good care taken of the personnel mentally that they don’t indulge in such acts of atrocities. Psychiatric treatment and therapies are important.
I don't think it's an isolated/exceptional incident. 99.99% of NE people feel threatened by the sight of uniform man. The reputation of uniform men in NE includes rape, torture, harassment, asking free favor or service from villagers,..etc. The video is just a tip of an iceberg. They did it not because he is Bangladeshi but because he didn't pay bribe or do favor for them.
Surely drastic changes in attitude of uniform men toward NE people could only change the situation. And this need to starts right from schools or childhood.
While the country has been striving to establish peace with neighbouring
countries since independence, few incidents like this trigger unrest and
revolt spilling water on all the efforts. Such behaviour by few BSF
personnel brings shame to the entire Border Security Force and thus
these people must be punished appropriately so that such incident do not
repeat in the future.
The editorial is a timely warning to the high ups. The divisive forces are out to jeopardize the friendly relations between the two countries. We cannot indulge in their destructive moves. Rather we should contain it before goes out of control. The two ministers' comments in this regard are quite irresponsible, insensitive and regrettable.
What a shame to the nation and what cruelty!!! This is not the first
time we hear about such brutal incidents at India-Bangladesh borders.
In July 2011 Foreign Policy Magazine published an article named
"Fortress India" on this issue. Extreme cruelty of the BSF was
portrayed in that. And most of the incidents happening for not paying
bribes! Looks like BSF officials are not worried about the nations
pride.Off all the nations we share border with, it is Bangladesh on which we
depend to develop our own land. I hope this issue will be taken seriously and sufficient measures will be taken to prevent such incidents in future.
Such kind behavior from our border security force tarnish country as well force image instead increasing its credibility in border areas. Victim alleged that due to not paying bribe land him in to such unfortunate situation and recive sever injuries to his body. Higher authorities of force should investigate the matter and take the stringent action against involved armyment in that incident to justify the victim and train them to how to handle such repeated incidents happens keeping country image at international level.
Thanks for a timely and justice response for a crucial issue by The Editor. Publics of the Bangladeshi are really unhappy for these type of accidents. We Bangladeshi are also unhappy for the present Govt. for their Unjustice friendship with India with such a brutally behaviour. The present Hasina Govt are completely losing their credibility in this regards. Thanks again for your timely editorial response.
This is pretty nice report indeed but still we have very big gap between the people of Bangladeshi and Indian. there are some people are saying about Bangladeshi smugglers but how is it happen without helping of other party?? As I am from the border area of Bangladesh I have seen how the illegal arms, drugs(fencidil), cows, sugar, sharee.... entering into Bangladesh with the help of BSF and BDR. The both party help their smugglers for bribe. But nowadays it has reduced radically and increased killing unarmed Bangladeshi people rapidly. Which is the same barbarism in civilized world.
Smuggling is not something new in India-Bangladesh boarder. It started the day on 15th August when Bengal was divided on communal lines. It has many faces and the smuggling is being carried out by both the Indian and the Bangladeshi smugglers in various ways. Many people are involved in this smuggling business apart from the smugglers and the job is done at boarder with full cooperation of the BSF and the Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB) in exchange of bribe. This bribe is again shared by rank and files of both the BAF and BGB. It is a common knowledge that is known by the high-ups in both the countries. By rational analysis we can also assume, the BSF did not try to kill the goose that give the golden eggs in such an inhuman way because he refused to pay the bribe only. Most probably the smuggler breached a prior promise he made with the BSF and the punishment was a revenge I presume. For those who are talking about smuggling cattle I would say that it benefits India much more than Bangladesh. Smuggling distorts trade and the victim of such smuggling is again Bangladesh. It is Bangladesh who loses tax revenue and Indians earn giving away goods that collect little price in Indian market.
As a Bangladeshi, thanks to the editor for his timely peace..We also denounce this brutality
A timely editorial.
I know lots of people in Bangladesh who don't want to believe that India
is really a trusted friend of Bangladesh. I argue with them that this
country extended its helping hand towards Bangladesh during our
liberation war in 1971. So on which ground their friendship is in
question? Their counter-argument is 'this was not only for us, but for
their own interest also'. However, the continuous brutality and killing
by BSF in border as well as the recent behavior regarding Teesta issue
on part of India govt have added fuel to this controversy of belief.
I feel ashamed after looking at the video,our highly respected BSF is engaged in such tawdry engagements.
As a Bangladeshi Citizen, I'm surprised to see the editorial & such comments made by the Indians, cause the people of India can realize the sentiment of Bangladeshi people, they can feel the pulse of our Aam public. Before I thought,the brutal conduct of BSF is nothing but reflection of Indian peoples' attitude. But after reading such comments, I feel that there are lot of human being in your country they really consider us as their beloved neighbor & you, the Indian people are also concerned in terms of violation of Human Rights in Border Area.
This writing is such a succinct that it should have read by the high ups
of two neighboring countries to realize the necessity of finding a
possible way of ameliorating the present worse relation between the two
countries.
Many thanks for your nice editorial comments. Your comments have been widely circulated in electronic media in Dhaka today. As a Bangladeshi citizen I salute you. But at the same time I express my great concern over the comments of the ministers of both the countries. They are more political than possessing human values.We are very friendly with Indian people but not with attitude of the governments.
well as a Bangladeshi citizen i read those comments from the citizen of India and that some of you are against the brutality by BSF in Bangladeshi border. that is a very good sign of being a good human. but for your kind information these kind of criminal act by BSf is done regularly but rarely it got published in Indian media. The video of brutality by BSF is so ... whatever BSF is regularly crossing the Bangladesh border and killing innocent unarmed Bangladeshi citizen. often they kill and destroy or hide the body inside Indian border. the family of these person never knows are they alive or not.
The editorial shows the sympathy to Bangladesh for the brutal conduct of its Border by BSF. But I think that it will be better if the Indian Govt. forces BSF to stop the unethical destructive moves in the Border. We hope that India will do their duty properly and help Bangladeshi to live peacefully.
We, the citizen of Bangladesh , protest the recent BSF brutality on a cattle trader in strongest terms . We question whether this attitude of paramilitary force represents the very mindset of India . As a big country of south asia , India's responsibility is larger . On more serious note , those incidents do not stop even after promises from Indian big-shots .
i am from Bangladesh, & i want to give a message that the way BSF treats Bangladeshi people at border (who ever it is i mean smuggler / traveler) it seems we dont have any respect and our identity being a Bangladeshi is a big mistake. smugglers get entry from Indian end also through BSF help, the Khashia people used to come and kill our people for no reason where as you will rarely heard that Indians are getting killed by BGB at border. Why the people in Bangladesh is too much angry about the recent incident because BSF used to kill Bangladeshi's more than 100 in a year as if they are shooting birds at jungle. so i would expect that Indian government & people should have a neutral position before making comments about Bangladeshi people & torturing at border as we want a good neighbor.
Thanks to Hindu for such a remarkable and timely response.We are outraged and frustrated seeing the video and how politicians of both countries are dealing the issue.If you look at the video,the BSF Jawans let the cows and other smugglers go,so why they hold on to the victim? The victim says the BSF Jawans were drunk and asked for bribe,I don't find it hard to believe. We all(Indians and Bangladeshis)are proud of our armed forces but charges like this shouldn't go unpunished no matter its BSF or BGB. Its clearly visible the victim is an unarmed man, he doesn't look like a threat to me,so why they beat him up so mercilessly? because he is poor? You have to find a way to hold your horses, otherwise today its a Bangladeshi tomorrow it will be an Indian (ask the people of NE). Businessmen from India, Bangladesh, BSF and BGB are involved to this smuggling. We demand a joint investigation to find out the hands behind the curtain to stop all illegal activities activities across the boarder.
Human right abuses by a functionary at any level need to be condemned. IF the roles were reversed, memos and dresing down of the Bangladesh High Commissioner by the South Block would have taken place. The porous boreder between the two countries facilitates to smuggling, cattle rustling and human trafficking. All this is a rich hunting grounds for the corrupt officials at the borders. The eight guards should have their pension docked (for being corrupt) and serve time in prison for the inhuman activity and be sacked for failing to do their duty. Their immediate superior should not be spared either.
India has now seen this because Indian media has now brought this in front. We,the Bangladeshis have been seeing this for many years. Please search the internet and you will find more heart rendering pictures. You will hardly be able to hold your tears when you will see the photo of Felani,a 15 year old girl whose dead body was hanging from the barbed wire fence on the border. Brutal BSF killing is the only reason why the Bangladeshis in the border areas are hardcore anti Indians. On a connecting flight from Dhaka to London by Air India, I was harassed even after all the checks were done at the Indian airport. When I was heading for the plane after the checks,I was stopped in the passage by 2 officials. After hearing I was from Bangladesh,they made me empty my bag in the passage while everybody else was walking past me. The officials were laughing at me. Another Bangladeshi I know was detained at Mumbai airport on his way to London for nothing. Now you judge.
Would it be absurd to dream of a borderless Sub-Continent? I am not a revisionist but I dont see barbed wires as differentiating factors between civilizations. Ministers' comments betray peoples' sentiments for protecting human life.
border killing is not acceptable. to build up a relationship between Bangladesh and India, India govt. have to take steps to stop such incident. sheikh Hasina govt. is so positive to develop the relationship. so indian govt. have to be positive to build up relationship. bcz people of two country believe in peace and strong relationship.
@harish: You just mentioned half the story - "17 BSF personnel killed by bangladeshi villagers and border guards.". The other half, is that, your border security force (BSF) personnel entered into bangladesh territory uninvited on that day and started looting a bangladeshi village. Man, woman,children, cattle - nothing escaped their brutal beating on that day. Some villagers could escape to the nearest BDR (Bangladesh Rifles) camp, the unit responsible for bangladesh border petrolling and security and updated them regarding BSF's activity. Only then BDR reacted and there was a gunfight between the two forces. I am a Bangladeshi. And i feel anger, the crime that BSF does each day. Many bangladeshis are killed in the border each year - at least one in each week.
The action of BSF needs to be condemned.But blaming training for such
odd event shows lack of understanding.No force worth its name trains its men for these things.The guilty men would be definitely brought to justice.At the same time, do you understand the mindset of these jawans.As far as eastern borders are concerned,there are clear orders of 'no firing', and let me tell you that incidence have occured where a BSF jawan has been outnumbered by these smugglers and beaten mercileesly .May be a video of that needs to be prepared for your prestigious daily to take notice.I think we need to put home guards with danda for Bangladesh border because we dont need arms for these poor smugglers,who make fun of a jawan standing 200 yards away from him as he can not fire.Training of a force whose men did not think twice in sacrificing thheir lives(may be in vain)in J&K militancy has been questioned by some stray incidents.Pl also see a jawan's point of view before commenting on his integrity.
My Uncle lost his life just before the 71 war, and on our 63rd republic day, I'm appalled to read this editorial. Instead of acting like a responsible party, BSF has shown the bully it can be, and it is very unfortunate. Displaying the strength in the Republic day parades can only garner so much respect for a day or two, but day to day irresponsible actions from some bad quarters only bring shame to the country as a whole. i have seen the video, and I don't think there was any work related frustration among the BSF personnel. It was sheer behuda mazza that they were indulging in which is dangerous! No border patrol handbook or training teaches to pester villagers. Their job should be to guard borders, not loot or torture. If the man in the video was attempting to bribe the BSF, the guard could have tied his hands and handed him off to the BDR. It is as simple as that,why the torture and humiliation? These actions garner animosity and not brotherhood among the two nations.
Disgusting! Why do we have to go out of the way to bring down years of diplomatic relations by silly politics that does not know how to handle such situations? Bangladesh has never been a threat to India. They will be if the Indian Govt. decides to act Big Brother and take the Bangladeshi's for granted. IMHO, the way out with this is to allow Bangladeshis free access to India similar to what we give to Nepal. This will benefit relationships and save irrelavant arguments on illegal immiration. Bangaldeshis come to India to take advantage of opportunities here. When our Govt. gives them special status, they will no longer be wooed by China. Right now the situation is such that Bangladesh has to decide between it's emotions of aligning itself with India or be more practical by giving opportunities to China!. They want to be with us, why does our Govt ruin everything instead of creating an atmosphere tht will benefit both nations? Bangladesh people are very warm and welcoming towards us!
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