At Tripura’s Indo-Bangla check post, Indians recount moments of panic, Bangladeshis say vandalism brought shame to their country

Bipul Deb, a businessman from the Lake Chowmuhani area of Agartala city.

Speaking to indianexpress.com on the Indian side of the Akhaura Integrated Check Post (ICP) in the outskirts of Tripura’s capital city Agartala on Wednesday, Deb said, “It was full of panic. We saw they (the protestors) were very angry at the police and gheraoed the police headquarters, vandalised police stations and houses of political leaders. Our relatives didn’t allow us to step outside their home.”

‘Not just Hindus…’

Deb added, “It wasn’t just Hindus; a lot of Muslims were equally panicked in the area.” However, Deb feels that the agitation was more than just an uprising of the students. “There might have been more to what met the eyes. (Otherwise) why would statues be vandalised and desecrated?”

Pijush Kumar Deb, another Agartala-based businessman who accompanied Bipul, spoke in a similar tone and said most of his foreign tour was spent in panic and anxiety.

Pijush Kumar Deb, another Agartala-based businessman who accompanied Bipul, spoke in a similar tone and said most of his foreign tour was spent in panic and anxiety. “We got to know that the border check posts were closed. We were very scared at the time since police stations and houses of political leaders were being vandalised,” he said.

On their way back home, Bipul and Pijush hired an auto-rickshaw and reached the ICP through local roads in order to avoid trouble.

Still shaken from what happened

Taslima Akhter, a resident of the Border Golchakkar area of Agartala city was returning from a short trip to her relative’s place in the Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh.

Taslima Akhter, a resident of the Border Golchakkar area of Agartala city was returning from a short trip to her relative’s place in the Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh. Still uncomfortable to speak about it, Akhter said she did see violence but refused to speak about the exact scenes she saw unfolding before her eyes.

Just like the Bipul, Pijush, and Akhter, a handful of Bangladeshi citizens, who had come to India for various reasons, were seen heading towards their homes in the neighbouring country.

Many of them said while they support the student movement, incidents of desecration of photos and statues of ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Majubur Rahman and Rabindranath Tagore were “shameful” and belittled the nation’s respect internationally.

‘Do not support loot at Ganabhaban’

Abdul Motaleb, 47, a Bangladeshi citizen from the Brahmanbaria district, who had been in Tripura since Monday, said he agreed with the students over their demand but doesn’t support the acts of violence.

Abdul Motaleb, 47, a Bangladeshi citizen from the Brahmanbaria district, who had been in Tripura since Monday, said he agreed with the students over their demand but doesn’t support the acts of violence, including the loot at the Ganabhaban, which is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

“Good politicians are needed to run the country properly. Students did what they thought was right. We agree with them. However, these activities (vandalising statues, desecrating images, and looting) are hurting the nation’s sentiments. These should not have been done,” Motaleb said.

Abhi Banik of Narsingdi district in Bangladesh runs a small grocery shop. He had come to Tripura to attend a relative’s wedding a week back. He too supports the students’ cause but doesn’t support the violence that broke out.

Abhi Banik of Narsingdi district in Bangladesh runs a small grocery shop.

‘There was no political freedom under Sheikh Hasina but…’

“Neither me nor anyone from my family was a part of the movement. But it is true that there was no political freedom under Sheikh Hasina. Her government kept coming back to power simply without any genuine election,” Banik said.

He added, “Only those who lost their children or brethren in this student movement can feel the loss. Nobody had gone to fight; students had gone to demand their rights.”

Banik further said some people may have played a role from the background and unleashed violence against the authorities to escalate the movement. “But small children were killed in police brutality, good students were killed. The Hasina government’s undemocratic nature led to this. People were already angry with her due to the way the last three elections were conducted. The quota issue gave an opportunity (to the agitators). But I feel the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) and Jamaat (banned outfit Jamaat-e-Islami) took advantage of the student movement,” he said.

Banik also said that during the course of the student agitation, some protestors freed inmates from jails and in the process, many people involved in big crimes escaped.

Md Litan Chisti of the Kurbanpur village of Bangladesh’s Comilla district said elected Hindu public representatives have led their local union (similar to panchayats in India) bodies for several terms and said there is absolute peace in his area.

‘Incidents of vandalism shameful’

Like Motaleb, Banik too feels that the incidents of desecration of Rahman’s statues are “objectionable and shameful”.

Even amid much tension, there is some good news too. Md Litan Chisti of the Kurbanpur village of Bangladesh’s Comilla district said elected Hindu public representatives have led their local union (similar to panchayats in India) bodies for several terms and said there is absolute peace in his area.

“The student movement might have brought in some problems along with it but we, the local people of Kurbanpur, are united. Hindus and Muslims shall always stand together in times of need,” Chisti said.

Chisti also said he feels that both the sides — the Hasina administration and the student agitators — had problems in their statements due to which the movement escalated. “May be this was their fate. Violence was on the rise anyway. She (Hasina) should not have called the citizens razakars and the desecrations and violence should not have happened. All of this is also a loss for our people. The loss of a single vehicle is a loss for us as a nation. Riot is not good,” he said.

“We want something good to be done for us. We want the new government to ensure freedom, peace, voting rights, development, education, jobs. We want things to go well,” said Chisti, a demand echoed by Banik too.