Simply barbaric

Imagine the scene. A young BSF officer, Jiwan Kumar, attempts to secure the release of a villager who had been dragged across the Tripura-Bangladesh border. Within minutes Jiwan Kumar is dragged over the border, brutally tortured and killed by members of Bangladesh Rifles. This is nothing but an act of extraordinary barbarity. It deserves to be strongly condemned and requires appropriately calibrated punishment. Bangladesh may dispute the circumstances under which this incident took place, but no conceivable attempt to complicate the narrative can justify the degrading torture that was inflicted upon a brave solider.

India-Bangladesh relations are at low ebb, the border is fraught with tension, and there is uncertainty over the intentions of those who move back and forth or sometimes even where the border is. But none of these background circumstances can even remotely justify the manner in which Jiwan Kumar was killed. The actions of the Bangladesh Rifles violates all canons of human decency, all norms of justice, all rules of combat, all conventions of engagement and all professional military codes. It is a shameful act, pure and simple. The government of Bangladesh should immediately conduct an inquiry and act against those responsible for this action. At the very least it can begin by apologising to India and to Jiwan Kumar’s family. Bangladesh may have many political and economic grievances. But Bangladesh Rifles has often exploited the forbearance and restraint shown by India’s Armed Forces, to bait, torture and kill BSF jawans, without fear of reprisals. The Bangladesh government has to recognise that this situation is unacceptable. Differences cannot license the kind of impunity that the Bangladesh Rifles has consistently displayed. India reserves the right to defend its soldiers and it has been remarkably restrained in the exercise of that right. It is in Bangladesh’s interests to ensure that India is not compelled to act on its own accord to correct an intolerable situation.

Bangladesh’s foreign policy seems to be now premised on an obsessive concern to constantly bait India. If Bangladesh, not only spurns every diplomatic overture, but resorts to a posture that sanctions a free-for-all on Indian soldiers, India will have no option but to take matters into its own hand. It cannot leave those who bravely defend its borders defenseless against brutal acts of violence. But fundamentally Bangladesh has to now decide whether it wants to be a part of the fraternity of civilised nations. By punishing the perpetrators of this torture, and ensuring that such incidents do not recur in the future, the Bangladesh government can redeem its image.