Bangladesh crisis creates chaos along border with India

DW (English)

Thousands of people in Bangladesh have been trying to cross over to India since violent protests gripped the country in July. There have been reports of attacks on Hindus since former PM Sheikh Hasina fled the country.

Transcript

00:00Harin Chandra Singha received a distressing call from his family.

00:04Their home was torched in Bangladesh.

00:07Bangladesh has been in a state of turmoil

00:10after weeks-long violent protests against a controversial Job Khota scheme.

00:16The student-led demonstrations forced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

00:21to resign and flee to India.

00:23Singha lives in Khoch Bihar,

00:25a city in India's West Bengal state that borders Bangladesh.

00:29He moved to India in 1971

00:31during Bangladesh's War of Liberation against Pakistan.

00:35Some of his family members continue to live on the other side of the border.

00:39Following Hasina's departure,

00:41there have been reports of violent mobs attacking minority groups

00:45and their places of worship.

00:59Many people like Singha are worried about the future of the country.

01:03They are worried about the future of the country.

01:06They are worried about the future of the country.

01:09They are worried about the future of the country.

01:12They are worried about the future of the country.

01:15They are worried about the future of the country.

01:18They are worried about the future of the country.

01:21They are worried about the future of the country.

01:24They are worried about the future of the country.

01:27Many people like Singha are worried about their relatives in Bangladesh.

01:31Thousands have gathered at the Indian border,

01:34hoping to get refuge in India.

01:36But the Bangladesh Border Guards

01:38and Indian Border Security Force are not allowing it.

01:41India shares a 4,100-kilometre-long border with Bangladesh.

01:58There is a river.

02:00The river has a lot of water.

02:02That's why we can't cross it.

02:06Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

02:08recently said that his government will protect Bangladeshi Hindus.

02:12But the border situation is more complex than these promises.

02:16Sara Prasad Das, a local leader, is working as a mediator

02:20between Indian and Bangladeshi forces

02:22and the people gathered along the border.

02:26Many people came to the border on the 9th,

02:30about a thousand people.

02:33They sent an order to leave.

02:36We are saying that our generation is Bangladesh.

02:39Our West Bengal is Bangladesh.

02:42We are all Bengalis.

02:44We all live together.

02:46You should all try to understand each other

02:49so that there are no unnecessary incidents.

02:52Many people in Koch, Bihar told DW that they will welcome the refugees from Bangladesh

03:04as they have gone through similar experiences, but they are also wary of the possible conflicts

03:11in the future.

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