An Artificial Minority: The Stateless Biharis in Bangladesh
2009; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 29; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/13602000902943682
ISSN1469-9591
Autores Tópico(s)Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography
ResumoAbstract A large number of Biharis who migrated to the former East Pakistan after 1947 have been stranded there since its independence as Bangladesh and separation from Pakistan in 1971. Ever since then, the community has been swaying by the politics of repatriation and hopeless promises. The objective of this paper is to define the status of the Bihari people in Bangladesh. This paper argues that the Bihari community in Bangladesh is an artificial minority because of its social and political context and historical legacy. Despite the fact that they are similar to the majority Bengali people in that they share a common religion, Islam, and have come to share a common language, Bangla, in Bangladesh Biharis are treated differently in terms of identity, nationality, and social, economic and political status. The problem is a result of deliberate procrastination and political indecision on the part of both countries, Bangladesh and Pakistan. However, neither Pakistan nor Bangladesh has done much to resolve the problem of the Bihari community. Notes "Bangladesh", CIA World Fact Book, available online at: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bg.html (accessed 10 May 2004). The Country Reports Practices—2003, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 25 February 2004, available online at: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27944.htm (accessed 5 January 2005). The terminologies that are frequently used relating to the term—Muhajirs (defined by the Census of Pakistan, 1951, as "a person who has moved into Pakistan as a result of partition or fear of disturbances connected therewith"), Indian–Bangladeshi, non-locals, non-Bangladeshi, stranded Pakistanis or Urdu speaking people. The International Convention on Biharis held in Geneva in 1982 referred to them as non-Bangladeshi or stranded Pakistanis. See, Dilara Chowdhury, Bangladesh and South Asian International System, Dhaka: Academic Publishers, 1992, p. 296. Bangladesh Observer, 11 August 1992. For details, see, "The 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees", in United Nations Treaty, Vol. 189, No. 2545, July 1951, p. 137. The partition was followed on the basis of Hindu–Muslim communal violence which started during August 1946, popularly known as the Great Calcutta Riot. Within three days, an estimated 4,000 people were dead and 100,000 were injured as a result of the religious riot. The violence stretched to the surrounding states of Noakhali, Bihar, United Province (currently Uttar Pradesh), North Western Frontier Province and Punjab. For more information on the Calcutta Riot see, Harun-or Rashid, The Foreshadowing of Bangladesh: Bengal Muslim League and Muslim Politics, 1936–1947, Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, 1987. Zaglul Haider, "Repatriation of the Biharis Stranded in Bangladesh: Diplomacy and Development", Asian Profile, Vol. 31, No. 6, December 2003, p. 525. In order to escape from the oppression of the non-Muslims, the religion, Islam, encouraged its followers to undertake hijrat. For details, see, ibid., p. 525. Ibid., p. 528. Ibid., p. 529. United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), The State of The World's Refugees 2000: Fifty Years of Humanitarian Action, "Chapter 3: Rupture in South Asia", Oxford: UNHCR/Oxford University Press (OUP), 2000, p. 14, available online at: http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/opendoc.pdf (accessed 10 June 2004). Zaglul Haider, "Repatriation of the Biharis Stranded in Bangladesh", op. cit., p. 534. Papiya Ghosh, "Who went Where and How are they doing? Pakistanis and Indians outside South Asia", South Asia Forum For Human Rights (SAFHR) Publication, Refugee Watch, available online at: http://www.safhr.org/refugee_watch12_4.htm (accessed 6 March 2009). 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