The Rise of Jamaat on the India-B’desh Border May Disrupt the Security of WB and Northeast India.

Growing Jamaat Influence Near Bangladesh Border Raises Security Concerns for Eastern India, Challenges for Bengali Hindus.

Mohit Ray

On 12 February 2026, the long-awaited election in Bangladesh was held. About one and a half years earlier, an elected government had been overthrown through what was called a “people’s revolution.” A great deal of violence, killings, persecution of minority Hindus, and finally Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s departure from the country—all together this has come to be known as the July Revolution.

The central theme of this July Revolution was, in fact, complete opposition to Bangladesh’s Liberation War. During this time, a popular slogan in Bangladesh had become: “Who are you? Who am I? — Razakar, Razakar.”

This Islamic revolution was carried out according to a carefully pre-planned design. Indian intelligence agencies apparently had no idea about it, or for political reasons they remained inactive. Violent opposition to the misrule or authoritarian rule of the Awami League could certainly occur, but that did not justify the destruction of memorials and statues of the Liberation War, the destruction of memorials of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, or the victory chants for the Razakars.

After the “July Revolution” of 2024, on 26 September, in his speech at the annual conference of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, the chief adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, made it clear without any ambiguity that this “revolution” in Bangladesh had been carefully conceived and pre-planned. He even introduced on stage the main brain behind this pre-planning, Mafuz Abdullah. Mafuz Abdullah is a well-known Islamic organizer.

The insult to the Liberation War is also an insult to India—an insult to the four thousand Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives to make a neighboring country independent. Yet the Government of India did not appear disturbed by these events at all. When Hindus stood in neck-deep water in the middle of rivers seeking refuge in India, India sent them back.

About a year and a half later, elections were held in Bangladesh. The election was held after declaring the Awami League banned. In the absence of the Awami League, the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) won 209 seats in the election and formed the government. The only major opposition party, Jamaat-e-Islami, won 68 seats.

Many people are offering consolation by saying that Jamaat has not won. Jamaat opposed the Liberation War and supported Pakistan. On the other hand, the founder of the BNP, Ziaur Rahman, had been a freedom fighter and the proclaimer of independence. However, Ziaur Rahman’s rise had no connection with parliamentary democracy. Through bloody internal conflicts among military factions, Ziaur Rahman became the chief of the army, and later, in 1978, after becoming the President of the country, he began the Islamization of Bangladesh’s constitution.

The phrase “Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim” was added to the preamble of the constitution. In the fundamental principles was inserted “absolute faith and trust in Almighty Allah.” Secularism was removed.

The Muslim League leader Azizur Rahman Shah, who in 1971 had served as Pakistan’s representative to the United Nations and had spoken strongly against Bangladesh’s independence, was appointed Prime Minister of Bangladesh by Ziaur Rahman in 1979.

In 1981, Zia was killed in an attack by a military faction. After that, the BNP formed alliances with Jamaat in every election, making no attempt to maintain even the appearance of secularism.

The last time the BNP came to power in alliance with Jamaat was in October 2001. India’s Prime Minister at the time, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, congratulated Begum Zia, the leader of this strongly anti-India government, and sent National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra to convey his congratulations personally. Brajesh Mishra was the first foreign diplomat to visit Dhaka after the election.

The minority Hindu community of Bangladesh was fearful of the BNP’s return to power, and within a short time communal violence began. Within a month started mass expulsions of the Hindu community, and a wave of refugees moved toward the border.

At that time, in Char Fashion in Bhola district of Barishal, hundreds of Hindu women were sexually assaulted over three days. Regarding the five years of severe minority persecution under BNP rule, the three-volume white paper edited by Shahriar Kabir — “1,500 Days of Minority Persecution in Bangladesh” — is an extraordinary human-rights compilation.

The Government of India has rightly given shelter to Sheikh Hasina. Our earlier statesmen had given shelter to the Dalai Lama, but had unhesitatingly handed Tibet over to China.

There is special reason for caution for West Bengal, because most of the seats won by Jamaat lie along the border with West Bengal. If the Government of India does not take strict steps even now, the future of West Bengal and Northeast India may be endangered. 

The growing Jamaat influence near the Bangladesh border not only raises security concerns for eastern India, it’s also a great challenge for Bengali Hindus of West Bengal and Bangladesh both.

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About the Author: Dr. Mohit Ray is an Indian environmental and human rights activist based in Kolkata. He is a key person in CAAMB (Campaign Against Atrocities on Minorities in Bangladesh). Dr. Ray has been a visiting faculty in the Environment Programme for M.Phil. at the School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, and was attached to the Environmental Management Department of IISWBM. He was the convenor of the Refugee Cell of BJP WB unit.