It was 25 years ago today, on April 18, 2001, that Bangladesh inflicted a horrific and incomparable wound on India – the wholesale slaughter of 16 Border Security Force jawans near Assam’s Mankachar on the Indo-Bangladesh border.
The lead-up to this grievous incident actually took place in Meghalaya, at Pyrdiwah, on April 16 when thousands of Bangladesh Rifles (since renamed Border Guards Bangladesh) personnel besieged Pyrdiwah, based on a claim to the Khasi-majority village.
Seemingly in retaliation, BSF troops crossed the border near Mankachar two days later but were wholly outnumbered.
What followed was the sickening killing of 16 BSF men. The bodies were handed back to India soon after and the condition of the slain men shocked the country. There were reports of horrific mutilation, of the dead being shot at point-blank range and torture marks on the bodies.
Bangladesh claimed at one point that the BSF men were killed by angry villagers and not Bangladesh Rifles troops. Whatever the story, incredibly the government of the day did not unleash hell on Bangladesh for such a grievous incident.
Perhaps India realised that its own forces were somewhat to blame. Or perhaps the relationship with Bangladesh was just too important. After all, the Bangladesh Prime Minister then, Sheikh Hasina, was an Indian ally and remained so until her regime was toppled in 2024.
Perhaps also the measured response of the Indian government then was normal compared to the chest-thumping nature of today’s political leadership. The party in charge was actually the same – the BJP – but the faces were different. Back then, the old guard of AB Vajpayee and LK Advani still held sway over the more belligerent Narendra Modi and Amit Shah of today.
Is India a stronger country now? It certainly likes to think so. But the nature of news manipulation and outright propaganda means that the government’s tall claims about giving Pakistan a bloody nose after Pahalgam or of standing up to China in Ladakh have to be taken with a pinch of salt.
Meghalaya continues to be on the frontline as far as Bangladesh is concerned. This state bears much of the brunt when it comes to illegal migration, cross-border theft and smuggling. Although weakened, anti-India militants still exist on the other side of the boundary.
But as India seeks to repair its relationship with Bangladesh, which took a hit after the 2024 revolution, let us also not forget the loss of the BSF jawans on that fateful day a quarter of a century ago.
