Kalshi, situated in Pallabi,
Dhaka is home to a variety of people, ranging from extremely poor people living
in slums, to lower middle income families, middle income and even upper middle
class communities, all on a single stretch of road in an area that is seeing
extremely fast urban development. Among a defining feature of the area is that
it is home to a number of Bihari communities, some of whom live in separate
communities in camps and slums in the area. Biharis are generally identified as
Urdu speaking people living in Bangladesh who also identify themselves as
non-Bengalees or even ‘stranded’ Pakistanis, in reference to their official
status after the war of 1971 that led to the breakup of erstwhile Pakistan and
the creation of Bangladesh. Contrary to what many are led to believe, all Biharis
do not want to go back to Pakistan, and neither do all Biharis live in camps or
slums. It is also true that a lot of Biharis have intermarried with Bangla
speaking communities and many speak Bangla with the fluency of the locals
themselves, as their first language nonetheless. A lot of the business and area
in and around Kalshi, Mirpur is owned by non-Bengalees, or “Biharis” themselves,
most of whom are proudly citizens of Bangladesh.
News: 10 killed in
clashes at Mirpur
Ten people, including
four men and two children, were killed in a series of clashes at a camp of ‘stranded’
Pakistanis at Kalshi in Pallabi in the city on Saturday. Nine of the deceased
were identified as Baby, Lalu, his brother Bhulu, Shahanara and her 5 year old
boy, Roksana, Afsana, Farzana and Ashique. Witnesses said that clashes erupted
in the morning after Fajr prayers at Kurmitola Bihari camp, locally known as ‘Bihari
camp’ after a dispute over the use of firecrackers on the occasion of
Shab-e-Barat.
Another person, who was
hit by pellets allegedly fired by police during the clashes, succumbed to his
injuries at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), hospital sources said.
The news received wide
coverage in media and sparked furious debate on social media. Not only was the
incident coverage limited to local and national print media such as Prothom Alo,
Naya Diganta and the Daily Star along with being shown live on all television
channels, it was picked up by international media as well such as al Jazeera.
Media story behind the
incident:
The story behind the
event as given by the media were by and large the same, the main differences being
on the focus of the stories at hand,
a) Most media tried to
portray the incident as being the result of ethnic tensions spanning more than
40 years. This was the tool employed by Prothom Alo and the Daily Star among
others. Shockingly, an international outlet such as Al Jazeera also portrayed the
incident as being a result of ethnic tensions between ‘ethnic Bengalees’ and ‘stranded
Biharis refugees’, when a lot of witnesses suggested otherwise on television
media throughout the day.
b) The media were terribly
confusing and unclear on the event, often publishing contrasting versions of
the same explanation of events in the same article. For example, media reports
suggested that the clashes were between Bengalee locals and Biharis, while others said that the fight was between two
groups of Biharis, while still others claimed that the police were a either a third
front or that the clashes were between Biharis and the police.
c) The major media failed
to ask the required questions on the event or address the concerns of the
affected people. They failed to verify the witnesses, the testimonials, and the
question the actions of the police during the event. Most went with
cut-copy-paste versions of each other’s stories on the incident.
Questions that need to
be asked:
a) The affected
complained to the TV cameramen that Iliyas Uddin Mollah, the present MP of
Dhaka-16, of which Kalshi is a part, was to blame. During the interviews, some
men even broke out in processions with slogans of “Hang Iliyaas Mollah” and “Try
Iliyaas Mollah” before the police suddenly dispersed the protesters with force
and tear gas. What did the people want to say? Witnesses said that the real reason
for the clashes was from a dispute between Iliyaas Uddin Mollah MP and the camp
dwellers for quite some time. Previously 3 days ago, the electricity connection
to 400 families at the Kalapani camp had been severed and the MP had sternly
declared that he would not allow its reinstallation. The high voltage questions
which need to be asked here, keeping in mind the fact that most of the amenities
lines in the slums are illegal, is that on what authority did Iliyaas Mollah
carry out such an order? Was he involved in corruption regarding to the
installation of electricity lines and hoarding of government money in the
process?
b) The occurrence occurred
exactly three days into the previous incident of the severing of electricity to
the camp dwellers. Alongside the severing of electricity, cases had been filed with
police by the order of the MP himself against Jalal Bhontu, a leader of the Bihari
camp dwellers and twenty others. This was in direct link with a dispute of the
MP with Jalal over sharing electricity lines of a slum in Mirpur 12 Kalapani
with another slum of atleast 100 families operated and maintained by groups
loyal to the MP himself. The incident seemed so well planned, complete with the
fact that the attackers were men loyal to Iliyaas Mollah MP led by 5 no. ward Juboleague
president Jewel Rana, that the fact that most news media trying to dub the
incident as a ethnic clash is absurd.
c) Why did police help
the ruling party affiliated attackers in attacking the camp dwellers by firing
shots into the camp when they should have subdued tensions on both sides? Why
did the police allow the camp residences to burn throughout the afternoon and
prevent the action of fire fighters on the pretence that the camp dwellers were
not allowing the police access, even when it was clear on the TV cameras that
this was an outright lie?
d) Why did Awami League leader Iliyaas
uddin Mollah MP not visit the affected area throughout the day? Why did he
refuse to take calls from the media and answer their questions?
Conclusion:
The incident, on
retrospection, is a clear case of a result of a power struggle clash for area control by Iliyaas
uddin Mollah, the Awami League member of Parliament who, along with his family, the
very powerful Mollah family, is well known for his tight control on the area,
including the control of the drug trade (Mirpur is a haven for the drug trade
in Dhaka), control of numerous slums in the area and the phenomenon of land
grabbing along with all manner of illegal trade in the area. It is imperative
that we demand an independent and proper enquiry into the matter, including an
assurance that the perpetrators will actually be punished and that justice will be served to the poor people who have been attacked and livelihoods, home and lives lost and destroyed.
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