Exodus
From our India Correspondent
The Economist | 15th May 1971
The exodus of east Bengali refugees which began as a trickle in mid-April is swelling into a torrent as the Pakistani army starts fanning out into the countryside. No firm figures are available because fleeing men, women and children have crossed over into India at countless points along the 1400-mile border. But the total may now be over 3 million. The population in reception camps run by the Indian government is near the million mark; large numbers have taken shelter with friends, and others are homeless.
A good many refugees have come away because of direct personal experience if the Pakistani army’s ruthlessness. But dear is infectious, and the desertion of one village touches off the flight from the next. Moslems are escaping to India too but a sizable proportion of the refugees are Hindus who are feeling increasingly insecure in east Bengal. Religious parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Muslim League are coming to the fore there in response to the army’s search for local allies. And some West Pakistani newspapers have recently attempted to blame Bengali Hindus for setting off the whole conflict by voting overwhelmingly for Sheikh Mujib in the December elections. They argue that Hindus should never have been given en equal franchise in an Islamic state.
If too many Hindu refugees pour into West Bengal there will be a danger of local clashes between them and the Indian Moslems who dominate some border districts. But the Indian governments is worried about the prospect of any kind of permanent addition to eastern India’s already large refugee population. Politicians fear the effects this might have on a state as fragile as West Bengal. The West Bengali government is already insisting on the dispersal of incoming refugees to other states, but Mrs Gandhi is loth to agree because the farther they are moved the more inclined they may be to stay put.
The refugee migration may soon be swelled by food shortages, which are chronic in east Bengal between April and October. Indian food stocks can cope with the immediate needs of the refugees but as weeks go by supplementary imports will be required. Pakistan’s only response to the refugee problem is to deny that it exists. An official commentary this week described the refugees as “Hindu fifth columnist” and Indian “infiltrators” who are setting up bases on the Indian side of the border to continue their attempt to dismember Pakistan.
Unicoded by Tushar Mondal