1979 Bangladesh-Indian skirmishes

Armed skirmishes between Bangladesh and India

1979 Bangladesh-India skirmishes

| Date| 1 November - 2 December 1979 (1 month, 1 day)

|

Location|

Bangladesh-Indian Border (Belonia, South Tripura, Tripura, India/Comilla, Chittagong Division, Bangladesh)

Result|  See Aftermath section
Territorial
changes|  Status quo ante bellum
Belligerents
Bangladesh|  India
Commanders and leaders
Ziaur Rahman|  Unknown
Units involved
Bangladesh Rifles|  Border Security Force

The 1979 Bangladesh-India skirmishes were a series of armed skirmishes and border firing between Bangladesh and India from November to December 1979. The skirmishes took place between troops of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and the Border Security Force (BSF) on the poorly-marked international border between the two countries.[1][2][3]

The clashes began on 1 November.[1] When for more than a month, India and Bangladesh had engaged in a gunbattle at the border town of BeIonia in northeastern India.[2][4][5] Bangladesh Rifles had fired nearly a hundred rounds into a river islet at Belonia, a small subdivisional town in South Tripura. While, three companies of the Bangladesh Rifles have been deployed to man a single border outpost, about as many troops now guard the 50 km railway track between Belonia railway station which is in Feni \- the principal town of the Bangladeshi district of Noakhali.[1]

## Background

[edit]

Years after the victory of the Battles of Belonia Bulge by the Mukti Bahini and allied Indian troops.[6][7] The Belonia issue was almost settled in 1974 when Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman agreed to the general principle of watershed. It was decided that in all cases of river line boundaries the midstream would be regarded as the border. And that both sides would take steps to ensure that the rivers did not change their course, Unfortunately, it was not settled.[1]

## Cause

[edit]

The joint boundaries commission was to meet in the first week of November to finalise the Belonia border within the framework of the Indira-Mujib agreement. Officials of the two countries held a flag meeting. However, on 15 August 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family was killed, and Zia became president in 1977, and in 1977, Indira Gandhi lost the election, years later, in October 1979, Bangladesh said, it should be regarded as no-man's-land and farmers on the Indian side should be refrained from harvesting in no-man's-land. The Indian side did not agree, Indian peasants began harvesting the paddy they had sown.[1] Bangladesh Rifles and the Border Security Force both exchanged fire in the beginning days of November, thus starting intense gunbattles between the two sides.[8]

## Conflict

[edit]

Bangladesh Rifles and Indian Border Security Forces exchanged fire near the Comilla-Tripura border throughout the entire month of November to December 1979.[2][1][4] The shooting appears to have become a habit with the soldiers on both sides. A joint survey team of India and Bangladesh visited the area and watched bullets flying across the disputed land for 90 minutes.[2] No fatalities or injuries were reported.[1]

## Aftermath

[edit]

After the three-day talks, the two delegations issued a brief joint statement in which, both sides agreed to exercise maximum restraint and avoided provocation to ensure the return of normalcy in the Muhuri Char area of the Belonia sector on the Tripura-Comilla border. This merely meant that the two sides would not resort to exchange of firing on the disputed 44-acre stretch of land.[4][5]

Exchange of firing ended, but the talks had later failed.[4]

### Skirmishes After 1979 Incident

[edit]

Skirmishes in Belonia also occurred in 1985,[8] Where heavy mortars were used in the intense clash.[9] Skirmishes near and in Belonia also occured in 1999,[10][8] where 6 civilians including 1 BSF Jawan were injured.[11][12] In total, there were 8 skirmishes from 1979 to 1999 in Muhuri Char.[13] BGB and BSF clashed for a total of 58 days in 20 years.[14][15][16]

## Criticism

[edit]

The Daily Sangram, a Pro-Jamaat e Islami newspaper criticised India for attempting to occupy Muhurir Char area, near the location of the clash in 1979 and for carrying out aggression in the area since 1947, And also for attacks on Bangladeshis by BSF.[17] Indian officials accused Bangladesh for being up to mischief, and the Tripura Government also criticised Bangladesh for escalation.[18]

## See also

[edit]

* 2001 Bangladesh–India Border Clashes
* 2005 Bangladesh-India Border Clashes
* 2019 Bangladesh-Indian Border Clash
* Deaths along the Bangladesh–India Border
* Border Guard Bangladesh
* Border Security Force
* A. L. M. Fazlur Rahman

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g "Indian paramilitary forces, Bangladesh Rifles exchange fire over river islet". India Today. 2014-02-18. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
2. ^ a b c d "India and Bangladesh Trade Fire in Border Dispute". The New York Times. 1979-12-03. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
3. ^ Khanna, V. N (2018). Foreign Policy of India -7E. Vikas Publishing House. p. 161\. ISBN 9789352718559.
4. ^ a b c d "December 17, 1979, Forty Years Ago: Indo-Bangla Talks". The Indian Express. 2019-12-17. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
5. ^ a b "December 9, 1979, Forty Years Ago: Indo-Bangla talks". The Indian Express. 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
6. ^ "Battles of Belonia Bulge and "Durdharsha Dosh" (the daring ten)". The Daily Observer (Bangladesh). Retrieved 2024-04-30.
7. ^ Mustafa, FF Ghulam (2017-12-16). "BATTLES OF BELONIA BULGE". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
8. ^ a b c Bhaumik, Subir (25 August 1999). "Border commanders declare truce". BBC News.
9. ^ "India-Bangladesh clash 'over'". BBC News. 24 August 1999. Retrieved 14 September 2024. "In 1985, heavy mortars were used in one of the more intensive clashes."
10. ^ "Survey at Muhurichar". BDNews24. 19 January 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2024. "In 1964, security forces of India and erstwhile East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, first exchanged fire over Muhurichar after it surfaced following erosion in the river Muhuri. The last skirmish that lasted for three days was in 1999"
11. ^ Sujit Chakraborty (25 August 2024) Indo-Bangla cross-fire stops, both parties agree to maintain status quo. The 67.31-acre land at Muhurichar has remained a disputed area since 1974 with both India and Bangladesh claiming the cultivable tract as their own territory. Of it, 44.87 acre falls in the Indian territory, while the rest is in Bangladesh's control. At least six people, including a BSF jawan, were injured
12. ^ "India-Bangladesh clash 'over'". BBC News. 24 August 1999. Retrieved 14 September 2024. "At least six civilians and one border guard have been wounded in the exchanges of automatic weapons fire. The border between India's Tripura state and the Feni region of south-eastern Bangladesh is marked by the river Muhuri. "The Indian side stopped firing at 1310 (0710GMT) and we also ceased shooting," said Colonel Shawkat Hossain of the BDR."
13. ^ "Delhi's Muhuri river demarcation proposal unacceptable". New Age (Bangladesh). 23 December 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2024. "Border forces of both the countries are also reported to have exchanged gunfire in at least eight incidents in 1979–1999 in Muhurir Char. India has a history of not resolving prickly issues with Bangladesh,"
14. ^ মুহুরীর চর দখলে মরিয়া ভারত. Daily Inqilab (in Bengali). 22 March 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
15. ^ Rahim, AKM Abdur (24 February 2022). মুহুরীর চরে নিজেদের জমিতে যেতে পারছে না বাংলাদেশীরা [Bangladeshis cannot go to their own land in Muhurir Char]. The Daily Sangram (in Bengali). Retrieved 14 September 2024. "মুহুরীর চর দখলে রাখতে ১৯৭৯ সাল থেকে ১৯৯৯ সালের ২২ আগস্ট পর্যন্ত ৫৮ দিন ভারতীয় বিএসএফ ও বিজিবির (বিডিআর) গুলীবিনিময় হয়েছে। ১৯৯৪ সালের ১৫ জানুয়ারি বিএসএফের গুলীতে প্রাণ হারান বাংলাদেশর বাউর পাথর গ্রামের বেয়াধন বিবি (৪০)।"
16. ^ ফেনীর বিরোধপূর্ণ মুহুরীর চর হস্তান্তর করতে চাচ্ছে ভারত. Daily Inqilab (in Bengali). 18 March 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2024. "ফেনীস্থ বিজিবি'র ৪ ব্যাটালিয়ন সূত্রে জানা গেছে, মুহুরীর চর দখলে রাখতে ১৯৭৯ সাল থেকে ১৯৯৯ সালের ২২ আগস্ট পর্যন্ত ৫৮ দিন ভারতীয় বিএসএফ ও বিজিবির (বিডিআর) মধ্যে গুলিবিনিময় হয়েছে।"
17. ^ মুহুরীর চর দখলে ভারতের আগ্রাসন. The Daily Sangram (in Bengali). 21 September 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
18. ^ "India and Bangladesh Trade Fire in Border Dispute". The New York Times. 3 December 1979.