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CAUSES AND
DESCRIPTION OF CONFLICT:
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In 1971, India aided the
people of Bangladesh (then known as East Pakistan), gain
independence from Pakistan. According to the Bangladesh
government, ever since that military intervention, Indian
forces have occupied a small sliver of land along their
border near the village of Pyrdiwah. On April 18, 2001,
troops of the Bangladeshi Rifles (border troops) occupied
the disputed village. In the fighting that followed, 15
members of India's border forces, the Border Security Force
(BSF) were killed, along with several of the attacking
soldiers. Indian forces responded and retook the village.
Between 10,000 and 20,000 villagers living in the area fled
the fighting, with at least 17 suffering wounds. The combat
remained limited to the border troops of the respective
nations, though mortars were used in addition to automatic
weapons fire. Several villages were destroyed or heavily
damaged in the fighting.
Several of the Indian dead
appeared to have suffered brutal, non-combat deaths, which
were blamed on mob violence perpetuated by Bangladesh
civilians. The governments of both nations worked quickly to
defuse the tension and end the fighting. Since the creation
of Bangladesh, the neighbors have had largely cordial
relations, though the BSR and Bangladeshi Rifles have
exchanged fire in the past. Those incidents centered on
Muhurichar Island further to the south. Conflicting claims
to ownership of this river island provoked gunfire in 1975,
1979 and 1985. The violence in 2001 was by far the most
serious in the history of Indian-Bangladeshi
relations.
India and Bangladesh began
border talks in March, 2002.
