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The Business Standard

Living in the ground zero of border killings

Living in the ground zero of border killings

In Focus

Parvez Ahmad
16 July, 2021, 08:35 am
Last modified: 16 July, 2021, 03:32 pm

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Living in the ground zero of border killings

Parvez Ahmad
16 July, 2021, 08:35 am
Last modified: 16 July, 2021, 03:32 pm

I grew up in a place close to the Bangladesh-India border.

Informal cross-border movement is widespread here because during the partition, the Radcliffe Line put many extended family members on the other side of the border, turning them into foreign nationals.

Also, it was not news for me that the smuggling of goods is what keeps the local economy alive. Local influential quarters and corrupt law enforcers are often allegedly involved in the illicit trades.

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This illegal cross-border movement of goods and persons often puts people in harm's way. Border fatality at the hands of the border forces are very high along the Bangladesh-India border.

In my early adulthood, I wondered why the mere carriers of smuggled goods were taking the bullets? I often asked, why are the victims predominantly Bangladeshis?

As a photojournalist, in 2012, I started working on border violence with this deceptively simple question in mind. Nine years later, now I know, this high rate of border violence is the ultimate manifestation of the unequal relationship between the two countries.

In this visual reportage, I tell the story of people living in the ground zero of border killings.

Cattle coming from India near Chapainababgonj border waiting for the clearance at Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi. Expansion of legal means of trades could reduce smuggling in the border. 6 November 2018. Photo: Parvez Ahmad
Cattle coming from India near Chapainababgonj border waiting for the clearance at Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi. Expansion of legal means of trades could reduce smuggling in the border. 6 November 2018. Photo: Parvez Ahmad

Two men from Bangladesh and India meet at Hili land port, Dinajpur, on the occasion of a cross-border wedding. Hili, Dinajpur; 5 May 2017. Photo: Parvez Ahmad
Two men from Bangladesh and India meet at Hili land port, Dinajpur, on the occasion of a cross-border wedding. Hili, Dinajpur; 5 May 2017. Photo: Parvez Ahmad

Fenced Bangladesh-India border near Behular char, Roumari, Kurigram. 24 September 2016. Photo: Parvez Ahmad

Asadul Haque’s corpse being carried by BSF personnel for handing over to BGB on the No Man’s Land between Bangladesh and India at Aditmari, Lalmonirhat. 13 December 2016. Photo: Parvez Ahmad
Asadul Haque’s corpse being carried by BSF personnel for handing over to BGB on the No Man’s Land between Bangladesh and India at Aditmari, Lalmonirhat. 13 December 2016. Photo: Parvez Ahmad

A Bangladeshi national, Khalilur Rahman, was shot dead by members of the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) along the Bhujaripara border. Grief-stricken family members before the body was taken for burial. Dimla, Balapara, Nilphamari; 17 January 2019. Photo: Parvez Ahmad

Milon Hossain suffered a serious pallet-bullet wound in the eyes near Patgram, Lalmonirhat. He lost his sight forever. National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital, Agargaon, Dhaka; 24 December 2020. Photo: Parvez Ahmad

On the tenth anniversary of Felani Khatun’s death, a photography exhibition was organised at the premises of her home. Nageswari, Kurigram; January 7, 2021. Photo: Parvez Ahmad
On the tenth anniversary of Felani Khatun’s death, a photography exhibition was organised at the premises of her home. Nageswari, Kurigram; January 7, 2021. Photo: Parvez Ahmad

On International Women’s Day 2020, a photography exhibition was organised commemorating Felani Khatun who was killed by Border Security Force of India on January 7, 2011. Raju Bhashkarja, Dhaka University, Dhaka; March 8, 2020. Photo: Parvez Ahmad

Features / Top News

Border killing / BSF

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