Greater Bangladesh map sparks alarm: Turkey backed Saltanat-e-Bangla targets Indian territory

New Delhi: The government of India said that it had taken note of an Islamic group in Dhaka which goes by the name Saltanat-e-Bangla. External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar said that this group is backed by a Turkish NGO — the Turkish Youth Federation.

The group has put out a map of the so-called Greater Bangladesh, which includes parts of India. The Minister also said this in a written response to Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala’s starred question in the Rajya Sabha.

The Saltanat-e-Bangla had earlier this year unveiled a map of Greater Bangladesh at an event that was held inside the Teacher-Student Centre of the Dhaka University in Shahbagh. The institution, which was considered to be a prestigious one, is now the temporary headquarters of this separatist group.

Intelligence Bureau officials said that this group is attempting to revive radical ideologies and is also mobilising the youth in Bangladesh, particularly those who feel strongly about the creation of a Greater Bangladesh. The outfit has been evoking the legacy of the medieval Bengal Sultanate for some time now.

The controversial map of the so-called Greater Bangladesh that the group released comprises the Arakan region of Myanmar and also larger parts of India that include West Bengal, Jharkhand, Tripura, Assam, Bihar, Odisha, and other northeastern states.

The Saltanat-e-Bangla derives its name from the Bengal Sultanate, which was an independent Muslim ruled kingdom that was ruled between 1352 and 1538 CE.

The sultanate covered parts of present-day Eastern India and Bangladesh. The Indian agencies are more concerned about the proximity that the group shares with the interim government in Bangladesh, headed by Muhammad Yunus.

Officials have learnt that the fund that the outfit gets is linked to Deena Afroz Yunus, who is the daughter of Muhammad Yunus. She is the alleged main financier of CSS-Bangladesh, an NGO based out of Beliaghata, Upazila. This NGO has been identified as the logistics and recruitment hub for the outfit arm, Barawah-e-Bangal. This sub-group undertakes the role of recruiting and indoctrinating the youth of Bangladesh.

The operations of the Saltanat-e-Bangla are being facilitated by the Turkish Youth Federation. This NGO provides financial and ideological support to the group.

The rise of this group comes at a time when there is so much uncertainty in Bangladesh. The Yunus government has been accused of being complicit with radical Islamic groups. Under his watch, the Jamaat-e-Islami became powerful.

While the ban on the Jamaat had been lifted after Yunus took over, he has allowed its members to be part of the interim government and call the shots. Further, under Yunus, Pakistan is having a field day in Bangladesh. Visa norms have been eased for Pakistani officials, and the sea route too has been opened up for Islamabad.

With such developments, the Indian agencies are concerned about the Saltanat-e-Bangla and its rise.

“The Government has taken note of reports that an Islamist group in Dhaka called the ‘Saltanat-e-Bangla’, backed by a Turkish NGO called the ‘Turkish Youth Federation’, has put out a map of the so-called ‘Greater Bangladesh’ that includes parts of India. The map was displayed in the Dhaka University,” India’s External Affairs Ministry said.

IANS