Dhaka: Bangladesh’s National Citizen Party (NCP) leader, Hasnat Abdullah, has issued a warning that Dhaka might provide refuge to forces hostile to India, including separatist groups and will sever the "seven sisters" from India.
The term “Seven Sisters” refers to the northeastern Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura. Out of these, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram share land borders with Bangladesh.
“We will shelter separatist and anti-India forces and then we will sever the seven sisters from India," Abdullah made the remarks while addressing a gathering at Dhaka’s Central Shaheed Minar. on Monday.
Since long, India has been claiming that militant and separatist groups operating in the Northeast of using Bangladesh as a sanctuary, transit route and logistics base, particularly during the late 1990s and early 2000s. It is being said that numerous insurgent groups from Assam and Tripura have build camps, safe houses, or support networks across the border during this period.
In Tripura, separatist organizations such as the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) have repeatedly been reported by Indian security agencies to have connections with camps and handlers operating from Bangladesh. Officials noted that after carrying out attacks, these insurgents crossed into Bangladesh to keep them safe and secure from Indian security forces.
Beyond the northeastern states, Bangladesh has at times provided shelter to Islamist extremist groups with ties to India. Organizations like Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) and, later, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were identified by Indian authorities for maintaining cross-border networks that facilitated radicalization and logistical support affecting eastern India.
The landscape shifted notably after Sheikh Hasina returned to power in 2009, when her government launched a robust crackdown on insurgent groups that targeted India.