Bangabhumi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hindu Republic of Bangabhumi
Hindu Prajātantrī Baṅgabhūmi Participant in Banglabhumi Insurgency
Active	1973–2006
Ideology	Hindu nationalism Separatism
Leader	Kalidas Baidya (1973-2006)
Area of operations	India
Allies	India (denied by India)
Opponents	Bangladesh  Pakistan

Bangabhumi (meaning "land of Vanga") was the name of a proposed country. It was imagined by a group called the Banga Sena (which means "Vanga Army"). This group wanted to create a separate country for Bengali Hindus in southwestern Bangladesh. Kalidas Baidya led this group.

The Bangabhumi idea started in 1973 in India. This was soon after Bangladesh became independent in the Bangladesh Liberation War. The group wanted to help Hindu refugees from Bangladesh. These refugees had faced problems from the Pakistan Army in 1971. However, the idea for Bangabhumi did not get much support back then. One person linked to the movement, Chittaranjan Sutar, said in 2001 that he did not support creating a new nation. As of 2025, both the Bangabhumi idea and the Banga Sena group seem to have stopped their activities. Other groups with the same name have appeared in India, but their ideas have not become popular.

Banga Sena: The Group's Actions

In 2004, Major General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, a leader of the Bangladesh Rifles, spoke with Ajay Raj Sharma from India's Border Security Force. He said that the Banga Sena group was causing problems for Bangladesh. They were doing this from their bases in the Indian state of West Bengal. Some reports also suggested that India might have helped organize the Banga Sena.

In March 2006, an official from Bangladesh's home ministry shared worries about the Banga Sena's actions against Bangladesh. He said that Bangladesh wanted a peaceful border with India. He also noted that the situation had gotten much better because both countries were patrolling the border together. A Bangladeshi official stated that the group was "a threat to the independence of Bangladesh."

More than 400 members of the Banga Sena were arrested in India on February 18, 2003. They were trying to cross into Bangladesh from the North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal. Police said that the group's members had been gathering at the border since that morning.

In January 2004, the head of the Bangladesh Rifles gave a list of camps to the head of the Border Security Force. This list included places where the Banga Sena and other groups were causing tension and trying to separate parts of Bangladesh. India's Foreign Secretary said that India would help deal with the Banga Sena and other such groups. In September 2007, representatives from two groups in Assam, India, said that the Banga Sena was involved in asking for money illegally. They warned that this could cause problems in the area.

Regarding the Banga Sena's actions, Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary, Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, made it clear that his country would not allow any actions against its land or independence. The All India Minority Forum, a group for religious minorities in India, also showed concern about the Banga Sena.

See also

• Bengali Hindus
• Hinduism in Bangladesh
• List of Hindu nationalist political parties
• Bangladesh–India relations
• Hindu Mahasabha