TIWN
Agartala, Oct 18 (TIWN):Four Pakistanis delegates in India now to attend the South Asian Peoples Conference in Kolkata ( 16-18th Oct) have denied entry into Agartala where a similar conference is being hosted on 21-22 Oct.
BBPPF convenor Manik Samajdar told TIWN that the Pakistanis have been given visa for two cities -- Amritsar and Kolkata. "Nowadays the Pakistanis are given city specific visa. So they cannot go to Agartala," he said.
"They were very keen to go there and join the conference against international terrorism, communalism and impersialism."
BBPPF organiser in Tripura Shyamal Roy said that a large number of delegates from Bangladesh would join the conference in Agartala .
The BBPPF has decided to hold a Long March from Afghanistan's Kabul to Moirang in India's Manipur state between Dec 1, 2015, and Apr 8, 2016, as part of the centenary celebrations of the Arz-e-Huqumat e Azad Hind, the first government of Free India formed by exiled nationalists during the First World War with Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh as President and Maulana Barkatullah as Prime Minister.
"The Long March will seek to revive the shared historical memories of the first government of Free India and that will help the people of South Asia unite in their struggle to keep out the neo-colonialist
forces spearheaded by US imperialism," said BBPPF convenor Manik Samjadar.
Speaking at the Kolkata convention on Friday, former Forward Bloc MP Debabrata Biswas said: "US imperialism is trying to divide us and sharpen conflicts within South Asia and elsewhere in the continent. It
gains through arms trade if countries like India and China or India and Pakistan fight each other. That should not happen."
The BBPPF has also resolved to request the governments of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to join together to organise the centenary celebrations of Arz-e-Huqumat e Azad Hind much like the governments of India and Bangladesh had joined together to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.
"This celebration will help us bridge the divide in South Asia by rekindling the anti-imperialist spirit," Biswas said.
The BBPPF also wants the governments of these four countries to include a chapter on the formation of the first government of Free India in the school history books of their countries.
The Forum also demanded that the Indian government should quash the arrest warrant of colonial government still pending against independence war hero Subhas Chandra Bose and make public all papers related to his activities including his mysterious disappearance.
"Subhas Bose is the only figure of India's anti-colonial struggle whose memories can united us all in South Asia. It is a shame that the arrest warrant is still pending," said Indian delegate Payal Singh.
The BBPPF also resolved to push governments in South Asia to make visa and travel easier between their countries.
Bangladesh delegates like Mustari Begum also raised the issue of providing easy access to Bangladesh TV channels for audiences in India and other South Asian countries.
"We want to showcase our cultures to each other. We get to see most Indian channels in countries but it should also be the other way around now."
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