Muhammad Yunus' daughter funding secession of India to create 'Greater Bangladesh'? Is Turkey behind Saltanat-e-Bangla?

Is Muhammad Yunus' daughter funding the outfit that nourishes the dangerous dream of splitting India and creating 'Greater Bangladesh' by clubbing these areas to the existing country? Is she behind the radical Islamist forces wreaking havoc in the country? If reports are to be believed, anti-India outfit Saltanat-e-Bangla gets funds linked to Deena Afroz Yunus, daughter of Muhammad Yunus. She is the alleged main financier of CSS-Bangladesh, an NGO based out of Beliaghata Upazila. The authorities have identified this outfit 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.

What is Saltanat-e-Bangla?

Earlier this year, the Saltanat-e-Bangla 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. 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.

What has India said?

Replying to a question in the Parliament, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar said that this group is backed by a Turkish NGO named the Turkish Youth Federation. He also said that the government had taken note of an Islamic group in Dhaka, which goes by the name Saltanat-e-Bangla. Jaishankar said, "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 Dhaka University."

Intelligence Bureau officials have informed us that the group is trying 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.

(With inputs from IANS.)