A recent viral video by Bangladeshi influencer RK Sohan has reignited public discourse around the Geneva Camp in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur area, commonly referred to as ‘Mini Pakistan’. The settlement is home to thousands of Urdu-speaking Muslims, including Bihari and Muhajir families, many of whom have lived in legal and social limbo for decades. The term “Mini Pakistan" is sometimes used derogatorily, especially by Bangladeshi nationalists.

What Is Geneva Camp? People With Identity Crisis And A Hope for Change

Geneva Camp was established by the International Red Cross after the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War to accommodate Urdu-speaking Muslims who had arrived in East Pakistan from India, mainly from Bihar, prior to and after the Partition in 1947. In the 1971 war, all of these communities took the side of West Pakistan, a position that resulted in widespread resentment and eventual statelessness upon Bangladesh's independence. The neighborhood became known as "Mini Pakistan" because of the cultural and linguistic affinities of the population to Pakistan. The language is still spoken widely, and the people hold on to their traditional Pakistani dietary practices and dress code. Still, the label is used derogatorily by nationalists from Bangladesh.

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According to a News18 report quoting the 2008 judgment of the Bangladesh High Court that people who were born in Bangladesh after 1971 are considered Bangladeshi citizens with voting rights. But most camp dwellers are still unable to acquire national identity documents, leaving them effectively stateless. Many are unable to access education, employment, and medical services, making Geneva Camp one of the poorest and most congested slums in Dhaka. According to a recent Daily Star report, the camp is gradually turning into a hotbed of gang violence. Armed gangs. They are taking advantage of the political uncertainty after Bangladesh's regime change to fight turf wars with each other and even to rob law enforcement agencies of their firearms. The unrest is partly sparked by country-wide demonstrations, some of which were hijacked by Islamist groups, making conditions in weak points like Geneva Camp all the more volatile.

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The older generation of the residents identifies with Pakistan because of their historical background, a younger generation is starting to identify with being Bangladeshi. Despite discrimination and exclusion by the system, youth in the camp are demanding greater integration into the broader Bangladeshi society. Pakistan, while making some gestures in the wake of the war at first, has for the most part avoided repatriating the so-called "Stranded Pakistanis", keeping them in an extended state of humanitarian limbo.