Released in 2007, Swapnabhumi (The Promised Land) is a poignant fact-based Documentary Film that sheds light on the Urdu-speaking community- also known as Biharis, Stranded Pakistanis, Muhajirs-who migrated from India to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1947 after the partition. Labeled as collaborators during Bangladesh's 1971 independence struggle, they were isolated and left to bear a painful legacy. In the film, both survivors and victims-Urdu-speaking community and the bangla-speaking community- narrate their life stories and their brush with the violence.
Today, around 160,000 members of Biharis live in isolated "camps" across Bangladesh. The film is a powerful exploration of their experiences and offers a nuanced understanding of their struggles without being biased. The documentary points out no matter that you belong to the same community (in this case following same faith), there will always be discriminatory reasons- one's language and origin- for persecution, unless we are ready to assimilate into the majority.
