The ruckus began in Bangladesh on July 1, 2024, when students of the University of Dhaka and Chittagong began their protests against the 30% reservation policy in jobs and educational institutes for children of war veterans who participated in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
The protests had turned extremely violent with the death toll rising with every passing day, and gross injustice being done to the protestors, ultimately leading to the Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina resigning and fleeing the country, eventually coming to India to seek refuge.
Moreover, she initially had planned on moving to the UK (United Kingdom), but apparently, the country does not allow asylum seekers from other countries, even if someone applies, their application is scrutinized based on their merit. The British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, also said that a UN-led investigation must be carried out on the actions taken on the protesting Bangladeshis.
These developments have further caused outrage among Bangladeshis. Here’s all you need to know about the current scenario.
The Current Relations Between India And Bangladesh:
Bangladesh had been an important trade partner for India, with former PM Sheikh Hasina being a very close ally of New Delhi for the past 15 years.
However, these relations have turned sour as the people of Bangladesh are outraged and disheartened by India giving refuge to their former PM.
“Don’t tell people you are an Indian journalist, you would not return in one piece. Ask yourself what you have done. People are extremely angry, hurt with the hate and misinformation you have spread about this movement,” replied a Dhaka-based retired private sector employee, Muhammed Khan to ‘The Print’.
“Harboured a killer, painted this movement as an attack on minorities … if I start listing why we are angry with India, you will fall short of pages in your notebook … disgraceful,” Muhammed Khan further added angrily, before turning his back on the interviewer.
Khan is one of the many Bangladeshis who are hurt and taken aback by the support extended by New Delhi towards Sheikh Hasina. While they acknowledge the significance of keeping good terms with India, they say that their trust has been shattered and it will take a long time for the relations between the two nations to return to normalcy.
“India has given shelter to Hasina, knowing what she did with her people. It makes us think that India is complicit. She tortured the students, rigged elections, got all opposition leaders arrested and India was the first to congratulate her. Why?”, asked another student, Imam-ul-Haq from Dhaka University.
He said, “But India should have been smart. As the largest democracy they should be able to tell right from wrong. How did they stand with a leader who was getting her own people killed, stifling their voices?
India has always supported her on international platforms. She was a dictator who crushed students, throttled democracy but still India supported her. The friendship with India is what emboldened her. When she fled we knew she would rush to her friend.”
An ‘India out’ campaign has been launched by groups of people in Bangladesh, who believe that India has been controlling its neighbours’ politics.
Read More: India LS Elections 2024: Deep Fakes, Like In Bangladesh To Play Major Role In Deceiving Voters
The Issues Exacerbating The Problem:
A zillion students, professors and private sector employees of Bangladesh believe that certain sections of the Indian media wrongly portrayed the facts of the revolution.
A.B. Siddiqui, a 70-year-old retired professional, said to The Print that Indian media platforms showed the protest movement as an attack on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh, calling it a “genocide” when the movement was simply for the rights of each citizen of the country and had absolutely nothing to do with religion.
“Have you heard anyone talking about religion? No. This was a revolution to fight against the atrocities, to save our country. The students were crushed, many killed but they emerged victorious, it has nothing to do with religion.
But India did not leave any stone unturned to portray this to be a genocide. Why would they spread so much misinformation? Just because India is Hasina’s friend? Not expected from one of the largest democracies in the world,” said Siddiqui.
The fact that the unrest and lawlessness in the country after the PM fled, took the lives of at least 11 Hindus and 15 temples getting vandalised is heartbreaking (as per the data by the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad).
He further added, “It is unfortunate that Hindus suffered, but they were never a target. In fact, many volunteers who were Muslims were stationed outside to protect these temples. More than 400 people, most of them students, lost their lives, so many police stations were vandalised, but this was not a genocide as projected by the Indian media.”
Another issue that contributed to the deteriorated relations is that of the flash floods that severely affected Eastern parts of Bangladesh, occurring around the latter half of August. The Bangladeshi citizens strongly believe that these were the consequences of India opening the gates of a dam on the Gumti River in Tripura.
The information and broadcasting adviser to Bangladesh’s interim government led by Muhammed Yunus, accused India of opening the dam that led to the consequent death and destruction in their nation. He also said that it was an act full of “inhumanity” by the GOI (Government of India) and that it needs to rethink the “anti-people policy” it has for Bangladesh.
Their opinion hasn’t changed despite a spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Randhir Jaiswal, clarifying that waters from the large catchments downstream of the Dumboor dam were the source of the floods, due to heavy rain in Tripura.
“India should have told us before opening the dam so that at least the people would have relocated and gone to a safe place. India has to be considerate about these things,” said a Dhaka University student.
The visa problems have further aggravated the issue. Indian visa application centres (IVACS) have been closed for days and the delay in processing visas of Bangladeshis has further led to protests by hundreds of people.
Thus, amid the ongoing protests, which have destabilized the political structure of the nation, people are facing tons of problems, and so, the blame game. Although the worry and problems of the Bangladeshis are heart-wrenching, it is too soon to accuse India of all the unfortunate events that are taking place.
Only time will tell how and when will the issues between the two countries resolve and will New Delhi hear the demands of its neighbours’ citizens.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Print, CNN, Al Jazeera
This post is tagged under: Bangladesh, protests, Sheikh Hasina, MEA, PM, quota, India, geopolitics, citizens, Bangladeshi
Disclaimer: We do not hold any right, or copyright over any of the images used, these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly mail us.
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