In his recent tweet, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that while talking to US President, Joe Biden, they spoke about Ukraine, and “also discussed the situation in Bangladesh and stressed the need for early restoration of normalcy, and ensuring the safety and security of minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh”.
Not just Prime Minister Modi, the Indian foreign ministry’s brief states that the two leaders “expressed their shared concern” about the situation in Bangladesh.
The two leaders hoped that “safety and security of the minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh” would be ensured.
Curiously though, the White House readout of the same telephone conversation does not even mention Bangladesh, which probably indicates that Biden’s concern about the “situation” in this country is not as much as Modi had thought it to be or what his foreign ministry’s statement makes it out to be.
The Indian prime minister had already spoken to Muhammad Yunus, the de facto Bangladesh prime minister, soon after his inauguration, and chose to take up this issue with the American president. He might have, instead, raised it with his counterpart in Bangladesh again, if he was still unsure whether the matter was satisfactorily resolved.
Admittedly, there were attacks on Hindus immediately following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic regime on August 5. The minority groups had unfortunately fallen victim to bigots and brigands who exploited the brief absence of law enforcement agencies. That was immediately addressed, with citizens’ groups including madrassa students and Muslim clerics — in the temporary absence of the police — coming forward to guard places of worship and homes of fellow Bangladeshis, whether Hindu or Buddhist, in a show of communal harmony that has done us proud.
Furthermore, these attacks targeting religious minorities subsided within a few days of the flare-up and there has not been a single such incident reported over the last week. But the attacks should never have happened in the first place and we must make our utmost effort that it never occurs again.
The timing and context of the Indian premier raising it with the US president makes it difficult to understand his rationale for doing so. India is perceived to be one of Sheikh Hasina’s chief enablers in legitimising rigged elections and strengthening her misrule. As such, anti-India sentiment runs rather high among Bangladeshis at the moment.
More recently, Bangladesh’s eastern districts along with India’s Tripura and Assam, have been facing one of the worst floods in decades. It was also on August 26 that there was news of the Farakka Barrage opening all its gates to let the water through, which is reportedly normal procedure.
It was in this context that Prime Minister Modi raised his concerns over a religious minority before even recognising the plight of millions of people affected by the floods. This can only create further misunderstanding between neighbours at a time when we desperately need to improve relations with each other.
daily star
