Diplomats worry as India-Bangladesh ties, once solidly glued, unravel

The ongoing controversy over the arrest of Chinmoy Das, formerly of the ISKCON, in Bangladesh and the strains it has brought in India-Bangladesh relations, have become an area of growing interest for the diplomatic corps in New Delhi.

Until recently, Bangladesh was a ‘dream partner’ of India in a neighbourhood fraught with anti-India sentiments and shifting loyalties.

But the rising tension in bilateral relations with Bangladesh since Sheikh Hasina’s forced departure from the country on August 5 has turned the most cooperative relationship of India into a potentially problematic one.

India’s litmus test

The new administration in Dhaka has decided to import 25,000 tonnes of sugar from Pakistan. This was earlier supplied by India. Dhaka has also drastically cut the quantum of power the Adani power project supplies to Bangladesh.

Key members of the administration have threatened to reopen many of the agreements India and Bangladesh signed during Hasina’s time.

How India, a rising global power, manages its ties with Bangladesh is being seen by foreign diplomats as a test of New Delhi’s ability to maintain control and influence over South Asia.

Traditionally, India is considered the primary force in the region. But in recent years, other major powers have become active in the neighbourhood, challenging the coveted position that India enjoyed.

Also read: ‘Power-hungry’ Yunus perpetrating ‘genocide’ in Bangladesh: Hasina

Arrest and protests

Das, a former member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), is currently the spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, a Hindu religious outfit.

He came into prominence in recent weeks for his fiery speeches in the wake of incidents of attacks on Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh after Hasina’s flight.

Das was arrested from Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 25 for alleged sedition. He was denied bail and sent to jail by a court in Bangladesh’s Chattogram. This led vocal protests by his supporters.

Protests against Bangladesh

Soon, its impact was felt across the border as pro-Hindu organisations and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held demonstrations outside the Bangladesh High Commission and consulates in the country and at the Indo-Bangladesh border adding fresh strains in the relations.

One such protest led to the vandalization of the Bangladeshi consulate in Agartala, fuelling anti-India demonstrations in Dhaka. India promptly apologized for the incident.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee weighed in by demanding that the Centre seek UN peacekeepers' deployment in Bangladesh to ensure the security of Hindus and other religious minorities.

Also watch: Bangladesh: BNP pressure, minorities attacked; Yunus running out of time?

Reaction in Bangladesh

The widespread protests over Das’s arrest in India and Chattogram hardened the position of political and religious groups in Bangladesh. Some called for a ban on ISKCON.

“India should remember it is no longer dealing with Hasina’s pliable Bangladesh,” said an advisor in the caretaker government.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) general secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, currently in London, reacted sharply to the demand for a UN peacekeeping force. He said Bangladesh was a sovereign nation and should be treated so by India.

Call for sanity

While most commentators in Bangladesh felt that incidents of attacks on religious minorities were being overblown in the Indian media, some felt the need to take urgent steps to ensure that no such incidents take place as it had an adverse impact on the country, when it needed understanding and support from the outside.

In the face of rising protests in India, many political parties and Islamist organisations have called for national unity to defeat those trying to create trouble in Bangladesh—indicating this was being done by Hasina and her supporters.

But a leading Bangladeshi commentator, Sohrab Hasan, wondered how any leader can stage a comeback within three and a half months of her ouster. “This seems more a reflection of the growing lack of confidence among those who had spearheaded the anti-Hasina protests,” he said in the Bengali daily Prothom Alo.

Also read: Bangladesh unrest: US calls for respect for religious freedom, human rights

Bangladesh facing serious challenge

Since Hasina’s ouster in the face of a student-led people’s insurrection, referred to in Bangladesh as the "July revolt", the country has been serious challenges to its stability.

Noted economist Mohammed Yunus, who was brought in to head a caretaker government to restore stability and put back the economy on track, has failed to do so.

Due to lack of confidence in the police force, which had been at the front of the attack against the students during the protests, the security situation has deteriorated alarmingly.

Has Yunus failed?

The situation has been worsened by food inflation and growing restlessness among political parties seeking early elections.

Yunus and his advisors are busy reforming the political system and have made it clear that elections will be held only after the process is completed. This has frustrated political leaders.

Also read: Chinmoy Das gets no legal aid, ISKCON urges Bangladesh govt to ensure safety of lawyers

Secular history faces threats

An added concern among secular sections in the country has also been the rise and consolidation of Islamist forces in Bangladesh. Many student leaders now advising the administration are widely believed to have close links with the Islamists and many people in Bangladesh worry that they may be pushing their own agenda that may change the secular makeup of the country.

An attempt is now on by the student leaders to brand the country’s founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and Hasina as fascists.

The exercise to rewrite the country’s history in the wake of Hasina’s departure has coincided with reports of attacks on Hindus and other religious minorities.

Dhaka for early consultation

Bangladesh officials have tried to play down the incidents as ordinary law-and-order problems and not communal incidents. But this has not satisfied many within the country and in India.

Bangladesh has suggested that the two countries should resume their foreign office consultation to clear the air and take forward the relationship. It has suggested December 10 as a possible date for a meeting.

India is yet to agree. Perhaps it wants the current dust raised over Das’s arrest and reports of attacks on Hindus to settle down before resuming a dialogue with Bangladesh.

Also read: Agartala consulate breach | Action against 4 police officers, 7 persons arrested

Time to heal bilateral wounds

“The situation has not reached alarming proportions as the Indian government has refrained from making any adverse comment against Bangladesh in public,” said a Southeast Asian diplomat.

He added: “We have seen worse in other countries after the fall of a strong and long-serving leader. But we are keenly watching the developments.”

A similar position has been taken by several diplomats in New Delhi.

Both India and Bangladesh need a stable and cooperative relationship for their mutual benefit, they feel. The sooner they put their back on track will be better for them and the region.