Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, third from right, and his Bangladeshi counterpart Mohammad Jashim Uddin, second from left, meet in Dhaka on Dec. 9. (Photo by Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs via AFP/Jiji)
From her safe haven in India, Hasina — overthrown during a mass uprising against her 15-year rule — has railed against an interim Bangladeshi government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
His caretaker administration is seeking Hasina’s arrest on a raft of charges including crimes against humanity, as well as probing claims she and her officials looted billions of dollars in public funds.
Tensions soared again this month when a Bangladeshi consular office in India’s Tripura state, on the neighbors’ eastern border, was attacked and vandalized by a group of Hindu protesters.
Against this backdrop, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Dhaka this week for talks with top officials — including his Bangladeshi counterpart, Jashim Uddin, and Yunus — in the hopes of dialing down an increasingly ugly war of words. They were the neighbors’ highest-level talks since Hasina fled in August.
“India desires a positive, constructive and mutually beneficial relationship with Bangladesh,” Misri told reporters.
Top of the agenda for Delhi were widespread reports in Indian media of mass violence against Hindus, who comprise less than 10% of Bangladesh’s mostly Muslim population of 171 million.
Indian social media has been awash with claims of attacks on Hindus and their temples that some have likened to a genocide, prompting one Indian state’s chief minister to call for a U.N. peacekeeping force to be sent to Bangladesh to protect the minority group.
There were some attacks against Hindus and other minorities in the chaos of Hasina’s quick exit this summer. But Bangladesh has countered that the violence was limited and, in most cases, not stirred by religious hatred. Many claims of recent violence have been debunked by fact-checking groups.
“We highlighted to India the misinformation and false reports in Indian media about the alleged mistreatment of minorities following the July-August revolution in Bangladesh,” Uddin said after meeting India’s foreign secretary on Monday. “We urged the Indian government to take appropriate measures to address this.”
Foreign policy experts see this as an assertive stance by Bangladesh, whose former leader Hasina shared close ties with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“A key outcome of the discussion was Bangladesh’s strong stance against any perceived attempts by India to interfere in its internal affairs,” said Shahab Enam Khan, a professor of international relations at Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka. “It is expected that Delhi will recognize the evolving sociopolitical dynamics in Dhaka and work to improve its foreign policy and political understanding.”
The Indian foreign secretary’s words suggested caution as he sought to counter worries that Hasina’s presence would spoil relations between two neighbors with strong economic ties.
“Her presence does not have any bearing on our relations,” Misri said, adding that there is “no reason why this mutually beneficial [Dhaka-Delhi] cooperation” shouldn’t continue.
Still, Hasina’s future in India — and whether Delhi agrees to send her back to Bangladesh — are likely to weigh on relations.
After fleeing to India following bloody demonstrations against her government, Hasina has used the country as a pulpit from which to instruct members of her once-ruling Awami League party to hold support rallies. She has also reached out to members of the Bangladeshi diaspora in Britain and the U.S.
Hasina’s apparent bid to reenter politics has angered officials in Bangladesh where she faces multiple charges at the country’s International Crimes Tribunal — a body set up by Hasina which, critics say, was used to target her political rivals.
“[The diplomatic] meeting … suggests Delhi is assessing the new political landscape before taking further steps,” said Anu Anwar, a Ph.D. researcher at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and nonresident fellow at Harvard University.
But “even if there is an appearance of de-escalation down the road, it is unlikely to signal India’s genuine willingness to cooperate with the interim government — or any government that is not aligned with India’s strategic preferences.”
source : asia.nikkei