Venu Menon
Wellington, August 14,2024
The student protests that upended the Sheikh Hasina regime and replaced it with an interim government under Nobel laureate and economist Muhammad Yunus is a watershed moment for Bangladesh.
It marks a shift away from the political, military and bureaucratic nexus that has run the country in the past. The students are now in charge.
But restoring a semblance of order amid the turbulence is the primary challenge facing the interim government. It is also widely hoped that it will oversee free and fair elections in Bangladesh in the foreseeable future.
Public memory is fresh with the Awami League regime’s crackdown on the opposition and widespread human rights violations during what was seen as Hasina’s 15-year autocratic rule.
But the attacks on religious minorities across the country since her ouster have reportedly occurred on a scale that poses a serious destabilising threat.
The tremors in Bangladesh will be felt more notably in neighbouring India. Hasina’s closeness to India is no secret. New Delhi has served as a bulwark for her regime since 2009. In part, this was to ensure Bangladesh remained within India’s sphere of influence.
Concomitantly, the political opposition in Bangladesh is apt to be viewed with suspicion in India.
But with Bangladesh currently in a state of flux, New Delhi may find it prudent to recalibrate its policy towards its neighbour. Providing indefinite refuge for Hasina is not a realistic option for India in terms of its foreign policy positioning and engagement with the interim government in Bangladesh.
That would explain why India has extended transitory asylum to Bangladesh’s ousted PM.
Following the dramatic turn of events in Bangladesh, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and a bevy of government bigwigs.
Shortly after Hasina arrived at the Hindon airbase near Delhi following her resignation, EAM Jaishankar told Parliament that New Delhi had received a request from Hasina “at very short notice” to travel to India “for the moment.”
Jaishankar added India was “also monitoring the situation with regard to the status of minorities.” While welcoming reported “initiatives by various groups and organisations to ensure their [minorities’] protection and well-being,” India remains concerned “till law and order is visibly restored.”
There are an estimated 19,000 Indian nationals in Bangladesh, of which 9,000 are students.
Sheikh Hasina resigned as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on August 5, following widespread protests spearheaded by students which began as an agitation against a job quota scheme but later escalated into a mass movement demanding her ouster.
Venu Menon is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Wellington
