India ‘deeply concerned’ about minority communities in Bangladesh: EAM in Parliament
Jaishankar said the Indian government had “repeatedly counselled restraint and urged that the situation be diffused through dialogue”.
Former Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina decided to quit after a meeting with leaders of the security establishment on Monday and sought approval to come to India “for the moment”, external affairs minister S Jaishankar informed Parliament on Tuesday.
Jaishankar, who made a suo motu statement in Rajya Sabha on the developments in Bangladesh, said the Indian government is “deeply concerned” about the status of Bangladesh’s minority communities following reports of attacks on their businesses and temples at multiple locations. The EAM welcomed initiatives by various groups and organisations to protect minorities.
While detailing the events that led up to Hasina’s dramatic resignation on Monday following several weeks of violent protests, Jaishankar revealed that the Indian government had “repeatedly counselled restraint and urged that the situation be diffused through dialogue”.
Jaishankar’s statement was the first official word from the government on the situation in Bangladesh, where army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman has assumed responsibility for running the country and said an interim government will be formed.
“On August 5, demonstrators converged in Dhaka despite the curfew. Our understanding is that after a meeting with leaders of the security establishment, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina apparently made the decision to resign,” Jaishankar said.
“At very short notice, she requested approval to come for the moment to India. We simultaneously received a request for flight clearance from Bangladesh authorities. She arrived yesterday [Monday] evening in Delhi.”
Jaishankar said the situation took a “very serious turn” on August 4, as attacks on police stations and government installations intensified and “overall levels of violence greatly escalated” and properties of individuals associated with the ruling Awami League party were torched across Bangladesh.
He said, “What was particularly worrying was that minorities, their businesses and temples also came under attack at multiple locations. The full extent of this is still not clear.”
The Indian side is monitoring the status of Bangladesh’s minorities. “There are reports of initiatives by various groups and organisations to ensure their protection and well-being. We welcome that but will naturally remain deeply concerned till law and order is visibly restored,” he added.
Jaishankar said there was “considerable tension, deep divides and growing polarization in Bangladesh politics” since the election in January this year, which gave Hasina an unprecedented fourth consecutive term as prime minister.
“This underlying foundation aggravated a student agitation that started in June this year. There was growing violence, including attacks on public buildings and infrastructure, as well as traffic and rail obstruction. The violence continued through the month of July,” he said.
“Throughout this period, we repeatedly counselled restraint and urged that the situation be diffused through dialogue. Similar urgings were made to various political forces with whom we were in touch,” he said.
Though the protests were launched by students against a controversial quota in government jobs and the quota was struck down by Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on July 21, Jaishankar acknowledged that various decisions and actions taken thereafter by Hasina’s government “only exacerbated the situation”.
“The agitation at this stage coalesced around a one-point agenda, that is that the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, should step down,” he said.
The situation in Bangladesh is still evolving, and the Indian side is in close touch with the Indian community through its diplomatic missions. There were an estimated 19,000 Indian nationals, including about 9,000 students, in Bangladesh. “The bulk of the students, however, have already returned to India in...July on the advice of the high commission,” he said.
India expects authorities in Bangladesh to provide the required security to the high commission in Dhaka and the assistant high commissions in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet. “We look forward to their normal functioning once the situation stabilises,” he said.
India’s border guarding forces have been directed to be “exceptionally alert in view of this complex situation”, and New Delhi has been in regular touch with authorities in Dhaka in the past 24 hours, Jaishankar said.
“I seek the understanding and support of the House in regard to sensitive issues regarding an important neighbour, on which there has always been strong national consensus,” he said.
