The tension between India and Bangladesh that has been simmering for months has come to the fore. Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power in a coup in Bangladesh last August. Then he took refuge in India. His presence there strained India's relations with the interim government of Bangladesh. These things were said in a report published on Sunday (December 1) in the American media The New York Times.
The 84-year-old Nobel Prize winner Dr. is in charge of the interim government of Bangladesh. Muhammad Yunus. Her government fears that Sheikh Hasina is planning to return to power while sitting in India. Besides, the interim government alleged that India was exaggerating the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh for political purposes.
According to the report, the arrest of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das in Chittagong has become the center of recent tension. He was once associated with an organization called International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISCON). In Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Hindus make up less than 10 percent of the 170 million population. A court in Bangladesh sent him to pre-trial detention under colonial-era sedition laws.
The situation turned violent when Chinmoy's supporters surrounded the court after the verdict. Security forces struggled to control the situation. Meanwhile, a Muslim lawyer was killed. It is not yet clear who killed the lawyer. More than 20 people have been arrested by the police for their alleged involvement in the violence.
India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement, “It is unfortunate that a religious leader is facing legal proceedings for raising a just demand through a peaceful assembly.” On the other hand, those responsible for attacks on minorities have been acquitted.
According to the New York Times report, the Hindu community of Bangladesh has been a victim of discrimination and torture for a long time. During Sheikh Hasina's regime, some extremist groups were kept under control in coordination with the Indian government. But even during his rule there were incidents of deadly attacks against Hindus. The Interim Prime Minister has promised that equal security will be ensured for every citizen of Bangladesh. However, India is using the status of minority Hindus in Bangladesh as an emotional political weapon to undermine the popular movement after the fall of Sheikh Hasina.
Dr. Yunus and his advisers claim that exaggerated and misleading information is being disseminated from India. In an interview with the New York Times. Yunus admitted that Bangladesh's relationship with India is currently very hot. He said that Sheikh Hasina's taking refuge in India and promoting Bangladesh government from there as controlled by extremists is harmful to the relations between the two countries.
He said, Sheikh Hasina is in India. He is talking. This has caused instability for the entire country. We are trying to convince the Indian government, this is not fair. You are giving space to someone who has been removed from Bangladesh.
Dr. Yunus also alleged that India is trying to portray Bangladesh as an extremist state like Afghanistan. He said, if you destabilize Bangladesh, you will also destabilize yourselves. Because, the elements of instability will spread around.
However, analysts claim that the interim government has weakened its position by arresting Chinmoy Krishna Das under the sedition laws of the colonial era. This law has been widely used to suppress opposition even during Sheikh Hasina's regime.
