Bibhu Prasad Routray
The act of wait and watch doesn’t hold much attraction to the watchers of foreign policy. However, at times, a nation’s best interest is served by doing nothing. In the post-Sheikh Hasina Bangladesh, New Delhi is faced with a predicament. It cannot oblige the demands of the Interim Government to extradite Hasina. And without resetting the ties, Bangladesh could drift away from New Delhi’s arc of influence. In this context, exercising patience could provide New Delhi with an opportunity to pause, allowing Dhaka to navigate its pressing internal challenges.
Indian concerns
Ever since the collapse of the Awami League (AL) government, the retributive mob consisting of students, extremists, and opportunist criminals targeting the Hindu minorities in Bangladesh who are considered to be supporters of the party, has been criticised by New Delhi. The latter has repeatedly called for their protection, albeit to no avail. A wave of anti-India sentiment has seemingly enveloped Bangladesh. Even the statements of the members of the Interim Government have fanned such sentiments. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)’s repeated assurances that it desires “a positive, constructive and mutually beneficial relationship with Dhaka” have few takers in that country.
New Delhi has reasons to believe that attacks on the religious minorities were a byproduct of the larger space now available to the radical Islamists in the country to operate with a sense of impunity. Incidents have ranged from attacks on Hindu places of worship across the country to stopping women from playing a game of football. These indicate that the Islamists, who had been kept under check by the AL government, not only sense an opportunity to advance their agenda, they are doing so under some degree of patronage from the Interim Government. While statements of most of the Interim Government’s advisers have been consistently anti-Hasina, they have remained completely silent on this strengthening of the radicals. The unchecked growth of Islamist radicalism in India’s neighbourhood can be a matter of huge concern.
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