Hasina, floods, visas: What are the major obstacles in Bangladesh-India relations?
Al Jazeera Report
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country to India in the face of the deadly mass movement of students on August 5. Analysts believe that Delhi has lost a loyal and loyal ally in Bangladesh after the fall of the Awami government.
In addition, due to the shelter of Sheikh Hasina, who has become a dictator, strong opposition to India is being created in Bangladesh. Not only that, Bangladesh’s political circles are accusing India of recent floods. After Hasina’s ouster, India has closed visa centers due to security concerns. The rift in India-Bangladesh relationship is becoming more evident.
Asylum, flooding and closure of visa centers to Hasina; Which is the biggest obstacle in Bangladesh-India bilateral relationship in these three issues?
Al Jazeera published a report on 29 August titled ‘Hasina, Floods, Visas: White’s Troubled India-Bangladesh Relations?’ Here it is presented for readers-
Last September, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed his former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as a special guest during the G20 summit in New Delhi. It was a gesture of warm hospitality on India’s part to a very close neighbour.
But a year later this closeness has turned into a problem for India. Earlier this month, Hasina was ousted after 15 years in power due to a student-crowd movement. Hasina fled to India.
Weeks after Hasina’s ouster, anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh remains strong. Anger towards India is growing among the people of Bangladesh with allegations that India is harboring Hasina and that India is targeting Bangladesh using visas and water.
Here is an analysis of the problems in relations between the two countries:
The pressure of the opposition party is increasing to demand that Hasina be sent back to Bangladesh. Hasina fled Bangladesh in a military helicopter on August 5 and landed at a nearby Indian military base, where she was received by India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. He is believed to be staying around Delhi since then.
The demand to send Hasina back to Bangladesh is getting stronger
Bangladesh’s main opposition BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told Indian media on Monday that Hasina should be sent back to Bangladesh and tried. On the same day, Jatiya Party Chairman GM Kader also made the same claim. Who was the leader of the opposition in the dissolved Bangladesh Parliament on August 6?
Indian media quoted Mirza Fakhrul as saying, “India should help bring accountability from Hasina as she has caused considerable damage to Bangladesh.” Hasina has several legal cases against her, including murder.
Nobel laureate last week. Bangladesh’s interim government led by Muhammad Yunus canceled Hasina’s diplomatic visa. As a result, it has become uncertain how long Hasina can legally stay in India. Government of India has not yet commented on this.
Ali Riaz, a professor and political scientist at Illinois State University, said the people of Bangladesh are demanding accountability against Hasina because of allegations of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings during her 15-year rule.
The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), a paramilitary force, has faced UN sanctions for its involvement in killings and disappearances. Since Hasina came to power in 2009, Bangladeshi security forces have carried out “more than 600 disappearances,” according to Human Rights Watch.
What is India’s responsibility behind the floods in Bangladesh?
Bangladesh and parts of northeastern India, such as Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya states, experience heavy rainfall in August. Later, the flood situation worsened in various districts of Bangladesh due to heavy rains and hill slopes coming down from upstream India.
The Bangladesh Disaster Management and Relief Ministry said on August 23 that about 190,000 people have been shifted to emergency relief camps. Floods have affected 11 out of 64 districts in Bangladesh and more than 1 million people have been cut off from other parts of the country due to floods.
However, rumors spread in Bangladeshi cyberspace (social media and various online platforms) that the flood was caused by the ‘forcible’ opening of the Dambur Dam in the Indian state of Tripura. The Dambur Dam is located on the Gomti River, which flows through India into Bangladesh. However, no evidence has yet been found for this claim.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on August 22 that the floods were caused by excessive rainfall and water from a large reservoir below the dam. “We are committed to resolving water resources and river management issues through bilateral consultations and technical discussions,” the statement said. India and Bangladesh share 54 transboundary rivers.
Earlier this week, India’s high commissioner to Bangladesh, Prannoy Burma, chief adviser to the interim government. Yunus was told that the water in the dam was released ‘automatically’ because the water level was high.
But officials at Bangladesh’s flood forecasting and warning center told Al Jazeera that India had not warned its neighbor about releasing water, as in the past. Death and damage could have been prevented if this warning had been given.
Whatever the cause of the floods, many Bangladeshis are blaming India because past experience has led to water sharing issues between the two countries.
Bangladesh has long demanded more water from the rivers that flow through the two countries — an agreement on which has been stalled for more than a decade, a major problem for Dhaka.
Professor Ali Riaz said, “Bangladesh has accumulated water during the rainy season, but Bangladesh never got the required water during the dry season.”
What is happening in the Indian visa centers located in Bangladesh?
Indian visa application centers in Bangladesh’s Dhaka and southwestern Satkhira districts remained closed on Tuesday. The closure of visa centers came a day after hundreds of Bangladeshis protested against visa processing delays.
After Hasina’s ouster, India reduced its diplomatic presence in Dhaka due to security concerns. During the protest, the concerned demanded the return of their passports.
Around 1.6 million Bangladeshis visited India in 2023 – one of the top destinations for Bangladeshi nationals. Many Bangladeshis travel to India for tourism and medical care.
What is causing the problem between Bangladesh and India?
New Delhi and Dhaka have long shared strong diplomatic and commercial ties. In 1971, the Indian Army played an important role in achieving the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan.
But in recent decades, India has come to see Sheikh Hasina and her ‘secular’ Awami League party as well aligned with India’s interests. Hasina’s opponents accuse India of helping her stay in power, despite evidence of undemocratic practices under her, such as disappearances, arrests of critics and allegations of election influence.
Professor Riaz said the anger against India in Bangladesh “is a reflection of deep resentment built up over years of disputes over legitimate issues”.
India’s “vehement support for Hasina”, he said, had facilitated three fraudulent elections and gross violations of human rights.
He mentioned that before the 2014 elections, former Indian Foreign Secretary Sujata Singh had tried to stop the Jatiya Party from boycotting the elections during a visit to Bangladesh. “It gave new life to Awami League.”
Most of the opposition parties boycotted the elections and the main opposition BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia was arrested as well as senior leaders of the party.
After Hasina’s ouster, attacks on Bangladeshi Hindus sparked outrage in India. Modi has brought up the issue internationally, discussing it with US President Joe Biden.
On August 9, hundreds of protesters demonstrated in Dhaka city against violence against Hindus in the country. Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad (an organization representing Bangladesh’s religious minorities) reported communal violence in at least 52 districts following Hasina’s resignation.
Chief Advisor of Bangladesh. Yunus called Modi on August 16 and assured the safety of Hindus in the country. He “reaffirmed India’s support for a democratic, stable, peaceful and progressive Bangladesh,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in a post on social media X.
Professor Riaz said the development of relations between the two countries was “somehow India’s responsibility” as Hasina’s rule was sustained due to India’s support.
Referring to the end of Hasina’s long rule, he said, “Bangladesh has entered a new chapter.”
He further said, ‘Indians should reframe their policies, not cry over their problems. Bangladesh is moving forward – let’s accept this fact and let India also move forward.’
