Sheikh Hasina, who was the Prime Minister of Bangladesh last month, has been staying in India for more than three weeks. The Indian government has accommodated her (along with her younger sister Sheikh Rehana) in strict secrecy and tight security for the time being – but there is no official word yet on what the final decision will be about her.
In the meantime, as the Bangladesh government decided to revoke Sheikh Hasina’s ‘diplomatic’ or official passport last week, the question of what is the legal basis for her position in India has also started to arise.
Against this backdrop, what the BBC got a glimpse of by talking to top level Indian government officials and analysts in Delhi, is that there are practically three ‘options’ or roads open to India with Sheikh Hasina at the moment.
The first route is to arrange asylum for the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh in a third country, where he will be guaranteed a safe and secure environment.
The second option is to keep Sheikh Hasina in India with political asylum.
The third way may not be possible to implement now – but a section of officials and observers in India believe that after some time India may try for Sheikh Hasina’s ‘political comeback’ in Bangladesh – because the Awami League as a party or a political force is not over yet and the party’s highest As a leader, he can take control of the organization back home!
Of these, there is no doubt in diplomatic or think tank circles that the first is the ‘best’ option for India. Because they feel that if he stays in India, it may have an adverse effect on Delhi-Dhaka relations in the future.
Apart from this, if any request comes from Dhaka to hand over Sheikh Hasina under the India-Bangladesh extradition treaty, it is certain that Delhi will reject it on one or the other grounds.
Therefore, observers do not think that handing over Sheikh Hasina to Bangladesh for trial is a realistic ‘option’ for India.
So, in other words, all the three roads mentioned above are open to India in the short or long term with Sheikh Hasina.
