India-Bangladesh tensions soar amid protests

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - MUMBAI — A war of words between Bangladesh and neighbor India is threatening to spiral out of control following protests and counter-protests over the alleged ill-treatment of Hindu minorities in the country.

Diplomatic relations between the neighbors and once-close allies have been prickly since August, when former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh after a public uprising. She is currently in India.

The latest trigger was the arrest of a Hindu monk last week, which set off protests in India by activists from Hindu organizations and politicians including members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

On Monday, in an embarrassment for India, dozens of protesters forced their way into the consulate building of Bangladesh in the north-eastern city of Agartala and vandalized it.

Hours later, hundreds of students and activists protested in Dhaka against the storming of the consulate.

The Indian government has distanced itself from the attack, calling it “deeply regrettable”.

"Diplomatic and consular properties should not be targeted under any circumstances," India's foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that it was stepping up security for Bangladesh's diplomatic buildings in the country. Police have arrested seven people in connection with the incident.

But Dhaka is livid.

The Bangladesh foreign ministry described the attack as "heinous” and called on Delhi to undertake a thorough investigation and “to prevent any further acts of violence against the diplomatic missions of Bangladesh”.

“It is very unfortunate and it’s an unacceptable situation... Hindu extremists broke into the premises, pulled down the flag stand and desecrated the [Bangladeshi] flag. Our officers and other staff were extremely scared,” Touhid Hossain, foreign affairs adviser to the interim government in Bangladesh, told the BBC.

Bangladesh officials say the protests in India — some have happened near the countries' border — have been triggered by disinformation and heated coverage of the issue by several Indian media outlets.

“Unfortunately, Indian media has gone berserk over the issue. They are trying to portray Bangladesh in the darkest possible light. I don’t know why they are doing it and how it will benefit either Bangladesh or India, I fail to understand,” Hossain, the de facto foreign minister, said.

Experts in India, however, say that it is natural that developments in Bangladesh will have ramifications in the neighboring country.

“Feelings are running high in India. Bangladesh should first address the lawlessness there, particularly the attack on minorities,” Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, a former Indian high commissioner to Dhaka, told the BBC.

For India, Bangladesh is not just any neighboring country. It's a strategic partner and ally crucial to India's border security, particularly in the north-eastern states. The two countries also share close cultural and linguistic ties.

Hindus constitute less than 10% of Bangladesh’s 170 million population. Leaders of the community have long spoken of discrimination and hate attacks against them by extremists.

In the aftermath of the chaotic overthrow of Hasina in August, many of her supporters were targeted, including those from religious minorities traditionally seen as backing her.

After weeks of relative calm, the situation has become tense again in the aftermath of the arrest of the Hindu leader, Chinmoy Krishna Das.

He was arrested on charges of sedition, among others, after holding a protest demanding minority rights in Chittagong in October. There, he was accused of raising a saffron flag — the color is associated with Hinduism — above the Bangladeshi national flag.

Last week, a court in Chittagong denied bail to him, spurring clashes that led to the death of a Muslim lawyer. Dozens of people have been arrested in connection with the killing and violence.

On Tuesday, the monk's bail hearing was pushed to 2 January after no lawyer turned up to represent him.

Chinmoy Das was earlier associated with the religious organization Iskcon. But Hrishikesh Gauranga Das, a senior official of Iskcon in Dhaka, told the BBC that the monk was expelled from the organization earlier this year on disciplinary grounds.

“Some students complained that Chinmoy Das misbehaved with them. So, we sent letters asking for his cooperation to investigate the matter. But he refused to cooperate”, the official said.

Chinmoy Das is in jail and unavailable for comment but a supporter told the BBC that the allegations were false and arose from "an internal feud between Iskcon leaders in Dhaka and Chittagong".

The supporter, Swatantra Gauranga Das, also denied that Chinmoy Das had disrespected the Bangladeshi national flag.

The flare-up over the arrest has added to the tense atmosphere in Bangladesh.

Hrishikesh Gauranga Das said that minorities in Bangladesh are "living in fear".

“They don’t know what will happen. The government is trying [to provide security] but it’s difficult to control most people”, he said.

He said three Iskcon temples suffered minor damages after they were vandalized by miscreants in recent days.

The interim government in Bangladesh says it’s aware of the sensitivities and that it gives equal treatment to all communities.

“We have deployed additional forces to provide security to Iskcon and Hindu temples and where religious minorities live. There may have been some stray incidents but there are no orchestrated attacks on minorities,” said Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus.

But religious tensions are not new to the region and activists on both sides are worried that if inflammatory speeches and protests continue, the situation could spiral out of control.

Hasina’s stay in India has already become a major irritant in bilateral ties and the escalating protests in both countries are likely to deteriorate the atmosphere.

Experts point out that India and Bangladesh are neighbors who need each other and it’s time for the rhetoric to be toned down.

The protests have also impacted ordinary people who travel from Bangladesh to India for business, tourism or for medical treatment.

When Muhammad Inayatullah was crossing into India earlier this week to meet his friends, he saw a demonstration by Hindu activists at the Petrapole border in the Indian state of West Bengal.

“It’s not nice to hear people shouting slogans against your country when you cross the border,” Inayatullah told BBC Bengali. — BBC