India is deeply concerned about the violence and instability in Bangladesh, especially the status of minority communities and Indian nationals, and has established contact.
With the new dispensation in Dhaka after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar, who made suo motu statements on developments in Bangladesh in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, said former premier Sheikh Hasina decided to quit after meeting leaders of the security establishment on Monday and sought approval to come to India “for the moment”.
This was the first official word from the government on the situation in Bangladesh, where army chief Gen Waker-uz-Zaman has assumed responsibility for running the country and said an interim government will be formed, and on Hasina’s plans since the dramatic collapse of her Awami League government.
On Tuesday, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus said in a statement to AFP that he is ready to head an interim government after student leaders of the protest demanded that he head a caretaker government. Meanwhile, the students leaders also joined consultations on forming the caretaker administration. To be sure, there has been no response from the army, which is effectively in charge of the country now, on either their demand or his offer.
While detailing events that led up to Hasina’s resignation following weeks of violent protests, Jaishankar revealed that the Indian government had “repeatedly counselled restraint and urged that the situation be diffused through dialogue”.
The Indian government is “deeply concerned” about the status of Bangladesh’s minority communities following reports of attacks on their businesses and temples at multiple locations, he said. He welcomed initiatives by various organisations to protect minorities but said India’s concerns will remain till law and order is “visibly restored”.
Uncertainty surrounded Hasina’s reported plans to travel to the UK on Tuesday, and it is understood the British side believes a person needing international protection should claim asylum in the first country they reach. People familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that Hasina had been moved from Hindon airbase, where she landed in a Bangladesh Air Force aircraft on Monday afternoon, to an unspecified safe location that may be in the vicinity.
The people said that Jaishankar told MPs of several political parties on Tuesday that Hasina is a “friend of India” and would be allowed to remain in the country till she takes a call on her travel plans.
The situation in Bangladesh and Hasina’s future plans also figured in an all-party meeting, where participants were briefed by a government team that included home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh and Jaishankar. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who attended the meeting held behind closed doors, asked whether the government was aware of Hasina’s plans and if any “foreign forces”, particularly China, were linked to the developments in Bangladesh, people aware of the discussions said.
Jaishankar told the meeting India has offered help to Hasina and will take necessary steps if the situation in Bangladesh deteriorates, the people said. The government side pointed out that Pakistani diplomats had changed their display pictures on social media to indicate their support to the uprising that ousted Hasina, they said.
The people said the opposition parties mainly focused on three issues — whether the Indian side is in touch with the new dispensation in Dhaka, the steps taken to protect Indian nationals and minority communities in Bangladesh, and border security to cope with any potential escalation.
While addressing the two houses of Parliament, Jaishankar said demonstrators had converged in Dhaka on Monday despite a curfew. “Our understanding is that after a meeting with leaders of the security establishment, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina apparently made the decision to resign,” he said.
“At very short notice, she requested approval to come for the moment to India. We simultaneously received a request for flight clearance from Bangladesh authorities. She arrived yesterday [Monday] evening in Delhi.”
India’s border guarding forces have been directed to be “exceptionally alert in view of this complex situation”, and New Delhi is in regular touch with the authorities in Dhaka, Jaishankar said.
The people cited above said the Indian side had reached out to the Bangladeshi military, including the army chief, and conveyed its support for efforts to restore normalcy.
Jaishankar said the Indian side is monitoring the status of Bangladesh’s minorities, whose businesses and temples were attacked at multiple locations. “There are reports of initiatives by various groups and organisations to ensure their protection and well-being. We welcome that but will naturally remain deeply concerned till law and order is visibly restored,” he added.
He said Bangladesh’s politics were marked by “considerable tension, deep divides and growing polarisation” since the election in January, which gave Hasina an unprecedented fourth consecutive term as prime minister.
“This underlying foundation aggravated a student agitation that started in June…There was growing violence, including attacks on public buildings and infrastructure, as well as traffic and rail obstruction,” he said, adding the violence continued during July.
“Throughout this period, we repeatedly counselled restraint and urged that the situation be diffused through dialogue. Similar urgings were made to various political forces with whom we were in touch,” Jaishankar said.
Though the protests were launched by students against a controversial quota in government jobs and the quota was struck down by Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on July 21, Jaishankar acknowledged that various decisions and actions taken thereafter by Hasina’s government “only exacerbated the situation”.
“The agitation at this stage coalesced around a one-point agenda, that is that the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, should step down,” he said.
The Indian side is also in close touch with the Indian community in Bangladesh. There were an estimated 19,000 Indian nationals, including about 9,000 students, in Bangladesh. The bulk of the students returned to India in July.
India expects authorities in Bangladesh to provide the required security to the high commission in Dhaka and assistant high commissions in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet, Jaishankar said.