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Zabiba or Zebiba
Usually seen on older individuals, signifies extreme devoutness when seen in younger people. As in the photo above.
[🇧🇩] Student revolution in Bangladesh-----how does it impact India?
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Bangladesh Defense Forum
Zabiba or Zebiba
Usually seen on older individuals, signifies extreme devoutness when seen in younger people. As in the photo above.
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WOW!!! Never heard / read of this ritual before.
Sharma Ji
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😆 wtf
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Seek UN Peacekeeping help for Agartala mission security: Rizvi urges govt
BNP stages protest march in response to attack on assistant high commission
Seek UN Peacekeeping help for Agartala mission security: Rizvi urges govt
BNP stages protest march in response to attack on assistant high commission
Photo: Palash Khan
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Rizvi Ahmed today urged the interim government to seek assistance from United Nations Peacekeeping to ensure security of the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala.
"India's law enforcement agencies have failed to provide security to our High Commission. Officials and employees of the Bangladesh mission are feeling insecure," Rizvi said during a press conference at the party's Nayapaltan office.
He also said, "In this situation, the interim government should seek help from UN peacekeeping forces."
Rizvi also alleged that certain extremist religious groups, "instigated by India's BJP", were attempting to create instability in Bangladesh.
He said, "It is unfortunate that these small extremist groups are trying to disrupt peace. We urge the interim government to control these extremists."
However, he urged the Indian leaders to focus on their internal affairs.
"We urge Modi [Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi] and Mamata [West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee] to manage their own issues. Here in Bangladesh, all communities live in peace," he added.
Bangladesh has no hostility toward India's general people, he added.
"As neighbours, we extend the hand of friendship, but if hostility is shown, the people of Bangladesh will not accept it," he said.
He further said, "Anyone who feels insecure should inform the government, and the government will take appropriate measures."
The BNP leader also appealed to international human rights organisations to investigate alleged minority persecution in Indian states.
"We urge them to probe these incidents and take strict action against the perpetrators," he said.
After the press conference, the leaders and activists of BNP and its affiliated organisations staged a protest march in response to the recent attack on the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission at Agartala.
The march, which began around 1:00pm from the party's office in Nayapaltan, witnessed a large turnout of BNP supporters.
BNP stages protest march in response to attack on assistant high commission
Photo: Palash Khan
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Rizvi Ahmed today urged the interim government to seek assistance from United Nations Peacekeeping to ensure security of the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala.
"India's law enforcement agencies have failed to provide security to our High Commission. Officials and employees of the Bangladesh mission are feeling insecure," Rizvi said during a press conference at the party's Nayapaltan office.
He also said, "In this situation, the interim government should seek help from UN peacekeeping forces."
Rizvi also alleged that certain extremist religious groups, "instigated by India's BJP", were attempting to create instability in Bangladesh.
He said, "It is unfortunate that these small extremist groups are trying to disrupt peace. We urge the interim government to control these extremists."
However, he urged the Indian leaders to focus on their internal affairs.
"We urge Modi [Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi] and Mamata [West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee] to manage their own issues. Here in Bangladesh, all communities live in peace," he added.
Bangladesh has no hostility toward India's general people, he added.
"As neighbours, we extend the hand of friendship, but if hostility is shown, the people of Bangladesh will not accept it," he said.
He further said, "Anyone who feels insecure should inform the government, and the government will take appropriate measures."
The BNP leader also appealed to international human rights organisations to investigate alleged minority persecution in Indian states.
"We urge them to probe these incidents and take strict action against the perpetrators," he said.
After the press conference, the leaders and activists of BNP and its affiliated organisations staged a protest march in response to the recent attack on the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission at Agartala.
The march, which began around 1:00pm from the party's office in Nayapaltan, witnessed a large turnout of BNP supporters.
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Attack on Agartala mission: India must walk the talk
The attack on Bangladesh assistant high commission in Agartala, capital of India’s Tripura state, on Monday is extremely despicable
en.prothomalo.com
Attack on Agartala mission: India must walk the talk
Editorial Desk
Published: 04 Dec 2024, 20: 49
The attack on Bangladesh assistant high commission in Agartala, capital of India’s Tripura state, on Monday is extremely despicable. Leaders and activists of a Hindutva organisation called Hindu Sangharsh Samity entered the premises of the assistant high commission and carried out terrorist activities, but the security forces there remained inactive. According to the Vienna Convention, the host country is responsible for the security of foreign missions and their diplomats. The large neighboring country has totally failed to fulfill that responsibility.
Earlier, supporters of India’s ruling BJP carried out violent protest in deputy high commission in Kolkata and burned down Bangladesh’s national flag. Bangladesh foreign ministry sent a protest letter after the incident and said the attack seemed pre-planned and termed it as violation of Vienna Convention. Foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain also explained Bangladesh’s stance during a view exchange meeting with foreign diplomats on Monday and said, “As a neighbour, we want friendly relations with India but not mastery."
The allegations made by the Hindutva organisation in Tripura about attacks on minorities in Bangladesh are baseless. On the contrary, even after a lawyer was killed in the Chattogram court premises by followers of the Sammilita Sanatan Jagrani Jote, no incident occurred there due to the firmness of the law enforcement agencies and the conscious and responsible stance of political and social forces. A large number of members of the minority community also joined the protest rallies held in various parts of the country, including Dhaka, in protest of the attack on the Bangladesh mission in Agartala.
Indian external affairs ministry in a statement termed the Agartala incident as ‘regrettable’. Delhi said that three policemen on duty of security of the Agartala mission were suspended. But it is tough to say whether these steps of India will be enough to diffuse the tension. This is because India's consistent response to Bangladesh since the student-led mass uprising and ouster of the autocratic regime on 5 August is not cordial and good neighbourly.
The recent request of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to the central government regarding sending UN peacekeeping forces to Bangladesh is not only contradictory but also provocative. Although angry people have taken out processions towards any Indian mission in Bangladesh, no untoward incident has taken place here. Yet, one after another Bangladesh mission is being attacked in India.
West Bengal and Tripura are Indian states adjoining Bangladesh. As people of these states are Bengali speaking, people of Bangladesh share a very close relation with them. Besides trade and communication, the people of two countries are connected through deep rooted cultural ties. Yet we see Bangladesh being often targeted for the sake of electoral politics in India. The state assembly election in West Bengal is due next year. Has Mamata Banarjee, who brands herself as a friend of Bangladesh, placed her ridiculous proposal of sending UN peacekeeping troops to Bangladesh keeping in mind that election?
India’s attitude makes it obvious that it cannot accept Bangladesh’s political changeover. While Indian policymakers speak about friendship on surface level, many of them are actually hostile. When hoteliers in Agartala decide not to accommodate Bangladeshi tourists, or when a hospital in Kolkata announces that it will not provide medical services to Bangladeshi patients, it must be considered as total non-cooperation.
We vehemently condemn the attack on Bangladesh mission in Agartala and urge India to refrain from any kind of provocative behaviour.
Editorial Desk
Published: 04 Dec 2024, 20: 49
The attack on Bangladesh assistant high commission in Agartala, capital of India’s Tripura state, on Monday is extremely despicable. Leaders and activists of a Hindutva organisation called Hindu Sangharsh Samity entered the premises of the assistant high commission and carried out terrorist activities, but the security forces there remained inactive. According to the Vienna Convention, the host country is responsible for the security of foreign missions and their diplomats. The large neighboring country has totally failed to fulfill that responsibility.
Earlier, supporters of India’s ruling BJP carried out violent protest in deputy high commission in Kolkata and burned down Bangladesh’s national flag. Bangladesh foreign ministry sent a protest letter after the incident and said the attack seemed pre-planned and termed it as violation of Vienna Convention. Foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain also explained Bangladesh’s stance during a view exchange meeting with foreign diplomats on Monday and said, “As a neighbour, we want friendly relations with India but not mastery."
The allegations made by the Hindutva organisation in Tripura about attacks on minorities in Bangladesh are baseless. On the contrary, even after a lawyer was killed in the Chattogram court premises by followers of the Sammilita Sanatan Jagrani Jote, no incident occurred there due to the firmness of the law enforcement agencies and the conscious and responsible stance of political and social forces. A large number of members of the minority community also joined the protest rallies held in various parts of the country, including Dhaka, in protest of the attack on the Bangladesh mission in Agartala.
Indian external affairs ministry in a statement termed the Agartala incident as ‘regrettable’. Delhi said that three policemen on duty of security of the Agartala mission were suspended. But it is tough to say whether these steps of India will be enough to diffuse the tension. This is because India's consistent response to Bangladesh since the student-led mass uprising and ouster of the autocratic regime on 5 August is not cordial and good neighbourly.
The recent request of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to the central government regarding sending UN peacekeeping forces to Bangladesh is not only contradictory but also provocative. Although angry people have taken out processions towards any Indian mission in Bangladesh, no untoward incident has taken place here. Yet, one after another Bangladesh mission is being attacked in India.
West Bengal and Tripura are Indian states adjoining Bangladesh. As people of these states are Bengali speaking, people of Bangladesh share a very close relation with them. Besides trade and communication, the people of two countries are connected through deep rooted cultural ties. Yet we see Bangladesh being often targeted for the sake of electoral politics in India. The state assembly election in West Bengal is due next year. Has Mamata Banarjee, who brands herself as a friend of Bangladesh, placed her ridiculous proposal of sending UN peacekeeping troops to Bangladesh keeping in mind that election?
India’s attitude makes it obvious that it cannot accept Bangladesh’s political changeover. While Indian policymakers speak about friendship on surface level, many of them are actually hostile. When hoteliers in Agartala decide not to accommodate Bangladeshi tourists, or when a hospital in Kolkata announces that it will not provide medical services to Bangladeshi patients, it must be considered as total non-cooperation.
We vehemently condemn the attack on Bangladesh mission in Agartala and urge India to refrain from any kind of provocative behaviour.
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- Jan 24, 2024
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Attack on Agartala mission: Student bodies protest at DU
Students of Jagannath Hall join protest, condemn attackwww.thedailystar.net
Attack on Agartala mission: Student bodies protest at DU
Students of Jagannath Hall join protest, condemn attack
View attachment 11278
Photo: Star
Leaders and activists from various student organisations staged a demonstration tonight, strongly condemning the attack by a large group of protesters from the Hindu Sangharsh Samity of Agartala on the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in India's Tripura.
The protest followed rallies held by several student groups, including the Anti-Discrimination Students' Movement and Bangladesh Chhatra Odhikar Parishad, near the Raju Memorial Sculpture at Dhaka University.
Student leaders emphasised that the incident in Agartala violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, which protects the inviolability of diplomatic missions.
They also criticised India's approach, noting that the Indian government has maintained relations with the Awami League, but not with the people of Bangladesh.
They expressed concerns over India's dissatisfaction with the ousting of Sheikh Hasina, and the lack of condemnation from India regarding the mass killings of students and civilians in Bangladesh by Awami League.
The student leaders urged India to respect Bangladesh's sovereignty, stating that the safety and rights of all Bangladeshis, including Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians, should be ensured by the Bangladeshi government, not by India. They also called on India to refrain from interfering in Bangladesh's internal affairs.
The leaders further accused India's media of exaggerating incidents of minority attacks in Bangladesh, claiming that India is attempting to politicise these issues. They stressed that Bangladesh enjoys religious harmony, with minorities living peacefully in the country.
Bin Yamin Molla, president of Bangladesh Chhatra Odhikar Parishad, urged all political parties in Bangladesh to unite against India's alleged interference and demanded a ban on Awami League politics, calling it an ally of India.
The protest concluded with students marching in procession across the campus.
During the protest, at least 30-40 residential students of Jagannath Hall, a dormitory comprised of non-Muslim students, went to Raju Memorial to voice their support.
One of the residents, Joy Pal said, "Forget the differences of religion, caste, race, and tribe. We are all Bangladeshis and that is our only identity."
"When it comes to the sovereignty of the country, we will all stand united. We have seen that, at different times, various conspiracies have been made against the Hindus of Bangladesh," he said.
"Not just Hindus, but conspiracies are being made against Bangladesh itself. We all must stand united against these conspiracies."
The attack on the Bangladesh consulate in India should be condemned by every citizen of the country, he added.
Wow! For those who do not know, I believe Jagannath Hall at Dhaka University only houses Hindu students.
If the events in India has pissed them off - then it is a big deal.
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- Jan 24, 2024
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For people who do Namaz on Maslah (or prayer rugs), "berries" do not occur. Please do not bring up off topic subjects in this thread,
It's a sign of hyperreligosity. A red flag for any non Muslim. Or non Muslim country. So a completely on topic and relevant observation.
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You are right. Jagannath Hall houses only Hindu students. Protest from them is a welcoming event.
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India’s turn to shore up damage
THERE is no hide and seek that India has huge discomfort and embarrassment about the political changeover in Bangladesh that took place on August 5. Developing events suggests that India considers...
www.newagebd.net
India’s turn to shore up damage
by Mohammad Abdur Razzak 08 December, 2024, 00:00
Students bring out a torch procession on the University of Dhaka campus on December 3 in protest at attacks on Bangladesh’s assistant high commission in Agartala, Tripura. | Focus Bangla
THERE is no hide and seek that India has huge discomfort and embarrassment about the political changeover in Bangladesh that took place on August 5. Developing events suggests that India considers the changeover as its ‘political defeat in Bangladesh’ and unleashing vengeful plots in hegemonic arrogance to destabilise the country to put back the government of its choice in power.
Besides employing political and non-political moles and agents to create social chaos, the play was the posting of the minority card. Playing the minority card was started by the Indian prime minister in a message on his X handle urging the chief adviser to Bangladesh’s interim government on August 8 to ensure the safety and protection of the Hindus and all other minorities in Bangladesh. Since then, India’s ministry of external affairs and both traditional and non-traditional media embarked on allout disinformation campaign against Bangladesh.
To add impetus to the disinformation campaign, India thought that the minority card could be an effective tool. So, India brought to the fore the Bangladesh Hindu, Christian and Buddhist Unity Council with sit-ins and processions in Dhaka. But the organisation’s movement did not get momentum, understandably because of the opposition from the Christians and the Buddhists. The Christians and the Buddhist, perhaps, did not want to become India’s puppet in the disinformation propaganda and undermine their reputation in the country. Then the International Society for Krishna Conscience, or ISKCON, was brought in to replace the Bangladesh Hindu, Christian and Buddhist Unity Council.
Chinmoy Krishna Das, head of Sri Sri Pundarik Dham in Chattogram, took the leadership to divide society along the Hindu-Muslim line. He did not belong to ISKCON but held rallies in Chattogram and Rangpur under the ISKCON banner. Chinmay Das was expelled from ISKCON Bangladesh in July 2024 for sexually abusing children in the temple. Charu Chandra Das Brahmachari, the secretary general of ISKCON Bangladesh and the director, said in a press conference on November 28 that Chinmay Das did not belong to ISKCON Bangladesh as he was expelled. The organisation declined to shoulder any responsibility ‘over his statements and speech.’ But the Indian ministry of external affairs and the media across India branded him as the leader of ISKCON in Bangladesh.
Chinmay Das was arrested on November 25 on sedition charges, a case filed by a Bangladeshi citizen. Irked by the legal proceedings against Chinmay Das, India’s external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, referring to the case against Chinmoy Das, on November 29 said, ‘Our position on the matter is very clear. The interim government must live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities.’ The statement carried the message that legal proceeding cannot be initiated under the law of the land against any one belonging to the Hindu community in the event of the commission of a crime.
Chinmoy was produced in a court in Chattogram on November 27. The court denied him bail and sent him to jail. On the refusal of bail, his followers ransacked the court premises and its surroundings. Saiful Islam Alif, an assistant public prosecutor, was killed.
The killing of the lawyer made the situation extremely delicate. Yet, the Indian media went on saying that ‘Islamists’ killed Saiful Islam Alif as he was the lawyer of Chinmay Das and defended him in court which was a blatant lie. The Indian media have the notoriety of carrying misinformation and disinformation globally. The Global Economic Forum conducted a survey in 2023 in 34 countries where the Indian media ranked in the first position for its infamy in propagating fake news.
Realising the sensitivity of the situation ISKCON Bangladesh cleared Chinmoy’s position in the organisation at the press conference. ISKCON’s clarification on Chinmay came too late and at the cost of a life. ISKCON should have made clear Chinmoy’s position in ISKCON at the outset while he was manoeuvring to create public nuisance using ISKCON’s banner.
After the court had denied bail and ISKCON Bangladesh had made public Chinmoy’s position in the organisation, Indian media made him a leader of Hindu Mahajagaran Mancha overnight. India’s external affairs ministry issued a press note, expressing concern about the denial of bail to Chinmay. Such undiplomatic overture was deliberate interference into Bangladesh’s judicial system. Since the denial of the bail to Chinmay, the Indian political circle and the media became more aggressive.
Three months’ disinformation campaign impacted the Indian political leadership, especially in the bordering Indian states. It successfully turned sections of Indian population against Bangladesh. Bhartiya Janata Party activists staged violent demonstrations in front of Bangladesh deputy high commission in Kolkata on November 29. Three days later on December 2, 2024, BJP activists barged into the assistant high commission in Agartala. Activist started to assail Bangladeshis visiting India. Bangladeshis were thrown out of hotels and their belongings were snatched away.
Hotels declared a boycott of Bangladeshi visitors. A couple of hospitals in Kolkata announced that they would not treat Bangladeshi patients. Twenty-one hospitals in Kolkata cancelled Bangladeshi patients’ schedule. Both the Indian government and the Indian media were successful in creating acrimonious situation against Bangladeshis. All this will have damaging impact on relation between the two countries than the temporary leverage in local politics that the politicians expected to gain.
Bangladesh’s interim government has since the changeover been very positive about pursuing harmonious relation with India. Bangladesh’s foreign ministry offered a dialogue between the chief adviser to the interim government and the Indian prime minister on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on September 10. India rejected the offer as an expression of displeasure about the political change. There is no denying that the relation between India and Bangladesh has hit the lowest in 50 years.
Despite all negative narratives from India, Bangladesh has maintained a positive attitude towards an improved relation. The chief adviser was quoted as saying on December 5 that, ‘Relations between the two countries must be very close. This is essential from any angle, whether it’s about economics, security or water. Just as we need them in our interest, they need us in their interest. So, we have to forget certain transient matters… The main thing is to maintain good relations. We have to use everything in our power to advance towards that.’
The Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Kumar Verma speaking at a conference in October said that relations between the two countries are ‘multifaceted’ amid ‘sustained and positive momentum’ in trade and economic ties and ‘people-to-people engagements.’ To confirm this commitment in the context of political changeover in Bangladesh, India needs to show in deeds that it has made a policy shift to work with the interim government and value the people and its government and that its land is not used for creating instability and violence within Bangladesh. The ball is in India’s court. Let us see how does India play the ball to shore up the damage it has done in the bilateral relations.
Mohammad Abdur Razzak (safera690@yahoo.com), a retired commodore of the Bangladesh navy, is a security analyst.
by Mohammad Abdur Razzak 08 December, 2024, 00:00
Students bring out a torch procession on the University of Dhaka campus on December 3 in protest at attacks on Bangladesh’s assistant high commission in Agartala, Tripura. | Focus Bangla
THERE is no hide and seek that India has huge discomfort and embarrassment about the political changeover in Bangladesh that took place on August 5. Developing events suggests that India considers the changeover as its ‘political defeat in Bangladesh’ and unleashing vengeful plots in hegemonic arrogance to destabilise the country to put back the government of its choice in power.
Besides employing political and non-political moles and agents to create social chaos, the play was the posting of the minority card. Playing the minority card was started by the Indian prime minister in a message on his X handle urging the chief adviser to Bangladesh’s interim government on August 8 to ensure the safety and protection of the Hindus and all other minorities in Bangladesh. Since then, India’s ministry of external affairs and both traditional and non-traditional media embarked on allout disinformation campaign against Bangladesh.
To add impetus to the disinformation campaign, India thought that the minority card could be an effective tool. So, India brought to the fore the Bangladesh Hindu, Christian and Buddhist Unity Council with sit-ins and processions in Dhaka. But the organisation’s movement did not get momentum, understandably because of the opposition from the Christians and the Buddhists. The Christians and the Buddhist, perhaps, did not want to become India’s puppet in the disinformation propaganda and undermine their reputation in the country. Then the International Society for Krishna Conscience, or ISKCON, was brought in to replace the Bangladesh Hindu, Christian and Buddhist Unity Council.
Chinmoy Krishna Das, head of Sri Sri Pundarik Dham in Chattogram, took the leadership to divide society along the Hindu-Muslim line. He did not belong to ISKCON but held rallies in Chattogram and Rangpur under the ISKCON banner. Chinmay Das was expelled from ISKCON Bangladesh in July 2024 for sexually abusing children in the temple. Charu Chandra Das Brahmachari, the secretary general of ISKCON Bangladesh and the director, said in a press conference on November 28 that Chinmay Das did not belong to ISKCON Bangladesh as he was expelled. The organisation declined to shoulder any responsibility ‘over his statements and speech.’ But the Indian ministry of external affairs and the media across India branded him as the leader of ISKCON in Bangladesh.
Chinmay Das was arrested on November 25 on sedition charges, a case filed by a Bangladeshi citizen. Irked by the legal proceedings against Chinmay Das, India’s external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, referring to the case against Chinmoy Das, on November 29 said, ‘Our position on the matter is very clear. The interim government must live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities.’ The statement carried the message that legal proceeding cannot be initiated under the law of the land against any one belonging to the Hindu community in the event of the commission of a crime.
Chinmoy was produced in a court in Chattogram on November 27. The court denied him bail and sent him to jail. On the refusal of bail, his followers ransacked the court premises and its surroundings. Saiful Islam Alif, an assistant public prosecutor, was killed.
The killing of the lawyer made the situation extremely delicate. Yet, the Indian media went on saying that ‘Islamists’ killed Saiful Islam Alif as he was the lawyer of Chinmay Das and defended him in court which was a blatant lie. The Indian media have the notoriety of carrying misinformation and disinformation globally. The Global Economic Forum conducted a survey in 2023 in 34 countries where the Indian media ranked in the first position for its infamy in propagating fake news.
Realising the sensitivity of the situation ISKCON Bangladesh cleared Chinmoy’s position in the organisation at the press conference. ISKCON’s clarification on Chinmay came too late and at the cost of a life. ISKCON should have made clear Chinmoy’s position in ISKCON at the outset while he was manoeuvring to create public nuisance using ISKCON’s banner.
After the court had denied bail and ISKCON Bangladesh had made public Chinmoy’s position in the organisation, Indian media made him a leader of Hindu Mahajagaran Mancha overnight. India’s external affairs ministry issued a press note, expressing concern about the denial of bail to Chinmay. Such undiplomatic overture was deliberate interference into Bangladesh’s judicial system. Since the denial of the bail to Chinmay, the Indian political circle and the media became more aggressive.
Three months’ disinformation campaign impacted the Indian political leadership, especially in the bordering Indian states. It successfully turned sections of Indian population against Bangladesh. Bhartiya Janata Party activists staged violent demonstrations in front of Bangladesh deputy high commission in Kolkata on November 29. Three days later on December 2, 2024, BJP activists barged into the assistant high commission in Agartala. Activist started to assail Bangladeshis visiting India. Bangladeshis were thrown out of hotels and their belongings were snatched away.
Hotels declared a boycott of Bangladeshi visitors. A couple of hospitals in Kolkata announced that they would not treat Bangladeshi patients. Twenty-one hospitals in Kolkata cancelled Bangladeshi patients’ schedule. Both the Indian government and the Indian media were successful in creating acrimonious situation against Bangladeshis. All this will have damaging impact on relation between the two countries than the temporary leverage in local politics that the politicians expected to gain.
Bangladesh’s interim government has since the changeover been very positive about pursuing harmonious relation with India. Bangladesh’s foreign ministry offered a dialogue between the chief adviser to the interim government and the Indian prime minister on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on September 10. India rejected the offer as an expression of displeasure about the political change. There is no denying that the relation between India and Bangladesh has hit the lowest in 50 years.
Despite all negative narratives from India, Bangladesh has maintained a positive attitude towards an improved relation. The chief adviser was quoted as saying on December 5 that, ‘Relations between the two countries must be very close. This is essential from any angle, whether it’s about economics, security or water. Just as we need them in our interest, they need us in their interest. So, we have to forget certain transient matters… The main thing is to maintain good relations. We have to use everything in our power to advance towards that.’
The Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Kumar Verma speaking at a conference in October said that relations between the two countries are ‘multifaceted’ amid ‘sustained and positive momentum’ in trade and economic ties and ‘people-to-people engagements.’ To confirm this commitment in the context of political changeover in Bangladesh, India needs to show in deeds that it has made a policy shift to work with the interim government and value the people and its government and that its land is not used for creating instability and violence within Bangladesh. The ball is in India’s court. Let us see how does India play the ball to shore up the damage it has done in the bilateral relations.
Mohammad Abdur Razzak (safera690@yahoo.com), a retired commodore of the Bangladesh navy, is a security analyst.
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Protesters burn Dhakai Jamdani in West Bengal
West Bengal today witnessed protests organised by far-right Hindu outfits against what they said were atrocities on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. During the protests, groups set Dhakai Jamdani sarees on fire..Hundreds of people joined the protest rallies organised in Purulia, Kolkata, Ka
Protesters burn Dhakai Jamdani in West Bengal
Photo: Collected
West Bengal today witnessed protests organised by far-right Hindu outfits against what they said were atrocities on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. During the protests, groups set Dhakai Jamdani sarees on fire.
Hundreds of people joined the protest rallies organised in Purulia, Kolkata, Kanthi, Kakdwip and Sandeshkhali demanding immediate release of former ISKCON member Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari.
At a demonstration outside the Salt Lake International Bus Terminus near Kolkata, protesters set on fire Dhakai Jamdani sarees from Bangladesh.
They called for a boycott of Bangladeshi goods, warning that Indians would not remain silent if the disrespect toward the Indian national flag and attacks on Hindus continued.
"We condemn the continuous targeting of Hindus in Bangladesh and the hate-driven narratives against India. We will not sit idle. By burning Jamdani sarees, we urge people to boycott Bangladeshi products," said a protester.
Leading the protest rally in Contai, better known as Kanthi, the state's BJP Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said "sanatanis" were united.
"The martyrdom of 30,000 Indian soldiers in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War has been forgotten by the Islamists in the neighbouring country. Today's rally is a wake-up call to the elements across the border to stop rabble-rousing rhetoric," he said.
Reports of protests today also came in from Delhi's Lodhi Estate locality and Jammu city.
Photo: Collected
West Bengal today witnessed protests organised by far-right Hindu outfits against what they said were atrocities on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. During the protests, groups set Dhakai Jamdani sarees on fire.
Hundreds of people joined the protest rallies organised in Purulia, Kolkata, Kanthi, Kakdwip and Sandeshkhali demanding immediate release of former ISKCON member Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari.
At a demonstration outside the Salt Lake International Bus Terminus near Kolkata, protesters set on fire Dhakai Jamdani sarees from Bangladesh.
They called for a boycott of Bangladeshi goods, warning that Indians would not remain silent if the disrespect toward the Indian national flag and attacks on Hindus continued.
"We condemn the continuous targeting of Hindus in Bangladesh and the hate-driven narratives against India. We will not sit idle. By burning Jamdani sarees, we urge people to boycott Bangladeshi products," said a protester.
Leading the protest rally in Contai, better known as Kanthi, the state's BJP Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said "sanatanis" were united.
"The martyrdom of 30,000 Indian soldiers in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War has been forgotten by the Islamists in the neighbouring country. Today's rally is a wake-up call to the elements across the border to stop rabble-rousing rhetoric," he said.
Reports of protests today also came in from Delhi's Lodhi Estate locality and Jammu city.
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Does India need a fresh canvas for Bangladesh?
The way Delhiwalas deal with countries like Bangladesh suggests that the Indian policymakers are barely focused on the long-term interests of their people and national image.
en.prothomalo.com
Does India need a fresh canvas for Bangladesh?
Khawaza Main Uddin
Published: 08 Dec 2024, 20: 44
Flags of Bangladesh and India File photo
India still looks puzzled by the 5 August 2024 political changeover in Bangladesh.
Before this development, in more than one and a half decades, New Delhi had offered a foreign policy puzzle by relying only on one party, practically a single Zaminder (landlord)-like chief executive officer in Dhaka, for serving Indian interests.
The Indian authorities have then provided shelter to Sheikh Hasina, as Bangladesh’s former prime minister, also the Awami League’s president, who has been widely called a fascist ruler.
Remember, she fled the country to escape public wrath and still found refuge in India, unlike failure of many other dictators to secure asylum in their respective guardian angel’s home.
Thus, New Delhi has given yet another proof for its patronisation of Bangladesh’s longest serving prime minister who managed to cling on to power by holding three rigged elections – in 2014, 2018 and 2024 – until the student-mass uprising in July-August 2024 finally compelled her to quit.
India also seems to not care either if her ‘special care’ for the ousted Bangladeshi dictator would violate diplomatic norms and invite embarrassment for her as Hasina has been accused of mass murder and widespread corruption.
The Indian authorities were rather so stunned by the ‘loss of paradise’ that Delhi is yet to express its willingness to refix the relations with Dhaka in a completely new context. And the reality is: The regime-centric bonhomie in bilateral relations is a thing of the bygone era.
Now assuming that Hasina’s Awami League is unlikely to stage a political comeback in a likely democratic setup soon, Indian diplomats and ‘strategic partners’ are cleverly looking for a new friend in, for example, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the key contender for power, which was a major victim of Hasina’s tyranny though.
India’s South Block has not yet made any statement signaling that India wants to make a shift in its policy towards Bangladesh and that it seeks long-term friendship with the people of Bangladesh.
Instead, Delhi is showing certain ego, or in other words an angry loser’s ‘big brotherly’ approach to maintaining relations with Dhaka, somewhat similar to how India is perceived in most other South Asian capitals.
The way Delhiwalas deal with countries like Bangladesh suggests that the Indian policymakers are barely focused on the long-term interests of their people and national image.
Otherwise, why does India ignore the sentiment of the Bangladesh people who turned the Hasina administration into a house of cards, to restore a number of fundamental rights including the right to choose their representatives in the manner the Indians elect their leaders?
India’s dominant and insensitive attitude towards the Bangladesh people have been reflected in some of the Indian media’s propaganda highlighting imagined communal attacks inside Bangladesh and anti-Bangladesh sentiment among a section of the Indians.
The recent attacks on Bangladesh missions in India are the outcomes of provocations from and rhetoric used by different quarters inside India.
Within a month of the Bangladesh revolution, Rajnath Singh, India’s defence minister, reportedly asked the Indian Armed Forces to be prepared for war in order to preserve peace. He equated the conflicts between Israel and Hamas and Russia and Ukraine, with the current state of affairs in Bangladesh. His misplacing of the name of ‘Bangladesh’ alongside two war zones showed how the hegemonic Indian minds were shell-shocked by the revolutionary changes in the neighbouring country.
Of late, the chief minister of India’s West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, called for sending the UN peacekeeping forces to Bangladesh to ‘ensure safety of the minorities’.
She, too, is wrong on two counts: one, the minorities are safer in today’s Bangladesh than they were during the Hasina regime, as factchecking (not rumours) confirms; and two, the world’s largest army of peacekeepers is here in Bangladesh, a country which promotes peace at home and abroad. Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress supremo, might have joined the competition with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party to appease their domestic political constituencies, now vocal against Bangladesh.
However, Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pranay Verma alone has emphasised friendly relation with Bangladesh, in diplomatically sugarcoated language.
Is there any decision in his capital that India is going to make a policy departure from the past marked by India’s one-sided gains on the negotiation table and Hasina’s unilateral sacrifice for her friend for her ‘greater cause’ of staying in power?
Undeniably, there is a revolutionary bitterness among many Bangladeshis about how repressive acts perpetrated by the fascist Hasina regime, which publicly boasted of its backing from Delhi, led to prolonged national sufferings.
When Hasina constantly denied the Bangladesh people the right to vote by rigging all elections, the Indian leaders had all the praises of her as ‘torchlight of democracy’!
Before the 2014 farcical ballot, India’s external affairs secretary Sujatha Singh had nakedly interfered into the electoral process by asking former dictator Gen Ershad to join Hasina’s one-sided election game.
It is, therefore, incumbent upon India to try to heal the injuries caused to the Bangladesh people by making a clear shift with fresh outlook of pursuit of foreign policy involving two sovereign nations.
As an overture to confidence-building, New Delhi could have appreciated the Bangladesh people’s democratic rights and aspirations, assuring Dhaka today that major pending issues would be resolved through official talks and civic engagements, giving special attention to Bangladesh’s interests.
A few major issues that India should address for pacifying the Bangladeshis’ grievances include extradition of absconding criminals inclusive of Sheikh Hasina, suspicious deals with the Hasina regime hampering Bangladesh’s interest, unilateral withdrawal of waters of common rivers, barriers to Bangladesh’s exports, killing of Bangladeshi nationals along the border, smuggling of illicit items into Bangladesh, cross-border money laundering, intrusion of Indian fishermen into Bangladesh’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, denial of land transit to Nepal and Bhutan to and from Bangladesh through Indian territory for trade and tourism and ruining the spirit of SAARC which could have contributed to developing a better off and harmonious South Asian community.
For resetting the relations with Dhaka, Delhi may think of substituting the Awami League with, say, the BNP, if the party is voted to power in the near future. Such assumption won’t bring any meaningful change; neither would such an approach work in improving the Indo-Bangladesh relations in the coming days.
India would indeed need to maintain its relations with a democratic Bangladesh (republic) owned by its people, not the Sheikh family or a few persons among the ruling elites.
The ongoing revolution in Bangladesh has exposed that the younger generations that has brought down the Hasina regime do not have a very fond memory of India in terms of ‘win-win’ deals, other than India’s overt and covert endorsement of Hasina’s repressive acts.
So, it is important that the Indian policymakers go back to the drawing board to reassess, understand and anticipate Bangladesh, especially its demography and prospects, in the next 50 years or so. New Delhi can try to read what has been written between the lines in Bangladesh’s revolution of the new century: A policy change is the call of the hour.
*Khawaza Main Uddin is a journalist.
Khawaza Main Uddin
Published: 08 Dec 2024, 20: 44
Flags of Bangladesh and India File photo
India still looks puzzled by the 5 August 2024 political changeover in Bangladesh.
Before this development, in more than one and a half decades, New Delhi had offered a foreign policy puzzle by relying only on one party, practically a single Zaminder (landlord)-like chief executive officer in Dhaka, for serving Indian interests.
The Indian authorities have then provided shelter to Sheikh Hasina, as Bangladesh’s former prime minister, also the Awami League’s president, who has been widely called a fascist ruler.
Remember, she fled the country to escape public wrath and still found refuge in India, unlike failure of many other dictators to secure asylum in their respective guardian angel’s home.
Thus, New Delhi has given yet another proof for its patronisation of Bangladesh’s longest serving prime minister who managed to cling on to power by holding three rigged elections – in 2014, 2018 and 2024 – until the student-mass uprising in July-August 2024 finally compelled her to quit.
India also seems to not care either if her ‘special care’ for the ousted Bangladeshi dictator would violate diplomatic norms and invite embarrassment for her as Hasina has been accused of mass murder and widespread corruption.
The Indian authorities were rather so stunned by the ‘loss of paradise’ that Delhi is yet to express its willingness to refix the relations with Dhaka in a completely new context. And the reality is: The regime-centric bonhomie in bilateral relations is a thing of the bygone era.
Now assuming that Hasina’s Awami League is unlikely to stage a political comeback in a likely democratic setup soon, Indian diplomats and ‘strategic partners’ are cleverly looking for a new friend in, for example, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the key contender for power, which was a major victim of Hasina’s tyranny though.
India’s South Block has not yet made any statement signaling that India wants to make a shift in its policy towards Bangladesh and that it seeks long-term friendship with the people of Bangladesh.
Instead, Delhi is showing certain ego, or in other words an angry loser’s ‘big brotherly’ approach to maintaining relations with Dhaka, somewhat similar to how India is perceived in most other South Asian capitals.
The way Delhiwalas deal with countries like Bangladesh suggests that the Indian policymakers are barely focused on the long-term interests of their people and national image.
Otherwise, why does India ignore the sentiment of the Bangladesh people who turned the Hasina administration into a house of cards, to restore a number of fundamental rights including the right to choose their representatives in the manner the Indians elect their leaders?
India’s dominant and insensitive attitude towards the Bangladesh people have been reflected in some of the Indian media’s propaganda highlighting imagined communal attacks inside Bangladesh and anti-Bangladesh sentiment among a section of the Indians.
The recent attacks on Bangladesh missions in India are the outcomes of provocations from and rhetoric used by different quarters inside India.
Within a month of the Bangladesh revolution, Rajnath Singh, India’s defence minister, reportedly asked the Indian Armed Forces to be prepared for war in order to preserve peace. He equated the conflicts between Israel and Hamas and Russia and Ukraine, with the current state of affairs in Bangladesh. His misplacing of the name of ‘Bangladesh’ alongside two war zones showed how the hegemonic Indian minds were shell-shocked by the revolutionary changes in the neighbouring country.
Of late, the chief minister of India’s West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, called for sending the UN peacekeeping forces to Bangladesh to ‘ensure safety of the minorities’.
She, too, is wrong on two counts: one, the minorities are safer in today’s Bangladesh than they were during the Hasina regime, as factchecking (not rumours) confirms; and two, the world’s largest army of peacekeepers is here in Bangladesh, a country which promotes peace at home and abroad. Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress supremo, might have joined the competition with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party to appease their domestic political constituencies, now vocal against Bangladesh.
However, Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pranay Verma alone has emphasised friendly relation with Bangladesh, in diplomatically sugarcoated language.
Is there any decision in his capital that India is going to make a policy departure from the past marked by India’s one-sided gains on the negotiation table and Hasina’s unilateral sacrifice for her friend for her ‘greater cause’ of staying in power?
Undeniably, there is a revolutionary bitterness among many Bangladeshis about how repressive acts perpetrated by the fascist Hasina regime, which publicly boasted of its backing from Delhi, led to prolonged national sufferings.
When Hasina constantly denied the Bangladesh people the right to vote by rigging all elections, the Indian leaders had all the praises of her as ‘torchlight of democracy’!
Before the 2014 farcical ballot, India’s external affairs secretary Sujatha Singh had nakedly interfered into the electoral process by asking former dictator Gen Ershad to join Hasina’s one-sided election game.
It is, therefore, incumbent upon India to try to heal the injuries caused to the Bangladesh people by making a clear shift with fresh outlook of pursuit of foreign policy involving two sovereign nations.
As an overture to confidence-building, New Delhi could have appreciated the Bangladesh people’s democratic rights and aspirations, assuring Dhaka today that major pending issues would be resolved through official talks and civic engagements, giving special attention to Bangladesh’s interests.
A few major issues that India should address for pacifying the Bangladeshis’ grievances include extradition of absconding criminals inclusive of Sheikh Hasina, suspicious deals with the Hasina regime hampering Bangladesh’s interest, unilateral withdrawal of waters of common rivers, barriers to Bangladesh’s exports, killing of Bangladeshi nationals along the border, smuggling of illicit items into Bangladesh, cross-border money laundering, intrusion of Indian fishermen into Bangladesh’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, denial of land transit to Nepal and Bhutan to and from Bangladesh through Indian territory for trade and tourism and ruining the spirit of SAARC which could have contributed to developing a better off and harmonious South Asian community.
For resetting the relations with Dhaka, Delhi may think of substituting the Awami League with, say, the BNP, if the party is voted to power in the near future. Such assumption won’t bring any meaningful change; neither would such an approach work in improving the Indo-Bangladesh relations in the coming days.
India would indeed need to maintain its relations with a democratic Bangladesh (republic) owned by its people, not the Sheikh family or a few persons among the ruling elites.
The ongoing revolution in Bangladesh has exposed that the younger generations that has brought down the Hasina regime do not have a very fond memory of India in terms of ‘win-win’ deals, other than India’s overt and covert endorsement of Hasina’s repressive acts.
So, it is important that the Indian policymakers go back to the drawing board to reassess, understand and anticipate Bangladesh, especially its demography and prospects, in the next 50 years or so. New Delhi can try to read what has been written between the lines in Bangladesh’s revolution of the new century: A policy change is the call of the hour.
*Khawaza Main Uddin is a journalist.
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- Moderator
- #73
- Jan 24, 2024
- 2,394
- 1,169
I think the future is rather foreboding for Indian business interests in Bangladesh, especially re: NE 7 sisters region, after what happened in Agartala VHP attack on Bangladesh Assistant Consulate there.
1. Indian access to all Bangladesh seaports from Kolkata and Vizag will be reviewed and possibly cancelled.
2. Tripura, Mizoram and other NE landlocked states will have no seaport access through Bangladesh
3. All transit access from WB to NE 7 sisters through Bangladesh highways such as Cargo shipments are now cancelled.
4. All bandwidth transit from Indian mainland to NE 7 sisters through Bangladesh is also cancelled.
5. Visa awarded to Indian citizens to visit Bangladesh will be severely curtailed going forward.
6. Indian citizens illegally overstaying their visas in Bangladesh will be sought out and deported from buying houses and Apparel factories.
1. Indian access to all Bangladesh seaports from Kolkata and Vizag will be reviewed and possibly cancelled.
2. Tripura, Mizoram and other NE landlocked states will have no seaport access through Bangladesh
3. All transit access from WB to NE 7 sisters through Bangladesh highways such as Cargo shipments are now cancelled.
4. All bandwidth transit from Indian mainland to NE 7 sisters through Bangladesh is also cancelled.
5. Visa awarded to Indian citizens to visit Bangladesh will be severely curtailed going forward.
6. Indian citizens illegally overstaying their visas in Bangladesh will be sought out and deported from buying houses and Apparel factories.
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- Thread starter
- #74
A well articulated response from you, Billal bhai😍 Are you sure that all transit accesses from WB to NE 7 sisters through Bangladesh are now cancelled?
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- Thread starter
- #75
India doesn’t endorse Hasina’s criticism of the interim govt: Vikram Misri
She uses ‘private communication devices’ to make comments, while India neither provided nor facilitated any facility for her political activities from Indian soil.
en.prothomalo.com
India doesn’t endorse Hasina’s criticism of the interim govt: Vikram Misri
Prothom Alo English Desk
Published: 12 Dec 2024, 16: 30
India has clarified its stance on fallen prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent criticisms of the interim government in Dhaka, saying that New Delhi does not endorse her remarks and it remains a pinprick in the bilateral relationship.
Indian daily The Hindu reported that the Indian external affairs secretary, Vikram Misri, provided the clarifications while briefing their parliamentary standing committee on external affairs over his recent official trip to Bangladesh.
Misri told the committee on Wednesday that the bilateral relationship with Bangladesh transcends any ‘single political party’ or a government and that India was focused on the ‘people of Bangladesh.’
Regarding the fallen prime minister’s recent remarks while being sheltered in India, the secretary said she uses ‘private communication devices’ to make comments and the Indian authorities neither provided nor facilitated any facility for her political activities from Indian soil.
He reaffirmed the traditional practice of India to refrain from interfering in other countries.
In the face of a student-led mass uprising, Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh and took shelter in India on 5 August. Since then, multiple audio clips of her talking to the party activists were spread on social media platforms.
Prothom Alo English Desk
Published: 12 Dec 2024, 16: 30
India has clarified its stance on fallen prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent criticisms of the interim government in Dhaka, saying that New Delhi does not endorse her remarks and it remains a pinprick in the bilateral relationship.
Indian daily The Hindu reported that the Indian external affairs secretary, Vikram Misri, provided the clarifications while briefing their parliamentary standing committee on external affairs over his recent official trip to Bangladesh.
Misri told the committee on Wednesday that the bilateral relationship with Bangladesh transcends any ‘single political party’ or a government and that India was focused on the ‘people of Bangladesh.’
Regarding the fallen prime minister’s recent remarks while being sheltered in India, the secretary said she uses ‘private communication devices’ to make comments and the Indian authorities neither provided nor facilitated any facility for her political activities from Indian soil.
He reaffirmed the traditional practice of India to refrain from interfering in other countries.
In the face of a student-led mass uprising, Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh and took shelter in India on 5 August. Since then, multiple audio clips of her talking to the party activists were spread on social media platforms.
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