‘Send Sheikh Hasina back’- Will Bangladesh’s letter to India increase tensions?Every Party is doing Politics on Amedkar
#News Bureau December 23,2024
Bangladesh has written a letter to India which can increase the tension between the two again. Dhaka has said that it has sent a diplomatic note to Delhi to send back former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. This letter from Bangladesh is being seen as a new attack.
Sheikh Hasina has been living in exile in India since August 5, when she fled the country amid student-led protests. Her 16-year rule ended after that protest. Since the coup and Hasina’s arrival in India, the attitude of the interim government of Bangladesh has not been friendly towards India. In many cases, the rhetoric between the two countries reached the point of tension. However, in the meantime, efforts have also been made to resolve the issues by talking at the diplomatic level. But it seems that the issues are still not resolved.
Meanwhile, the Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal has issued arrest warrants for Hasina and several former cabinet ministers, advisers and military and civilian officials for crimes against humanity and genocide. Tauhid Hussain, foreign affairs adviser in the interim government of Bangladesh, said, ‘We have sent a note verbale (diplomatic message) to the Government of India, stating that Bangladesh wants her back here for judicial process.’
Earlier, Home Advisor Jahangir Alam had said that his office had sent a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs to facilitate the extradition of the ousted Prime Minister from India.
He said that we have sent a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs regarding her extradition. In response to a question, he told reporters that this process is still going on. Alam said that an extradition treaty already exists between Dhaka and New Delhi and Hasina can be brought back to Bangladesh under this treaty.
Meanwhile, the Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal has issued arrest warrants for Hasina and several former cabinet ministers, advisers and military and civilian officials for crimes against humanity and genocide. Tauhid Hussain, foreign affairs adviser in the interim government of Bangladesh, said, ‘We have sent a note verbale (diplomatic message) to the Government of India, stating that Bangladesh wants her back here for judicial process.’
Earlier, Home Advisor Jahangir Alam had said that his office had sent a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs to facilitate the extradition of the ousted Prime Minister from India.
He said that we have sent a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs regarding her extradition. In response to a question, he told reporters that this process is still going on. Alam said that an extradition treaty already exists between Dhaka and New Delhi and Hasina can be brought back to Bangladesh under this treaty.
Amidst similar tensions with Bangladesh, the Indian Foreign Secretary visited Bangladesh this month. This was seen as an effort to improve relations between the two countries. But did the relationship improve?
Despite the sourness in relations, the foreign secretaries of India and Bangladesh met for the first time after the August events on 9 December in Dhaka. Relations between the two countries had become strained after the removal of Sheikh Hasina in August and the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh began. Immediately after reaching Bangladesh, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri first met Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Mohammad Jashim Uddin in private and a formal meeting was also held between the two. After the meeting, Misri said that he raised the issue of safety of minorities in front of Bangladesh officials. He said, “We also discussed the developments in Bangladesh and informed about India’s concerns, including concerns related to the safety of minorities there. We also talked about the regrettable incidents of attacks on cultural and religious properties.”
At that time, many temples were attacked in Bangladesh. Saint Chinmay Krishna Das associated with ISKCON was arrested. Chinmay is accused of insulting the national flag of Bangladesh. ISKCON distanced itself from Chinmay and said that he has been expelled from ISKCON. There was deep concern in India over the violence against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was sent to Bangladesh.
Before Vikram Misri’s visit on 9 December, Bangladesh gave another blow to India. It canceled the bandwidth agreement for fast internet supply in the northeastern states of India. This new step of the Muhammad Yunus government was considered to strengthen relations with Pakistan and weaken India’s interests.
In fact, the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus overturned the agreement of the Sheikh Hasina government in which private telecom operators were allowed to use Bangladesh as a transit point for supplying bandwidth in this region lacking connectivity.
