India-Bangladesh relations crisis escalates as violent protests

The killing of a Hindu man during recent violent protests in Bangladesh has plunged already tense relations between Dhaka and Delhi into a deeper crisis.

As the two neighbors accuse each other of destabilizing relations, doubts are growing whether their once close and time-tested relationship has broken beyond repair.

In India, the incident sparked protests from Hindu nationalist groups. Dipu Chandra Das, 27, a member of Bangladesh’s Hindu minority, was accused of blasphemy and beaten to death by a mob in Mymensingh, northern Bangladesh, last week.

The incident was very violent Murder of Sharif Osman Hadi sparks protestsis a well-known student leader in the capital Dhaka.

Hadi’s supporters claim that the main suspect, who they say has links to the Awami League, the party of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has fled to India, further fueling anti-India sentiment in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh police said it had not confirmed that the suspect had left the country.

The South Asian neighbors have suspended visa services in several cities, including Delhi, in recent days and have accused each other of failing to ensure adequate security for their diplomatic missions.

The two countries also summoned each other’s high commissioner to raise security concerns.

“I sincerely hope that tensions on both sides will not escalate further,” Riva Ganguly Das, India’s former high commissioner to Dhaka, told the BBC, adding that the “volatile situation” in Bangladesh made it difficult to predict which direction things would take.

Anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh is not new.

A section of Bangladeshis have long resented India’s overbearing influence over their country, especially during Hasina’s 15-year rule before she was deposed in last year’s uprising.

Anger has grown since Hasina took refuge in India, where Delhi has so far not agreed to return her to India despite repeated requests from Dhaka.

After Hadi’s killing, some young leaders reportedly made provocative anti-India statements.

In recent weeks, Bangladeshi security forces have had to prevent protesters from marching towards the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.

Last week, a mob hurled stones at the Assistant High Commission of India building in Chittagong, sparking outrage in Delhi. Police subsequently detained 12 people in connection with the incident, but they were later released without any charges.

Counter rallies also took place in India. Bangladesh has strongly opposed protests by Hindu groups outside its diplomatic premises in Delhi, calling them “unjustified”.

“I have never seen this kind of suspicion and mistrust between the two sides before,” said Humayun Kabir, Bangladesh’s former top diplomat.

Both sides should protect each other’s diplomatic missions in accordance with established norms.

Some readers may find the following details disturbing.

The brutal lynching of Das, a garment factory worker, only heightened anger in India.

He was accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad and was lynched by a mob who then tied his body to a tree and set it on fire.

Video of the killing was widely shared on social media, sparking outrage on both sides of the border.

Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, said “such violence will not be tolerated in the new Bangladesh” and promised that no one involved in the killings would be spared.

Bangladeshi police said they had arrested 12 people in connection with Das’s killing.

Analysts say his killing has renewed questions about the safety of minorities and civil society activists in Bangladesh, where religious fundamentalists have become more assertive and intolerant in the wake of Hasina’s exit.

Radical Islamists have desecrated hundreds of Sufi shrines, attacked Hindus, prevented women from playing football in some areas and restricted music and cultural performances.

Human rights groups have also expressed growing concern over the rise in mob violence in Bangladesh over the past year.

“Hard-liners in society now see themselves as mainstream and they don’t want to see pluralism or diversity of thought in the country,” said Asif Ben Ali, a Bangladeshi political analyst.

“These activists dehumanize people and institutions by promoting the narrative that they are pro-India. This gives a green light for others on the ground to attack them.”

Many Bangladeshis suspect Islamic militants were part of the mob that last week vandalized and set fire to two of Bangladesh’s daily newspapers – The Daily Star and Prothom Alo – and the building of a cultural institution, accusing them of being pro-India.

Civil society activists in Bangladesh have criticized the interim government for failing to stem the recent violence. Even before the protests, the interim government was under scrutiny as it struggled to maintain law and order and deliver results amid political turmoil.

Experts such as Ashok Swain believe that right-wing leaders on both sides are making provocative statements for their own benefit, exacerbating tensions and public anger.

“A large section of the Indian media is also hyping up events in Bangladesh and portraying the country as falling into social chaos,” said Swain, a professor of peace and conflict studies at Uppsala University in Sweden.

“People should realize that stability in Bangladesh is key to India’s security, especially in the northeast,” he said.

With the interim government in Dhaka criticized for a lack of control and legitimacy, it is widely believed that a democratically elected government will be better able to deal with Bangladesh’s domestic and international challenges.

The country is scheduled to hold elections on February 12, but until then, Yunus faces the difficult task of avoiding further violence.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was widely expected to emerge as the winner as Ms Hasina’s Awami League was barred from taking part in the polls.

But Islamist parties like Jamaat-e-Islami could pose a challenge to the BNP.

There are fears there could be more violence in the coming days as hardline religious parties capitalize on anti-India sentiment.

Asif Ben Ali warned: “The biggest victim of anti-India politics is not India but the citizens of Bangladesh itself – such as secular-minded individuals, centrists and minorities.”

He said the current narrative suggests that anyone or any institution who criticizes fundamentalists can “dehumanize and justify attacks on them by labeling them pro-India”.

Indian policymakers are aware of the changing dynamics in Bangladesh.

An Indian parliamentary panel said developments in Bangladesh posed the “biggest strategic challenge” to Delhi since the country’s war of independence in 1971.

Humayun Kabir and other former Bangladeshi diplomats It is believed that India should accept the reality and extend a helping hand to Bangladesh to rebuild trust.

“We are neighbors and we depend on each other,” Mr. Kabir said.

New Delhi has said it will engage with Bangladesh’s elected government, which could pave the way for a diplomatic resumption.

Experts on both sides have warned that anger on the streets must not be allowed to further strain bilateral relations.