Anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh organic or orchestrated strategy ahead of polls?

India Today

7 weeks ago

Bangladesh is on the edge of anarchy ahead of upcoming elections in February.

Transcript

00:00Hi there, you're watching the NewsTrack and I'm Maria Shaquille, Bangladesh, already unstable

00:06since Sheikh Hasina's ouster last year is now in fresh turmoil. The killing of student

00:12leader Sharif Osman Hadi, known for his anti-India stance, has sparked outrage with Hadi being

00:18hailed as a hero while India faces baseless accusations. But the deeper causes, political

00:26rivalries, misinformation and opportunistic propaganda driven by domestic and foreign

00:33players are also coming to the fore, especially ahead of the February elections. Anti-India

00:38rhetoric, once political, has now turned violent, including attacks on the Indian High Commission

00:45and media houses, while radical ideas spread among youth. With political instability, a

00:53struggling economy and a rising communal tension, Bangladesh risks a radical shift in Dhaka,

01:00threatening both internal stability and Bangladesh-India relations. I'll discuss this in detail

01:06with my guests who will be joining me shortly. But first up, here's a ground report.

01:15Bangladesh is on the edge of anarchy, ahead of upcoming elections in February.

01:23After Osman Hadi's killing that unleashed a wave of violence last week, now another youth

01:30leader, Motoleb Sikdar of the National Citizens Party is shot in the head.

01:41Motoleb Sikdar, who had taken part in protest that led to Sheikh Hasina's ouster, is critical

01:47and undergoing treatment in the hospital. The attempt on Sikdar's life comes even as the country grapples

01:54with violence by Islamist extremists, who targeted an Indian mission in Chittagong, media outlets,

02:02cultural centre in Dhaka and lynched a Hindu man in Mimin Singh.

02:07On Mondays, several Hindu organisations held protest against the lynching of Deepu Das.

02:19India Today's reporters visited Mimin Singh, where Deepu Das was dragged from his workplace

02:25and beaten to death by a mob.

02:29I'm in the Mimin Singh area. I remember the Mimin Singh, where exactly Deepu Das was lynched

02:34by the mob. He was burned in a square at a public place. Ten people have been arrested,

02:39including the floor manager of his company. So Mimin Singh looks like mostly the industrial

02:43area. He was dragged out from this gate. Eventually, we have seen those vehicles. The mob was

02:47coming in a huge number. He was dragged out of this gate and they took him. They're beating

02:51up to death and they took him nearby to the chalk where he was burned. The incident that

02:56shocked the whole world.

02:58So, this is a tree in Mimin Singh, where Deepu Das was brought up and burned it. This tree

03:05was brought up. The trees were cleaned up. The trees were cleaned down. The trees were cleaned

03:09down. The trees were cleaned down. The trees were cleaned down. A little bit earlier, there's

03:11the police here. And with this, the Okula Police, the Holuka Police, the detective branch

03:16wanted to know the investigation.

03:18Deepu's family is demanding capital punishment for the accused.

03:25As Bangladesh chief economic advisor, Muhammad Yunus struggles to keep his house in order,

03:47former PM Sheikh Hasina has hit out at the regime. Hasina, who has taken shelter in India, has

03:54criticised the Yunus government over its failure to control the violence and protect minorities.

04:01Hasina claimed that Yunus was powerless to stop the attacks on diplomatic missions.

04:06She accused Yunus government of giving immunity to hooligans.

04:11As the situation in Bangladesh remains tense, India is keeping a watch on every development

04:18in its backyard.

04:19And breaking news coming in now. Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi has suspended

04:35councillor services and visa issuance until further notice due to unforeseen circumstances.

04:43In fact, this is the official release which has come in now. No official details have been

04:49released. The services remain on hold temporarily. Also, visa and councillor services at Bangladesh,

04:55Assistant High Commission in Agartala has been suspended starting tomorrow. So, does it mean that no

05:03councillor services? Earlier, it was only the journalists who could not travel. Now, there is total suspension

05:09of councillor services, or should I say visas, which will no longer be issued for anyone willing to

05:16travel or keen on travelling to Bangladesh. Shivani is joining me in the phone line. Shivani, give us the

05:21details.

05:23Maria, see, the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi has given out a notice. In fact, the notice has been

05:29sick outside Bangladesh High Commission saying that the visa services have been temporarily suspended

05:35due to unavoidable circumstances. So, now, no visa is being issued. The councillor services are shut down

05:44temporarily. No reasons have been given, but due to unavoidable circumstances, that's what the

05:50commission says. Not only in New Delhi, but also in Agartala, the services have been suspended

05:57temporarily. There is no detail on to when it will restart. But yes, you can say that this is a fresh

06:05tension that is emerging, the diplomatic ties between India and Bangladesh when the councillor and visa

06:11services in New Delhi have been suspended temporarily.

06:15All right. Thank you for joining us there, Shivani. Let me bring in the guest who are joining us now,

06:22Mohamed Kamruzama. He's a journalist joining me from Bangladesh. We have Ambassador Pinak Chakravarti

06:29also joining us. I'm going to begin with you, Mr. Kamruzama. There are concerns, of course,

06:35because of the statements coming in, particularly with regards to anti-India statements or the

06:40sentiments largely. Is this organic public anger or is it orchestrated political strategy ahead of the

06:50February elections? Maria, thank you very much for having me. Actually, I think that Bangladeshi people

06:59are actually not anti-Indian. And even Usman Hadi that you mentioned, he was also not anti-Indian.

07:07Actually, Bangladeshi people are concerned about Indian hegemony. Sometimes Hadi also said several times

07:15he was concerned about Indian hegemony, not the general Indian. So, the Bangladeshi people have

07:24very good connectivity with India. Many people go to India for treatment, you know, for tourism,

07:31people visit India. So, friendship to people to people, friendship is very normal. Fact is that

07:38during Sheikha Sina regime, India very nakedly supported her, according to people's criticism,

07:46I'm saying. And even three very naked elections boycotted by all political parties. But India

07:53supported. So, people considered it as very naked interference in Bangladesh's internal affairs.

08:01That's the problem. But people actually not very anti-Indian. People want, because we have cultural

08:07connectivity, we have many similarities. So, people actually never hate India. People hate Indian

08:13hegemony. This is the fact. But how is that really a hegemony that you're talking about?

08:19Yes, of course. I have already mentioned that regarding election, regarding supporting of Sheikha Sina.

08:25And even just look, during Sheikha Sina regime, there were heinous murder of Hindu Bishwajit Dasha

08:32and broad delight by Chhatralik. And it was circulated by all media in Bangladesh. But at that time,

08:38there was no sound from India's side. And even your media didn't cover that event. And even many

08:44hundreds of Hindu people's properties were looted by Aomalik persons. And at that time, you never

08:50raised that. It was communal violence, nothing. But just now, after such a big change, 16-year-long

08:58authoritarian regime, there are some political events, political chaos, of course, that is not

09:02acceptable. And even the Hindu youth who was killed, she did back. It was also condemnable.

09:10There are concerns. There are concerns. Ambassador Chakrabarti, perhaps you'll be able to explain

09:15this better, because you have served in Bangladesh as a high commissioner there.

09:21How should India then navigate escalating anti-India rhetoric while maintaining diplomatic ties

09:28with Bangladesh ahead of elections?

09:31Well, this is nothing new. We've been through all this before. There was anti-India rhetoric

09:37earlier after when Sheikha was assassinated. Then later when dictators were in power. Then again

09:45when the BNP Jamaat government was in power. So this is nothing new as far as we are concerned

09:52who will be handling the power.

09:53Ambassador, I'll just try and fix your audio because there seems to be some problem with

09:57your network. I'll come back to you in just a bit, but let me also continue with Kamruz Zamaa

10:03while the PCR actually fixes that line. Mr. Kamruz Zamaa, the question is the role of the

10:11political parties. The fact here is that Sheikh Hasina's party may not be even participate,

10:17be allowed to participate in these elections which are scheduled for February next year.

10:21In this political vacuum of sorts which has been created, is there a fear that the radicals

10:27could occupy that vacuum?

10:30Why do you think that it's a vacuum? We don't think it's a vacuum. Actually, you know that

10:35it is people's right to think freely. Actually, Sheikh Hasina destroyed democracy completely.

10:41There is no election system. People were deprived of voting rights. So you saw last year's mass

10:47uprising. Hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life came to the street. So it was like

10:55a revolution. So after that revolution or in the walk of that mass uprising, Sheikh Hasina fled to

11:01India. And even Hasina government's second man, Ubaidul Qadir, told in publicly that if our merit falls,

11:09it means that 500,000 people may be killed on the street. So it was their even assessment because of

11:16their activities. So they doubted it. But nothing was happened like that. So Hasina fled. Most of the

11:22Amalek leaders fled after committing crimes here. So now this is not a vacuum. They may come to,

11:29they may come and they may face trial and they may participate and they may case against if there is

11:35anything. But they fled because they committed crime. So this narrative actually not correct,

11:41according to me as I am from a ground reporter. So that will not, this vacuum will not be filled

11:49by radicalism. Even you saw that here in Bangladesh, actually, Hindu, Muslims, even now, except some

11:57distant incidents. People are living together. Even Jamaat-Islam that you are mentioning as radical

12:03party, there is a Hindu candidate who is contesting in the upcoming national election.

12:08So actually communal harmony here very, very fine. But there are some political chaos, political

12:13conflicts. It should not be leveled as communal violence.

12:17No, but the manner in which what you are saying is just political conflict means targeting of all

12:24those students who are part of the student uprising with Bangladesh saw, which led to the interim

12:30government of Muhammad Yunus. There is a targeted killing of those students, which is happening.

12:36How will that be justified then? In fact, I can see Ambassador Chakravarti now joining us.

12:42Ambassador, you know, you say that there is nothing unusual, or should I say, about what is

12:47happening in Bangladesh right now? But given the kind of radical, you know, view, or should

12:54I say, unrest, which is playing out on the streets, do you see this also as nothing unusual?

13:01No, when I said unusual, I meant that such turmoil has happened before in Bangladesh in different

13:07forms. And this is a difference in form altogether. And it is a complicated situation where there

13:14are a lot of players involved. I would dare to say that there was a lot of external interference

13:20when the agitation ended, but then it was revived to oust Hasina. No, ousting a government which was

13:28elected in whatever manner people felt it was not free and fair. But then some external actors got

13:39together. It became a regime change operation. And so we must look at it geopolitically in that

13:45context. In the micro level, what is happening is a different matter. The Islamists are basically

13:52running the show now. So, and their agenda is very clear. They have the support of Pakistan,

13:59which means that they will have an anti-India rhetoric going on. But rhetoric is one place,

14:06but the reality of geopolitics is another. So I feel that the rhetoric is there. But then

14:13that rhetoric cannot be translated into reality. And as soon as they realize all these immature

14:20student leaders and others who are very high on rhetoric, it's best that they fight an election.

14:29And when they come back, then whatever policies they are spouting now, they can put into effect.

14:35India will wait for that. India is willing to wait for a proper election and where there's

14:42free, fair, you know, credible election. And India is always willing to deal with any government

14:48that comes to an election process.

14:49Okay. But sir, attacks on the Indian High Commission, does it not signal rising hostility?

14:56And then what steps can India take immediately to safeguard its interests? This while Bangladesh

15:03has called protests outside Bangladesh High Commission regrettable?

15:08Well, that's a narrative they are building up because they could not control the mobs that

15:16were attacking our missions. You know, that's, you know, a few people standing outside making

15:22slogans is quite different from what the mobs in Bangladesh were trying to do. Although

15:28their police was there, they tried to stop them. But I think the police there also is under

15:34constraint. You know, I think this is all a very well-orchestrated demonstration and all

15:42these things. It is basically to convey a message that, you know, people are very angry, they are

15:49anti-Indian. Hence, you know, of all, I think, as some people have alleged, that all these—this

15:57kind of anarchy is meant to postpone and avoid elections by the powers that who are controlling.

16:06The current regime is being controlled by the Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamists and the student leaders.

16:13But then, you know, they, in my view, may feel that the elections will not

16:21send them to power. And that is the reason why they wish to postpone the election. I hope it is not

16:28postponed. But I think there is a conspiracy to postpone. Because otherwise, why have this kind of

16:36orchestrated violence? It's quite unbelievable. And I think the Bangladeshi regime today lacks

16:44legitimacy. And I think the sooner they have elections and allow a properly, you know, constituting

16:53government through elections to come to power, it'll be better for both countries. It'll be better for

16:58Bangladesh. All this rhetoric is not going anywhere. It's not leading to any solution.

17:06So, Mr. Kamri Zamar, my question then would be about long-term consequences of what is being seen as a radical reset.

17:13And what does it do to the regional stability as well? And can the elections be postponed if there

17:22is a larger conspiracy to postpone these elections?

17:27Actually, according to the government sources, they are very determined to hold the election.

17:33But of course, there is some confusion. And even I am also a little bit confused whether the election could be held in the prevailing situation.

17:42But what you are saying, I have not agree with you totally, that a long-term communal violence and consequence.

17:49No, Bangladesh is a country with very communal peaceful environment, some distant incident.

17:56And in most cases, there are some sometimes personal conflicts, personal clashes or some property-related clashes.

18:03But overall communal harmony is very strong and Hindu, Muslim live very peacefully.

18:09We have Asif bin Ali also joining us. He is a documentary filmmaker from Bangladesh and also an academic.

18:16Asif, thank you for joining us. My question would be about radical ideas which certainly appear to be gaining ground

18:23among Bangladeshi youth.

18:27Then the question would be, is Dhaka now tilting towards extremism?

18:31And if yes, why is this primarily ideological or is this more of a reaction to what is being seen as political and economic instability in the country?

18:45You know, I wouldn't deny that there is a certain amount of radicalization have happened in the society in the last 10-15 years.

18:55And there are, of course, reasons to explain that. And one of the reasons was the absence of democracy in the country and also the, you know, over-emphasis on religious educations

19:07compare while the secular education system has been weakened in the last 15 to 20 years.

19:13So these are the, you know, culminative impact that we are seeing.

19:17However, one thing we need to understand is that whatever you are seeing in Bangladesh,

19:22I do understand you are seeing it from the Indian perspective and which is totally all right.

19:27What I am trying to say here is that the kind of violence we are seeing in the ground,

19:33as, as Pinaxar was rightfully saying, it is also an orchestration of power to respond to the election in different ways.

19:42And the reason is that, you see, even if you look at the country's larger political demography now,

19:49the centrist and the liberal and the secular political party has the highest number of vote compared to the Islamist,

19:58even though the Islamist percentage has increased.

20:01Like, I can refer all five, you know, surveys that have been conducted in last six months,

20:07and which shows that on an average five to eight percent of increase in the Islamist vote,

20:13but still they are one of the party, not the main party.

20:17And if you combine, like, rest of the parties together, then, of course, Islamist is still not the party that can form the government.

20:26So what happened is that the current government, in many ways, they have failed to bring the stability back.

20:34And in that situation, some groups may have thought that maybe by doing this kind of violence,

20:41they would be able to postpone the election to delay people's mandate.

20:45And by doing so, they can postpone of taking over an elected government.

20:50So rather, instead of just, you know, seeing it from the threat perspective,

20:55what I would be, you know, like arguing for that, that Bangladesh is struggling with its transition process.

21:03And in that transition process, these elements, particularly the elements you are seeing, like burning down the newspapers,

21:12you know, killing, you know, citizens, lynching them, or like destroying government properties.

21:19This is basically creating a fear so that, you know, people do not think of having a free, fair and participatory election,

21:27and then they don't come out for the vote.

21:30Okay, Asif, you know, before I end this discussion, one more question to you.

21:33How significant is the foreign influence?

21:36What is being seen as an influence from, say, Pakistan, China, or Turkey,

21:40in stoking this unrest and shaping anti-India narratives in Bangladesh?

21:45Look, definitely there are different theories about the foreign influences.

21:51And depending on which block you belong, you use those frameworks.

21:58But as an academic, I have to have, like, concrete evidence of, you know, making any argument on that.

22:05However, by saying so, I am not denying that there is no other actor playing a role there.

22:12But also, like, the elements that are operated there, this is also very much homegrown.

22:18Of course, they may have got some aid or some kind of influence.

22:22It could be ideological.

22:23It could be, like, some of the, you know, money-related things.

22:27But largely, the forces we are seeing on the ground, they are homegrown.

22:32And also, regarding the economic model, like, today, in the earlier, I was attending another show,

22:37and they were, like, talking about the conspiracy regarding the cryptocurrency and others.

22:42Trust me, those who follow the Bangladesh politics, it is still analog in many ways.

22:47And one of the funding sources is charity, not the cryptocurrency.

22:51Now, these words sound very fancy when, you know, we are sitting in a bubbles.

22:55But then when you go on the ground, you would see, like, these groups, they actually collect money in a collective way from Jakaat and others, and that's how they fund them.

23:04Now, that doesn't mean that they are not misusing or abusing it.

23:08What I am trying to say is that the problem and the forces that you are seeing right now, they are purely homegrown, and they share a kind of idea which majority of the Bangladesh rejects.