EPAFollowing protests and counterprotests over the alleged abuse of Hindu minority in Bangladesh, a rhetoric conflict between Bangladesh and neighbor India is about to get out of hand.
Diplomatic relations between the neighbours and once-close allies have been prickly since August, when former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh after a public uprising (she is currently in India).
The latest trigger was the arrest of a Hindu monk last week, which set off protests in India by activists from Hindu organisations and politicians including members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Difficulty protesters forced their way into Bangladesh’s courthouse building on Monday in the north-eastern town of Agartala and vandalized it in an shame for India.
In Dhaka, hundreds of students and protesters protested the consulate’s storm several days later.
The American government has distanced itself from the strike, calling it “deeply unfortunate”.
” Political and diplomatic qualities should not be targeted under any circumstances”, India’s international department said in a speech, adding that it was stepping up protection for Bangladesh’s political structures in the country. In connection with the incident, authorities have made seven arrests.
But Dhaka is scarlet.
The Bangladeshi foreign government called the strike “heinous” and demanded that Delhi look into the matter thoroughly and” to stop any further acts of violence against the Bangladeshi political operations.”
Getty Images” It is very unfortunate and it’s an unacceptable situation … Hindu extremists broke into the grounds, pulled down the flag stand and desecrated the]Bangladeshi] flag. Our soldiers and other employees were exceedingly frightened”, Touhid Hossain, foreign matters assistant to the time government in Bangladesh, told the BBC.
Bangladeshi officials claim that disinformation and warmed coverage of the matter by a number of Indian media outlets have contributed to the protests in India, some of which have occurred close to the nations ‘ borders.
” Sadly, Indian media has gone crazy over the matter. Bangladesh is being portrayed in the most gloomy feasible way. I don’t know why they are doing it and how it will gain either Bangladesh or India, I fail to understand”, Mr Hossain, the de facto foreign secretary, said.
But, experts in India claim that it is only natural that advances in Bangladesh will have an impact on the neighboring nation.
” Emotions are running high in India. Bangladesh may first tackle the violence it, especially the attack on minority”, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, a former Indian great director to Dhaka, told the BBC.
For India, Bangladesh is not just any adjacent country. It’s a corporate partner and supporter critical to India’s border security, especially in the north-eastern says. Additionally, the two nations have tight cultural and linguistic relationships.
Hindus constitute less than 10% of Bangladesh’s 170 million population. Leaders of the community have long spoken of discrimination and hate attacks against them by Islamists and some political parties.
Some of Hasina’s supporters were qualified in the wake of the disorganized overthrow of her in August, including those from religious minority who had traditionally supported her.
After months of a relative calm, the situation has gotten stressful once more in the wake of Chinmoy Krishna Das’s arrest.
He was arrested on charges of sedition, among people, after holding a protest demanding majority right in Chittagong in October. He was charged it with elevating the Bangladeshi federal symbol above the saffron flag, which is a color associated with Hinduism.
A court in Chittagong last week denied him loan, causing altercations that eventually led to the death of a Muslim attorney. In connection with the dying and violence, numerous individuals have been detained.
On Tuesday, the wizard’s parole hearing was pushed to 2 January after no prosecutor turned up to represent him.
Getty ImagesChinmoy Das’s previous associations with Iskcon were. However, Hrishikesh Gauranga Das, a top Iskcon in Dhaka standard, confirmed to the BBC that the priest had been fired from the organization earlier this year on administrative basis.
” Some learners complained that Chinmoy Das acted inappropriately around them. So we sent words to him asking for his assistance with the investigation. But he refused to cooperate”, the national said.
Chinmoy Das is currently incarcerated and accessible for comment, but a supporter claimed the claims were false and were the result of” an internal conflict between Iskcon officials in Dhaka and Chittagong.”
Swatantra Gauranga Das, a follower, also refuted Chinmoy Das ‘ disrespect for the country’s flag.
The flare-up over the arrest has added to the anxious environment in Bangladesh.
Ashish Gauranga Das claimed that people of color in Bangladesh are “living in anxiety”.
” They don’t know what will happen. The government is trying]to give safety ] but it’s difficult to control most people”, he said.
He claimed that after new vandalism by scoundrels, three Iskcon churches suffered minor damages.
The interim federal in Bangladesh claims to be aware of the difficulties and that it treats all populations equally.
We have deployed more causes to Iskcon and Hindu temples, as well as the areas where religious minority reside. There may have been some stray situations but there are no organized attacks on minorities”, said Shafiqul Alam, hit minister to Bangladesh’s interim chief Muhammad Yunus.
Religious conflicts are not new to the area, and activists on both sides are concerned that the conflict could get worse if protracted demonstrations and aggressive statements continue.
Hasina’s stay in India has previously aggravated bilateral relations significantly, and the rising protests in both nations are likely to worsen the environment.
Experts claim that it’s time for the speech to become toned down because India and Bangladesh are neighbors who depend on one another.
Regular people who travel from Bangladesh to India for business, commerce, or medical treatment have also been affected by the rallies.
Muhammad Inayatullah witnessed a presentation by Hindu protesters at the Petrapole borders in West Bengal when he was crossing into India earlier this week to meet his friends.
When you cross the border, Mr. Inayatullah told BBC Bengali,” It’s not nice to hear persons shout slogans against your land.”
More reporting by Amitabha Bhattasali, BBC Bengali from Petrapole borders
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