December 4, 2024
DHAKA – We are alarmed by the hostile rhetoric and mobilisations by India’s Hindu nationalist groups targeting Bangladesh, which culminated on Monday in an attack on the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Agartala, Tripura. We strongly protest this blatant violation of the Vienna Convention that guarantees the inviolability of diplomatic missions. It also marks a dangerous provocation that risks further straining Bangladesh-India ties and undermining regional stability. True, India has “regretted” this incident, but if India genuinely wants a “stable relationship” with the post-uprising Bangladesh—as its external affairs minister had asserted in September—the government must act decisively to de-escalate tensions and counter disinformation, rather than being a bystander on the sidelines of what appears to be a coordinated anti-Bangladesh campaign.
Monday’s attack was reportedly led by the Hindu Sangharsh Samity, an affiliate of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). A group of about 150 protesters stormed mission premises, damaged property, and desecrated the Bangladesh flag, while security officials stood by passively. On the same day, the VHP also led another group of protesters near the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Mumbai, just days after a similar protest outside the Deputy High Commission in Kolkata where demonstrators burned our flag and the effigies of Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus. The coordinated nature of all such hostile actions suggests a worrying pattern of hostility surrounding the arrest of former ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das in Dhaka. What’s being lost in the chaos is that this is a legal matter unrelated to his faith, but it’s being exploited nonetheless to support the false narrative of minority persecution in Bangladesh.
So, to say these actions were an expression of “longstanding grievances”—as a minister of the Tripura government did—is nothing but an attempt to justify the orchestrated chaos for which local political interests are equally to blame. A case in point is West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s statement in which she urged the Indian government to seek the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces in Bangladesh to “ensure the safety of minorities”. Such rhetoric plays into the disinformation campaign by sections of the Indian media that continue to exaggerate isolated incidents of minority attacks in Bangladesh, giving Indian nationalist politicians a tool to rally domestic support and distract from India’s own challenges. Calling for UN intervention—an appeal repeated by Mamata’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday—is also an affront to Bangladesh’s sovereignty, which is totally unacceptable.
We urge the Indian government to thoroughly investigate the recent string of violent protests and ensure the safety of our diplomatic missions and staff. So far, it has reportedly arrested seven individuals and suspended three policemen over the Agartala security breach. However, much more needs to be done to improve safety and restore confidence. Equally important is to actively counter, through fact-checking initiatives, the disinformation campaign that has been ongoing ever since Sheikh Hasina’s fall. We also urge Mamata Banerjee to refrain from her offensive posturing against Bangladesh, which will only further inflame tensions.
Bangladesh wants “normal and friendly” relations with India, as our foreign affairs adviser has reiterated, and if India wants the same, it must demonstrate its commitment by addressing any bilateral issues through dialogue and mutual respect, not hostility or misrepresentation.