Top Indian official to visit Bangladesh amid strained ties

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - An Indian diplomat will visit Bangladesh for the first time since a transitional government was established in Dhaka on Aug. 5, after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to New Delhi.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is scheduled to visit the South Asian country on Monday for “foreign office consultations,” the Indian Ministry of External Affairs announced in New Delhi.

“He will meet his counterpart and there will be several other meetings during the visit,” said ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal, adding, “we look forward to this meeting.”

The visit is significant, as tensions between the two nations have heightened, particularly over allegations of violence against minorities, including Hindus, in Bangladesh.

On Nov. 29, the Indian Foreign Ministry told parliament, “The government has taken a serious note of these incidents and shared its concerns with the Government of Bangladesh.” The ministry had earlier stated that it had received “several reports of incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities, their homes and business establishments, and of attacks on temples/religious places, including in the month of August 2024, across Bangladesh.”

Bangladesh, however, told a UN forum on minority issues that “there was no systematic attack on minorities” and assured that the government “remains vigilant and will continue to act promptly to maintain religious harmony at any cost and thwart any attempt to undermine rights of minorities.”

Tensions escalated further when Bangladeshi authorities arrested Hindu religious leader Chinmoy Krishna Das on sedition charges.

Commenting on the issue, Jaiswal reiterated on Friday: “We want to emphasize our position again that they have legal rights, and we hope that these legal rights will be respected and that the trial will be fair, transparent.”

Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi Assistant High Commission in Agartala, India, suspended all visa and consular services following an attack on its mission by Hindu protesters. The protesters vandalized the building, accusing Bangladeshi authorities of targeting Hindu minorities.

The Indian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, calling it “deeply regrettable,” and assured that diplomatic missions in India would be protected.

In Dhaka, the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma. Verma, however, told reporters that the relationship between both nations cannot be reduced to a single incident in Agartala.

The transitional government in Bangladesh called for national unity to counter anti-Bangladesh propaganda circulating through news and social media.

“It is (rumors, propaganda) not limited to one country,” said transitional government chief Muhammad Yunus, suggesting that some larger nations, including India, are involved.

The relationship between the two countries remains at a crossroads following the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government.

Since Hasina fled to India on Aug. 5 during an uprising and the Muhammad Yunus-led transitional government assumed office on Aug. 8, allegations from India and Hindu right-wing groups about the targeting of Hindu minorities and temples in Bangladesh have increased.