India concerned over status of minorities following Hasina’s resignation
India remains deeply concerned till law and order is visibly restored in Bangladesh and it is monitoring the status of minorities following the resignation and fleeing of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, India's Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar said today.
"We are also monitoring the situation with regard to the status of minorities. There are reports of initiatives by various groups and organisations to ensure their protection and well-being. We welcome that, but will naturally remain deeply concerned till law and order is visibly restored," Jaishankar said at Rajya Sabha in a suo moto statement on the situation in Bangladesh
"Our border guarding forces have also been instructed to be exceptionally in view of this complex situation," he said, a day after Hasina flew to India where she has been kept at a safe shelter.
Jaishankar expected that the government in Bangladesh will provide the required security protection for the High Commission in Dhaka and the assistant high commissions in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet.
"We look forward to their normal functioning once the situation stabilises," said Jaishankar said.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs is in close and continuous touch with the Indian community in Bangladesh through its diplomatic missions. There are an estimated 19,000 Indian nationals, of which about 9,000 are students.
The bulk of the students have already returned to India in the month of July on the advice of the High Commission.
He said India-Bangladesh relations have been exceptionally close for many decades over many governments. Concern about recent violence and instability, there is shared across the political spectrum.
Since the election in January 2024, there has been considerable tensions, deep divides and growing polarisation in Bangladesh politics. This underlying foundation aggravated a student agitation that started in June this year, Jaishankar said.
There was growing violence, including attacks on public buildings and infrastructure, as well as traffic and rail obstructions. The violence continued through the month of July, he said.
"Throughout this period, we repeatedly counselled restraint and urged that the situation be defused through dialogue. Similar urgings were made to various political forces with whom we were in touch."
Despite a Supreme Court judgement on July 21, there was no let-up in the public agitation. Various decisions and actions taken thereafter only exacerbated the situation. The agitation at this stage coalesced around a one-point agenda, that is that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina should step down, the statement said.
On August 4, events took a very serious turn. Attacks on police, including police stations and government installations, intensified even as overall levels of violence greatly escalated. Properties of individuals associated with the regime were torched across the country.
"What was particularly worrying was that minorities, their businesses and temples also came under attack at multiple locations. The full extent of this is still not clear" he said.
On August 5, demonstrators converged in Dhaka despite the curfew.
"Our understanding is that after a meeting with leaders of the security establishment, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina apparently made the decision to resign. At a very short notice, she requested approval to come for the moment to India," he said.
"We simultaneously received a request for flight clearance from Bangladesh authorities. She arrived yesterday evening in Delhi," Jaishankar added.
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