By P.K.Balachandran/The Citizen
Colombo, December 2: Relations between Bangladesh and India, which nosedived following the ouster of the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August, appears set to deteriorate further.
A sharpening of Muslim-Hindu conflict in Chittagong, the second most important part of Bangladesh after capital Dhaka, has exacerbated tension with India further.
The Hindu-Muslim conflict, which is at the root of the tension now, is embedded in the domestic politics of both Bangladesh and India. That has its own dynamics, exacerbating tension and making it doubly difficult to solve.
The port city and trading centre of Chittagong has been a hotbed of ethnic, linguistic and religious conflict for decades. Earlier, the fight was between Bengali Muslims and the indigenous Buddhist Chakma tribe in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Now it is a fight between the Bengali Muslim majority (87%) and the Bengali Hindus (11%) in the whole of Chittagong.
While Muslims are seen by Hindus as being backed by the Bangladeshi State, the Hindus are perceived by the Muslims to be backed by Bangladesh’s neighbour and regional power, India, where an aggressive Hindu nationalism is ruling the roost.
During the violent mass movement of July-August this year which ousted Sheikh Hasina, agitators attacked numerous Hindu properties as Hindus were seen as Hasina’s support base. These attacks instilled mortal fear among the Hindus whose population had already dwindled from about 30% in 1947 to about 8% due to continuous State-backed Islamic intolerance over the years.
However, the communal situation in Bangladesh as a whole calmed down in November and this year’s Durga festival of the Hindus went off without any incident.
But trouble was brewing in Chittagong, which has traditionally been a bastion of Islamic radicalism and also Hindu assertion, according to Afsan Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi social and political commentator.
The headquarters of the Hefazat-e-Islam (Protection of Islam) with its large network of Madrasahs, are in Chittagong. The Hefazat stands for Sharia in Bangladesh. Because of its control of the Madrassahs it has been wooed by Hasina’s Awami League as well as Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Hefazat for example made Hasina cut off Hindu authors from Bangladeshi school text books.
Islamists of Chittagong have been looking at the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) as a proselytizing organization with a strong base in India and Western countries. In the popular imagination, ISKCON is seen as an arm of India. The Hefazat and the Jamaat-e-Islami have even called for a ban on it.
On their part, militant Hindus had recently organized massive demonstrations and threatened to march to Dhaka if the Interim Government failed to protect the community from Islamists and anti-Hasina forces.
The recent trouble was sparked off when the Hindu organization Sammilito Sanatan Jagaran Jote held a demonstration in which its flag was seen flying above the Bangladeshi national flag. For this, monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari of the Sammilito Sanatan Jagaran Jote was arrest amidst a skirmish between his followers and the police. In the clash, Assistant Public Prosecutor Sayful Islam Alif was killed. Sayful is said to be a Jammat-i-Islami man who had sought a ban on ISKCON.
However, ISKCON made it clear at a press conference that monk Chinmoy had been expelled from ISKCON earlier for misbehaving with a child. Therefore, the organisation would not shoulder any responsibility over his statements. ISKCON Bangladesh’s general secretary Charu Chandra Das Brahmachari, in a written statement, said that Leelaraj Gour Das, head of Prabartak Sri Krishna Mandir, Gaurang Das, and Chinmoy Krishna Das, head of Sri Sri Pundarik Dham in Chattogram, were expelled from ISKCON Bangladesh for breaching discipline of the organisation in July. That’s why any actions of these individuals do not represent ISKCON Bangladesh, the statement said. However, the allegations stuck to ISKCON and created waves in India.
Sayful Islam Alif’s funeral was attended by leaders of the students’ movement which ousted Sheikh Hasina in August. Hasnat Abdullah, convener of the Students Against Discrimination (SAD), demanded the arrest of ISKCON persons allegedly involved in the killing of the lawyer within the next 24 hours.
Hasnat Abdulla also demanded a ban on ISKCON, saying: “There will be co-existence of all religions in our country, and we will work to protect the rights of all. But if an extremist organisation is run in the name of religion, they will not be given space here. My brother Sayful has been murdered brutally. ISKCON must be banned as a terrorist organisation.”
Hasnat Abdullah alleged that ISKCON was in favour of the fallen Hasina regime. “We did not forget how the ISKCON created anarchy in Bangladesh, in favour of dictator Awami League as per the prescription of India. The people of Bangladesh will resist whatever conspiracies are hatched from India. We want to say categorically that Awami League will never be rehabilitated in Bangladesh,” he thundered.
As per media reports, Chinmoy is a radical leader too. Speaking at a mass rally in Chittagong’s Laldighi ground he had said: “If anyone wants to evict us (the Hindus) from this country and live in peace, it will become Afghanistan or Syria. There will be no democratic force. Bangladesh will become a sanctuary of communalism.”
The arrest of Chinmoy produced reverberations in New Delhi. The Indian External Affairs Ministry (MEA) expressed “deep concern”. In a statement it said: “This incident follows multiple attacks on Hindus and other minorities by extremist elements in Bangladesh”. The MEA called upon the interim government of Bangladesh to “ensure safety and security of Hindus and all minorities.”
The West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikarai has threatened to block the border with Bangladesh on December 1.
New Delhi is annoyed by regular declarations from the leaders of the Interim government, including Chief Advisor Dr.Muhammad Yunus, that Hasina would be brought back from refuge in India, to face trial. However, till date, Dhaka has not formally asked for her extradition, perhaps not to put New Delhi in a fix.
Responding to New Delhi’s remarks, Dhaka said Delhi’s statement was “contrary to facts.” A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh said that India had remarked “on a matter concerning the internal affairs of Bangladesh”, and said, “such unfounded statements not only misrepresent facts but also stand contrary to the spirit of friendship and understanding between the two neighbouring countries”. The Bangladesh government also described the killing of advocate Sayful Alif as “brutal”.
With the Indian media being spiteful about the peoples’ movement against Hasina, linking it to Islamic extremism and Pakistan’s machinations, and the Bangladeshi media harping on alleged Indian conspiracies to dominate Bangladesh, relations between the two countries have little or no chance of improving in the foreseeable future.
However, right thinking Bangladeshi intellectuals rue the turn of events and see the disadvantages of an India-Bangladesh conflict to both countries. They are aware of the geographical location of Bangladesh which is surrounded on three sides by India and on one side by the Bay of Bengal. They also known that Bangladesh is heavily dependent on trade with India. It depends on India for river waters too.
India too needs Bangladesh’s cooperation to prevent Islamic militants and the North Eastern tribal militants from securing hideouts in Bangladesh to plan attacks on India. Friendship with Bangladesh is also needed to minimize the threat from China which is expanding its footprint in South Asia.
Since the issues are deep and formal relations are cold, informal contacts (track-two diplomacy) could help heal the deep wounds inflicted by the cataclysmic events of this year and set the stage for a formal rapprochement.
But since domestic political interests influence foreign relations, communal politics in Bangladesh and India will continue to vitiate bilateral relations.
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