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India closely monitoring status of minorities in Bangladesh: Jaishankar in Parliament
Jaishankar informed an all-party meeting that India has assured help to former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who arrived in India
Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi, on August. 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
While expressing hope for an early resolution to the political instability in Bangladesh, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that India remains concerned about the status of minorities until law and order is restored. Concern about recent violence and instability in Bangladesh is shared by the political spectrum in India, he said while making a suo moto statement on the floor of the Rajya Sabha on August 6.
Also Read: Bangladesh protests LIVE updates
Mr. Jaishankar said that despite a Supreme Court decision, there was no let up in the months-long public agitation, and “The agitation at this stage coalesced around a one point agenda i.e. that the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina should step down.”
“Our understanding is that after a meeting with the leaders of the security establishment, PM Hasina apparently made the decision to resign. At very short notice she requested approval to come for the moment to India. We simultaneously received a request for flight clearance from Bangladesh authorities. She arrived yesterday evening in Delhi.”
Also Read: Parliament session LIVE updates
While recalling the “exceptionally close relations” between the two countries for many decades over many governments, he laid out a chronology of the situation in Bangladesh so far. Mr. Jaishankar said that the country had been facing “considerable tension, deep divides and growing polarisation in Bangladesh politics,” since its General elections in January 2024. He continued that this aggravated a student agitation that began in June.
Through this period of violence, Mr. Jaishankar said, the Indian government repeatedly counselled restraint and urged that the situation be defused through dialogue..
Concerned for minorities in Bangladesh: Jaishankar
While describing how the situation in Bangladesh unfolded, which Mr. Jaishankar said took a serious turn on August 4, the Minister noted that what was particularly worrying was minorities, their businesses and temples coming under attack at multiple locations. Though he added that the full extent of this is still unclear.
The situation in Bangladesh is still evolving, he said, adding that the Indian government is in close and continuous communication with the Indian community in Bangladesh. There are an estimated 19,000 Indian nationals in Bangladesh, of which about 9,000 are students. A bulk of the Indian students have already to India in July, Mr. Jaishankar said.
The Union Minister closed his statement by once again reiterating concern about the status of minorities, which he said India is closely monitoring. “There are various 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.”
Earleir in the day, Mr. Jaishankar informed an all-party meeting that India has assured help to former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who arrived in India on Monday evening.
Ms. Hasina was forced to resign from her post and flee from Dhaka after weeks of protests against a quota system for government jobs descended into violence and grew into a broader challenge to her 15-year rule. Thousands of demonstrators stormed her official residence and other buildings associated with her party and family.
Her departure threatened to create even more instability in the densely populated South Asian nation that is already dealing with a series of crises, from high unemployment to corruption to climate change. Amid security concerns, the main airport in Dhaka, the capital, suspended operations.
Also read | The rise and fall of Sheikh Hasina
MEA officials have so far maintained silence over the situation, declining to comment in public on whether Ms. Hasina had requested asylum in India, and whether the government would consider such a request.
On August 5, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) attended by Mr. Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after the External Affairs Minister briefed the Prime Minister about the situation in Bangladesh.
From job quota to Sheikh Hasina’s resignation: Timeline of the Bangladesh student protests
Bangladesh is now set to have an interim government. The country’s Army Chief Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman said he would talk to the President to form the interim government and had held talks with the main Opposition parties and civil society members, but not theAwami League, Ms. Hasina’s party. The Army chief will also hold a meeting with protesting student leaders.
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