Sangh Parivar queers MEA's efforts on India-Bangladesh relations

Attacks on Muslims in India is helping Islamist elements in Bangladesh push ahead with their narrative

India's Ministry of External Affairs finds itself walking the diplomatic tightrope as it works to keep ties with Bangladesh on an even keel, even as right-wing elements mount pressure on the Indian government to take Dhaka to task for the recent spate of violent attacks against members of the Hindu community during the Durga Puja celebrations.

New Delhi knows it has a lot at stake and can ill-afford to allow the communal violence to affect the relationship with Dhaka. After all, under Sheikh Hasina's leadership, the Bangladesh government has been one of India's few steadfast friends in the neighbourhood.

What has queered the pitch for South Block is that the domestic protests against the violence and vandalism perpetrated against Hindus in Bangladesh are being spearheaded by outfits such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), which is an important member of the Sangh Parivar.

Even as South Block works to prevent the attacks from impacting the New Delhi-Dhaka relationship, voices from within the Sangh Parivar such as the VHP, Hindu Jagran Manch and even the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are keeping the pot simmering.

The MEA is keen to ensure that communal elements on both sides of the border do not succeed in driving a wedge in the bilateral relationship. New Delhi's response to the acts of violence has been careful and calibrated.

The MEA, for one, has desisted from using the words "Hindu community" in its remarks. It simply said it has "seen" the "disturbing reports of untoward incidents involving attacks on religious gatherings in Bangladesh."

It was also quick to acknowledge Dhaka's "prompt" and "immediate" action against the perpetrators of the violence. There was even acknowledgement of the support that members of the general public in Bangladesh lent to the Hindu community.

If any stronger concerns about the attacks were needed to be conveyed to Dhaka, New Delhi, in all likelihood, has done so behind closed doors in view of the robust ties with Bangladesh under the Sheikh Hasina government.

How vital the bilateral relationship is for New Delhi can be gauged from the recent remarks by Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla while speaking on the 1971 war that liberated Bangladesh. Shringla, who has earlier served as India's envoy to Bangladesh, said relations between the two nations "are deeper than any other strategic partnership."

While the attacks on Hindu-owned homes, businesses as well as temples that rapidly spread across several cities in Bangladesh can by no means be condoned, Sheikh Hasina has sought to address Indian concerns with large-scale arrests and promises of bringing the perpetrators to justice.

But a lot will depend on the commitment shown by Bangladesh to ensure the requisite punishment for the guilty, especially amid reports that grassroots cadres of the ruling Awami League too were involved in the anti-Hindu violence. The Awami League, in turn, is blaming the hardline Pakistan-leaning Jamaat-e-Islami for the violence.

The Sheikh Hasina government will also need to address concerns that those behind violence against the Hindu community were eventually allowed to go scot-free in the past. This, even as Sheikh Hasina has been credited with coming down hard on Islamic fundamentalists in a nation witnessing growing radicalisation in recent years.

The communal flare-up in Bangladesh and the protests against it in India have already had a diplomatic fallout. Visits by Bangladesh minister for information Dr Hasan Mahmud and his deputy Murad Hassan to Guwahati and Agartala, capitals of the BJP-ruled states of Assam and Tripura, to inaugurate film festivals showcasing Bangladeshi movies have been "rescheduled".

Tripura has been rocked by violence and vandalism, with shops and homes belonging to Muslims being attacked and a mosque burnt by persons said to belong to the VHP.

Also "postponed" is an exhibition of the works of Bangladeshi artist Rokeya Sultana at the New Delhi-based Lalit Kala Akademi, which had been organised jointly by the ICCR (Indian Council of Cultural Relations) and the Bengal Foundation.

Clearly, diplomacy and party politics in India are not on the same page in their approach, even though the BJP-led government has had significant engagement with the Sheikh Hasina government. She has reciprocated in equal measure, even though the Teesta waters agreement has not been delivered to her and both the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, both seen as anti-Muslim measures, have caused her government considerable discomfiture.

The recent action taken to evict Bengali Muslims encroaching on government land in Assam that saw police excesses too has only reinforced the belief that Muslims are being targeted in India.

This, in turn, has helped Islamist elements in Bangladesh push ahead with their narrative of the community's persecution in India. Sheikh Hasina indicated as much when she said that India needs to be aware that incidents that impact Bangladesh and lead to attacks on Hindus should not happen.

For sure, the increasing attacks on the minority community in Bangladesh is a cause for concern. But it is an undeniable fact that what happens in India has a fallout in its neighbourhood too. And India would do well to keep this in mind if it seeks to maintain friendly relations with its neighbours.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.