THERE is no hide and seek that India has huge discomfort and embarrassment about the political changeover in Bangladesh that took place on August 5. Developing events suggests that India considers the changeover as its 鈥榩olitical defeat in Bangladesh鈥� and unleashing vengeful plots in hegemonic arrogance to destabilise the country to put back the government of its choice in power.
Besides employing political and non-political moles and agents to create social chaos, the play was the posting of the minority card. Playing the minority card was started by the Indian prime minister in a message on his X handle urging the chief adviser to Bangladesh鈥檚 interim government on August 8 to ensure the safety and protection of the Hindus and all other minorities in Bangladesh. Since then, India鈥檚 ministry of external affairs and both traditional and non-traditional media embarked on allout disinformation campaign against Bangladesh.
To add impetus to the disinformation campaign, India thought that the minority card could be an effective tool. So, India brought to the fore the Bangladesh Hindu, Christian and Buddhist Unity Council with sit-ins and processions in Dhaka. But the organisation鈥檚 movement did not get momentum, understandably because of the opposition from the Christians and the Buddhists. The Christians and the Buddhist, perhaps, did not want to become India鈥檚 puppet in the disinformation propaganda and undermine their reputation in the country. Then the International Society for Krishna Conscience, or ISKCON, was brought in to replace the Bangladesh Hindu, Christian and Buddhist Unity Council.
Chinmoy Krishna Das, head of Sri Sri Pundarik Dham in Chattogram, took the leadership to divide society along the Hindu-Muslim line. He did not belong to ISKCON but held rallies in Chattogram and Rangpur under the ISKCON banner. Chinmay Das was expelled听 from ISKCON Bangladesh in July 2024 for sexually abusing children in the temple. Charu Chandra Das Brahmachari, the secretary general of ISKCON Bangladesh and the director, said in a press conference on November 28 that Chinmay Das did not belong to ISKCON Bangladesh as he was expelled. The organisation declined to shoulder any responsibility 鈥榦ver his statements and speech.鈥� But the Indian ministry of external affairs and the media across India branded him as the leader of ISKCON in Bangladesh.
Chinmay Das was arrested on November 25 on sedition charges, a case filed by a Bangladeshi citizen. Irked by the legal proceedings against Chinmay Das, India鈥檚 external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, referring to the case against Chinmoy Das, on November 29 said, 鈥極ur position on the matter is very clear. The interim government must live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities.鈥� The statement carried the message that legal proceeding cannot be initiated under the law of the land against any one belonging to the Hindu community in the event of the commission of a crime.
Chinmoy was produced in a court in Chattogram on November 27. The court denied him bail and sent him to jail. On the refusal of bail, his followers ransacked the court premises and its surroundings. Saiful Islam Alif, an assistant public prosecutor, was killed.
The killing of the lawyer made the situation extremely delicate. Yet, the Indian media went on saying that 鈥業slamists鈥� killed Saiful Islam Alif as he was the lawyer of Chinmay Das and defended him in court which was a blatant lie. The Indian media have the notoriety of carrying misinformation and disinformation globally. The Global Economic Forum conducted a survey in 2023 in 34 countries where the Indian media ranked in the first position for its infamy in propagating fake news.
Realising the sensitivity of the situation ISKCON Bangladesh cleared Chinmoy鈥檚 position in the organisation at the press conference. ISKCON鈥檚 clarification on Chinmay came too late and at the cost of a life. ISKCON should have made clear Chinmoy鈥檚 position in ISKCON at the outset while he was manoeuvring to create public nuisance using ISKCON鈥檚 banner.
After the court had denied bail and ISKCON Bangladesh had made public Chinmoy鈥檚 position in the organisation, Indian media made him a leader of Hindu Mahajagaran Mancha overnight. India鈥檚 external affairs ministry issued a press note, expressing concern about the denial of bail to Chinmay. Such undiplomatic overture was deliberate interference into Bangladesh鈥檚 judicial system. Since the denial of the bail to Chinmay, the Indian political circle and the media became more aggressive.
Three months鈥� disinformation campaign impacted the Indian political leadership, especially in the bordering Indian states. It successfully turned sections of Indian population against Bangladesh. Bhartiya Janata Party activists staged violent demonstrations in front of Bangladesh deputy high commission in Kolkata on November 29. Three days later on December 2, 2024, BJP activists barged into the assistant high commission in Agartala. Activist started to assail Bangladeshis visiting India. Bangladeshis were thrown out of hotels and their belongings were snatched away.
Hotels declared a boycott of Bangladeshi visitors. A couple of hospitals in Kolkata announced that they would not treat Bangladeshi patients. Twenty-one hospitals in Kolkata cancelled Bangladeshi patients鈥� schedule. Both the Indian government and the Indian media were successful in creating acrimonious situation against Bangladeshis. All this will have damaging impact on relation between the two countries than the temporary leverage in local politics that the politicians expected to gain.
Bangladesh鈥檚 interim government has since the changeover been very positive about pursuing harmonious relation with India. Bangladesh鈥檚 foreign ministry offered a dialogue between the chief adviser to the interim government and the Indian prime minister on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on September 10. India rejected the offer as an expression of displeasure about the political change. There is no denying that the relation between India and Bangladesh has hit the lowest in 50 years.
Despite all negative narratives from India, Bangladesh has maintained a positive attitude towards an improved relation. The chief adviser was quoted as saying on December 5 that, 鈥楻elations between the two countries must be very close. This is essential from any angle, whether it鈥檚 about economics, security or water. Just as we need them in our interest, they need us in their interest. So, we have to forget certain transient matters鈥� The main thing is to maintain good relations. We have to use everything in our power to advance towards that.鈥�
The Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Kumar Verma speaking at a conference in October said that relations between the two countries are 鈥榤ultifaceted鈥� amid 鈥榮ustained and positive momentum鈥� in trade and economic ties and 鈥榩eople-to-people engagements.鈥� To confirm this commitment in the context of political changeover in Bangladesh, India needs to show in deeds that it has made a policy shift to work with the interim government and value the people and its government and that its land is not used for creating instability and violence within Bangladesh. The ball is in India鈥檚 court. Let us see how does India play the ball to shore up the damage it has done in the bilateral relations.
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Mohammad Abdur Razzak ([email protected]), a retired commodore of the Bangladesh navy, is a security analyst.
