The Bangladesh government’s chief adviser Muhammad Yunus enjoys a high reputation for the yeomen services he rendered to the poor in his country over the past five decades. The problem, however, is that the Nobel Peace Prize winner has little experience in international diplomacy. That is also largely evident in the way Bangladesh now under his guidance is getting caught in tricky situations. He himself faces the prospect of an ouster by the army. While the army is backing the present government, the military brass stand divided, with some among them establishing a line with Pakistan. In this backdrop, India is maintaining a studied silence to Yunus’ request for a bilateral meeting between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi while the two would meet at the BIMSTEC summit in Thailand next week.
In fact, India with its superior fire power and capacity to manoeuvre matters in the subcontinent is watching the evolving scenario. Consider the way the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan sought to do muscle-flexing against India in the immediate aftermath of the US exit from the landlocked nation. A warning from the Indian side, through the voice of Yogi Adityanath, that, “Indian military jets are ready for a take-off,” drilled sense into the new rulers there. The Bangladeshi establishment post the Hasina era would do well to note how the Taliban recoiled after initially antagonising India and seemingly sided with the Pakistani establishment. If the anti-Hasina forces in Bangladesh hope to steer clear of the present hurdles and uncertainties there with help from Islamist Pakistan or the extra-judicial forces there, they are mistaken.
Rumours of an internal military takeover of Bangladesh are in floating around while the nation celebrates the National Day. There is no indicator that the present establishment there has the wherewithal to move forward as a confident nation. Rather, with the military brass on one side and Hasina’s Awami League rank and file on the other, a stable government for Bangladesh is wishful thinking. The United States has its own agenda in the geo-politics of the region but it has its limitations and so does China. Large numbers of Bangladeshis are still antagonistic towards Pakistan, considering the mayhem the Pakistani military unleashed on the hapless population during the Mukti Bahini days or the years in the run-up to the Liberation War and formation of Bangladesh as an independent nation. India’s role in facilitating this makeover is part of history and needs no elaboration. Logically, Bangladesh is expected to build on this mutual trust. The demand from the present administration there to repatriate Hasina from India to face trial in Bangladesh has been ignored. Her safety is India’s priority. The good friend that Hasina has been for India, and her family legacy being what it is, she’s no bargaining chip. It is also important that the safety of Indians and Bangladeshi Hindus in Bangladesh must be ensured by the present government as a matter of top priority.
