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Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri (right) meets his Bangladeshi counterpart Mohammad Jashim Uddin in Dhaka, Bangladesh on December 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday (December 9, 2024) conveyed India’s “concerns” about “recent developments” regarding the safety and security of minority religious communities in Bangladesh and urged the interim government in Bangladesh to follow a “constructive approach”.
Foreign Secretary Misri made the remarks while holding a Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) in Dhaka. Mr Misri is the first high ranking Government of India official to visit Bangladesh since bilateral relationship nosedived in the backdrop of the arrival of the interim government in August.
“I have underlined today India’s desire to work closely with the interim Government of Bangladesh authorities. At the same time, we also had the opportunity to discuss certain recent developments and issues, and I conveyed our concerns including those related to the safety and welfare of minorities,” said Foreign Secretary Misri in a statement at the end of the consultation with his counterpart Jashim Uddin in the Bangladesh capital.
Mr Misri’s visit came a fortnight after the detective branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested Chinmoy Krishna Das, leader of the Bangladesh Sommilito Sanatani Jagaran Jote, a Hindu religious organization that has been fighting for the rights of the minority groups in Bangladesh. Das was subsequently denied bail and his high profile trial has now been postponed to the first week of January.
Reports suggest that lawyers in Bangladesh are being prevented from representing him in a sedition case that is based on an allegation that the national flag of Bangladesh was not respected during a protest rally organised on 25 October. Monday’s Foreign Office Consultation is significant as it comes four months after the student-people uprising that overthrew the PM Sheikh Hasina-led government forcing her to flee in a helicopter.
During the last phase of the uprising, protesters also destroyed a number of government properties including the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in the posh Dhanmondi neighbourhood as well as a few temples belonging to the Hindu religious groups. Foreign Secretary Misri who was accompanied by Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma and other officials said, “We also discussed some regrettable incidents of attacks on cultural, religious and diplomatic properties.”
Apart from the arrest of the Vaishnav monk Das, India-Bangladesh relation have been caught in a turbulent phase over the presence of former PM Hasina in New Delhi. Ms Hasina has issued two statements online over the last fortnight attacking the Yunus government drawing frequent criticism from Chief Adviser Yunus and his team. India has maintained a studied silence on the matter. The incident involving Mr Das led to a protest outside the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Agartala leading to a security breach and vandalism in the mission. In response Bangladesh has withdrawn the mission heads in Agartala and Kolkata.These developments alongwith the Ministry of External Affairs’ remarks on the treatment of the minority religious groups in Bangladesh have often drawn tough response from the student-advisers of the Yunus government – like Nahid Islam and Mahfuz Alam – who constitute an important bloc of power for the interim arrangement.
Mr Misri reached out to the stakeholders in Bangladesh and said, “India desires a positive, constructive, and mutually beneficial relationship with Bangladesh.” He termed India-Bangladesh relation as a “people-centric and people-oriented relationship” that is reflected in the development projects that have been carried out “on the ground in Bangladesh.”
“It is also reflected in the mutually beneficial engagement we have on a whole set of issues ranging from trade, commerce, connectivity, power, water and energy, and development cooperation, consular cooperation and cultural cooperation,” remarked Mr Misri urging Bangladesh to follow a “constructive approach” . Arrival of the Yunus government led to several developments in Bangladesh including release of a significant number of terror-charge accused individuals from the high security prisons of the country. In the deteriorating security situation India has not resumed full fledged visa facilities for Bangladesh citizens and has prioritized the cases of medical tourists. Responding to the situation, Prof Yunus on Monday (December 9, 2024) urged European countries to shift visa centres from New Delhi to Dhaka or another neighbouring country.
“As India restricts visas for Bangladeshis, many students are unable to go to Delhi to get visas for Europe. As a result, they face uncertainty about their education. If the visa offices are moved to Dhaka or a neighbouring country, both Bangladesh and the European Union will benefit,” said Prof Yunus during a meeting with European diplomats in his office in Dhaka. The discussion was attended by Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain who informed that Bulgaria has shifted its visa centre for citizens of Bangladesh to Indonesia and Vietnam urging other European countries to follow.The Daily Star on Monday further informed that the interim government will expand the current twenty-one member advisory council by including five more advisers.
Published – December 09, 2024 04:35 pm IST
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Vikram Misri Bangladesh visit: India desires positive constructive, mutually beneficial relations with Bangladesh,says foreign secretary
