Bangladesh unrest: India has scaled back its diplomatic presence at the Indian High Commission of Bangladesh and other missions as non-essential staff and families of diplomats have returned to India on a voluntary basis through a commercial flight following the massive protests that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government on Monday, according to sources. However, the Indian High Commission remains functional and senior diplomats and essential staff continue to remain in the country.
An Air India flight from Dhaka carrying 199 passengers and six infants landed in Delhi earlier on Wednesday amid political unrest in Bangladesh. Air India operated a special charter flight at short notice despite infrastructure challenges at Dhaka Airport late last night and landed in Delhi early this morning, as per information provided by sources to ANI.
The massive protests in Bangladesh were initially against the controversial quota system in government jobs, but soon spiralled into a broader agitation against the Awami League government after Hasina's 'razakar' remarks and the harsh police crackdown on protesters. While the initial protests calmed down after the Supreme Court scaled back the quotas, the recent unrest broke out as several students demanded Hasina's resignation.
The death toll in the anti-government protests in Bangladesh on Tuesday climbed to 440, with 100 more deaths reported after Sheikh Hasina fled the country, according to local media, even as efforts were on by the army to bring the situation under control in the violence-hit nation. However, the situation in Dhaka was largely calm on Tuesday as public transport resumed and schools and shops opened.
Mohammad Yunus to lead interim government
Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus, who has been chosen as the head of the interim government, is expected to arrive from Paris to Bangladesh as early as Thursday, according to a top source in Dhaka, as violence continues in the country. A source informed India TV that Tarique Rahman, the son of newly-freed former PM and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Khaleda Zia, is expected to arrive in Dhaka today (August 7) from the UK.
Bangladesh's protest leaders said they expect members of an interim government to be finalised on Wednesday. The nterim government will fill a power vacuum left after Bangladesh's army chief announced Hasina's resignation in a televised address on Monday that followed weeks of deadly violence that ripped through the country.
Meanwhile, fresh protests broke out in a Dhaka neighbourhood on Wednesday when hundreds of officials from the central bank forced four of its deputy governors to resign over alleged corruption, Bangladesh Bank sources said. The interim government is expected to hold elections soon after taking charge.
India's concerns over Bangladesh turmoil
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that there are an estimated 19,000 Indian nationals of which about 9000 are students while ensuring the country that the government is in close contact with the Indian community in Dhaka. "We are in close and continuous touch with the Indian community in Bangladesh through our diplomatic missions," he said.
The minister also said that Sheikh Hasina had requested approval from India to come at very short notice and she arrived on the evening of Monday. Her future plans for political asylum are uncertain amid signs that the UK may not accept her request for refuge. Meanwhile, India is also concerned over the state of minorities in Bangladesh amid reports of attacks on hundreds of Hindu temples, businesses and houses.
The situation in Bangladesh is a major concern for India as it shares a 4,096 km-long border with Bangladesh cutting across five states. India shares friendly relations with Hasina's Awami League, which identifies itself as largely secular, as opposed to the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led bloc which comprises a hardline Islamist party with a reputation for a rise in extremism in the past.
(with inputs from agencies)
