May 29, 2025 6:22 am
Full News

“The spate of attacks against minorities in Bangladesh “impacts” Indian thinking”

The spate of attacks against minorities in Bangladesh “impacts” Indian thinking,

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar said Saturday, urging Dhaka to “make up” its mind on the relationship it wants with New Delhi.

Speaking at the Delhi University Literature Festival, the EAM said that Dhaka cannot claim to want normal ties with India while continuously blaming New Delhi for its domestic issues.

“There are two aspects to it [on what is troubling with Bangladesh]. The spate of attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, obviously it is something which impacts our thinking and it is something we have to speak up about, which we have done.”

Jaishankar said, “The second is they have their politics, but at the end of the day, we are neighbours, they have to make up their minds on what kind of relationship they want to have with us.”

The External Affairs Minister added: “If every day someone in the interim government stands up and blames India for everything, some of those things if you look at the reports, are absolutely ridiculous. You cannot, on one hand, say I would now like to have good relations with you, but I get up every morning and blame you for everything that goes wrong. It is also a decision that they have to make.”

Jaishankar further added that India has made its intentions clear with Dhaka. It would like to see things “calm down” and the resumption of normal bilateral ties, but it is unhappy with the constantly hostile messaging emanating from across the border.

The minister was in conversation with Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India (EAC-PM).

Ties between the two neighbouring countries have been tense over the last few months after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in August 2024 by months-long student-led demonstrations against the quota system in Bangladesh.

Hasina fled Dhaka for New Delhi, where she remains as exclusively reported by ThePrint earlier. Led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladesh interim government sought Hasina’s extradition from India in December 2024.

The former Bangladesh PM continues to rankle the interim government, stepping up her political activities in recent weeks by making speeches to her supporters. Yunus’s office has urged India to prevent Hasina from making comments that could destabilise the interim government in Dhaka.

New Delhi a few weeks earlier asked Bangladesh to stop conflating Hasina with India. It went a step further and hit out at the persistent negativity from Dhaka while it summoned Bangladesh’s acting High Commissioner.

Furthermore, India has also highlighted the challenges to the welfare of minorities, including Hindus, in Bangladesh. New Delhi has consistently maintained that Dhaka must do more to protect the safety and security of minorities in the country. Bangladesh has rejected the attacks against minorities in the country and said they were fabricated by Indian media.

However, some high-level delegations have continued interactions with one another. Jaishankar has met his counterpart Touhid Hossain twice—on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2024 and in Muscat, Oman, last week.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri travelled to Dhaka in December 2024 for foreign office consultations. Last week, a director general-level conference was held between the Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) and the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB).

Related News
Wildfires in Los Angeles
NATO and UN Gear Up for Arctic Drone Race Amid Rising Tensions
Hamas To Release Six More Hostages This Week: Netanyahu
Millie Bobby Brown’s The Electric State Gets Negative Reviews
SAFF Women’s Championship Final: Bengali Tigresses Defeat Nepali Chelis To Defend Title
Kilauea Volcano Resumes Eruption, Showcasing Nature’s Spectacle on Hawaii’s Big Island
Related Posts
Gazan Children Queue for Food as Starvation Crisis Deepens
Ukrainian Drones Strike Russian Weapons Factories, Kyiv Claims
People With ADHD Face Higher Driving Risks — But There Are Ways To Stay Safe
NYC Subway Modernization and Congestion Pricing Victory Highlight Latest MTA Board Meeting
Supporters of Khaleda Zia Rally in Dhaka, Demand General Election in December
China, North Korea, and Russia Respond to Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ Defense Proposal
More News

India Blocks YouTube Access to Four Bangladeshi TV Channels

India has blocked access to four Bangladeshi private television channels on YouTube. Following a request from the Indian government, YouTube has restricted the channels from being viewed within India. The blocked channels are Jamuna Television, Ekattor TV, Banglavision, and Mohona Television. According to a report by fact-checking organization Dismislab, users in India attempting to access […]

Carrie Underwood to Perform at Donald Trump’s Inauguration

Country music star Carrie Underwood will perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, set for January 20, 2025. Underwood will sing “America the Beautiful” alongside the Armed Forces Chorus and the United States Naval Academy Glee Club, according to the inaugural program obtained by Entertainment Weekly. Underwood expressed her honor in a statement, saying, “I love […]

Threat to Bomb India’s Central Bank

India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has received a bomb threat. On Thursday (December 13) afternoon, an email containing the threat was sent to the official website of the bank. This marks the second such threat in less than a month. According to news agency Reuters, a senior police officer in Mumbai […]

India: Security Forces Clash with Maoists in Chhattisgarh, 12 Killed

In the heart of India’s Chhattisgarh, a region known for its dense jungles and the persistent shadow of Maoist insurgency, a significant encounter unfolded on January 16, 2025. This operation, resulting in the death of 12 Maoists, highlights the ongoing struggle between the Indian state and the Maoist rebels, or Naxalites, who for decades have […]

Musk and Ramaswamy’s Defense of Foreign Worker Visas Ignites MAGA Backlash

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have triggered a heated debate within the MAGA community by advocating for an expansion of the H-1B visa program. The duo, with Ramaswamy set to lead Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, argue that tech giants, including Musk’s own companies, rely heavily on foreign talent to stay competitive.Their stance has clashed […]

Klaus Schwab to Step Down: Global Power Shift as WEF Influence Diminishes, Ripples in Bangladesh

Dhaka, April 7:After more than five decades at the helm, Klaus Schwab, the founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), is preparing to step down. As reported by Reuters on April 3, Schwab has begun the process of resigning from his role as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, a move confirmed […]

Massive Fire in North Macedonian Nightclub Kills at Least 51

A devastating fire broke out at a nightclub in North Macedonia, a landlocked country in Southeastern Europe, resulting in the deaths of at least 51 people and injuring around 100 others. According to a report by the Associated Press (AP), the incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday (March 16) in a nightclub located […]

TIB Criticizes DMP Commissioner for His Remarks on Avoiding the Word ‘Rape’

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has strongly criticized Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Md. Sajjat Ali for requesting the media not to use the word “rape.” According to TIB’s Executive Director, Iftekharuzzaman, this stance indirectly supports perpetrators of sexual violence and is entirely unacceptable. He demanded that the commissioner retract his statement. Speaking at a […]

Russia: “The Real Surprise is That Trump Didn’t Hit Zelensky

Russia has blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the breakdown of his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, calling Zelensky’s behavior arrogant and provocative. In a statement on Telegram, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova criticized Zelensky, saying, “Given Zelensky’s arrogance during the meeting, it is surprising that Trump showed restraint and did not resort […]

Russia Urges Decisive Action to End Bloodshed in Gaza, Ready to Cooperate with UN Security Council and General Assembly

MOSCOW — Russia has reaffirmed its call for the international community to take decisive action to end the ongoing bloodshed in Gaza, stressing the urgency of addressing the humanitarian crisis. In a statement, Russian officials emphasized their readiness to work with all “sane and responsible” members of the United Nations Security Council, as well as […]