Col Balwant Singh (Retd)
India is playing a major role in promoting peace and stability in the Indian sub continent vis a vis the world and it believes in peaceful co-existence, mutual respect for each other’s territorial sovereignty and non interference in each other’s internal affairs as main objectives of its foreign policy since independence. Keeping in line with our transparent foreign policy we have been viewing and evaluating the current turmoil taking place in our neighborhood. The radical forces in Bangladesh have once again succeeded in creating a turbulence by creating a student unresent initially by the inducement of discontentment against the job quota reservation for the descendants of freedom fighters of Bangladesh liberation war, religious and ethnic minorities, underrepresented districts and disabled groups. The Bangladesh Supreme Court ordered a job quota upto 93 percent to be allocated on merit to meet the demand of the students, the protests soon transformed into a wider anti government movement by the large scale involvement of fundamentalists elements resulting into clashes and over 300 people were killed in the unrest including Abu Sayed a student leader who was shot dead by Bangladesh Police on 16 Jul 2024 out side Begum Rokeya University. As the protests further expanded, it turned much violent all over the country and almost went out of the control of Sheikh Hasina wazid led Awami League Party Government. The Governement alleged that Jammate-Islami and Bangladesh Nationalist Party is responsible for the escalation of protest by the university students and transforming it into a riot like situation. The Prime Minister of Bangladesh was forced to step down from her prime ministerial post on 05 Aug 2024 and she left for New Delhi. During 15 years of continuous tenure as Prime Minister, since 2009, Sheikh Hasina recorded remarkable progress and Bangladesh became the second largest economy in south Asia. The Government concentrated mainly on the development of garment industry and expanded it to the global markets thereby giving a significant boost to the country’s economy resulting in eradication of the poverty and improving the overall welfare of the people. Despite instituting of progressive measures in Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, the longest serving Prime Minsiter had been receiving criticism from Bangladesh opposition Parties mainly the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jammat-e-Islami of following an autocratic attitude by sentencing the opposition leaders like Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader and former Prime Minister Khalida Zia to prison under corruption charges against her in February 2018. As the protests escalated demanding justice for those killed in the police firing and also due to Sheikh Hasina calling Protesters as Rajakars (a term used for those who had assisted Pakistan Military during Bangladesh liberation war in 1971), the people already against the regime of Sheikh Hasina Government also joined the protests and it turned out to be a radical movement leading to bloodshed against ethnic minorities mainly Hindus resulting in organized mob attacks on Hindu households, committing heinous crimes, killings, rapes and burning of the Hindu temples. Bangladesh Army Chief Waker-uz-Zaman announced the formation of an interim government following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and on Aug 8, 2024 Noble laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus took oath as head of the interim Government with sixteen other members. Meanwhile hundreds of people belonging to Bangladesh ethnic minority mainly the Hindus also got organized and held their protest in Dhaka and appealed to Government and world at large to save minority communities, Hindus, Buddhist, Christians and Sikhs etc. residing in Bangladesh. After taking over as the interim Head of the state in Bangladesh Dr Muhammad Yunus appealed to the protesters for calm and religious unity and condemned the attacks on minority communities in Bangladesh and termed them as heinous.
Now who are the powers behind such a protest in a country which was making a steady progress. The protest started with a peaceful demand of open merit quota enhancement and subsequently took an ugly shape of killings, rapes and attacks on minority community business establishments, households and religious places also leading to the massive damage to the Government property. The conspiracy seems to have been hatched by internal lurking foes of Bangladesh by making use of the potential of the young university students and then adding fuel to the fire by launching organized mob attacks on Bangladesh minority groups. Stern measures instituted by Sheikh Hasina against the Jammat-e-Islami Party leaders especially those who assisted Pakistan Army during Bangladesh freedom struggle were viewed by them and the opposition parties mainly the Bangladesh Nationalist Party headed by Khalid Zia as authoritarian regime of Sheikh Hasina and they succeeded in creating and manipulating the students led Job quota protest into an anti Government protest which took an ugly shape in due course. The history has in it and the deep states like United States of America and China have their vested interests in the region. The strings of the present Bangladesh protest also seem to be have been connected with the deep state agencies like CIA. The ghost seems to be haunting as during 1971 Indo-Pak war, US Navy’s seventh fleet had entered the Bay of Bengal in Dec 1971 to intimidate Indian Forces at the height of the conflict. It was due to the deployment of cruisers and destroyers as well as submarines armed with nuclear warheads by the Soviet Union which blockaded the US seventh fleet from sailing up the Bay of Bengal. The Bangladesh War of Independence ended up on 16 December 1971 with the surrender of 93000 Pakistan Army Soldiers, the largest military surrender the world has seen since World War II. The ignorant youth of present day Bangladesh have not seen their freedom struggle of 1971 and hence they are being used as a effective tool by the deep states to create a havoc and destabilize Bangladesh to establish a pro regime to pursue their interests in the south Asian region. The students and the rest of the people of Bangladesh participating in the on going protests must understand the ill designs of these vested interests and refrain from ruining their own country otherwise they will be paying a heavy price for their misdeeds in the times to come.
India as a big brother in the Indian sub continent extending all possible support to Bangladesh to end violent protests has appealed to the interim Government of Bangladesh to ensure the safety of Hindus and other religious communities in Bangladesh. This violent turmoil erupting within Bangladesh supported by the external vested interests is a big lesson for the Indian people to learn. We must understand and analyze dialogues and the diplomacy being played by the vested interests in the region. A sense of Nationalism must prevail deep within the mind of every Indian irrespective of any political or religious belief or the caste, creed or color. The differences arising out of the personality clashes, the political differences or on any progressive developmental issues must be discussed and resolved in house and not to be flared internationally. While making public statements, it is our prime duty to speak in the larger interest of our society vis a vis the country as a responsible patriotic citizen to continue our steady move on the path of progress. It is not for the lust for power but for the holistic progress by the large or the little contribution whatever by each Indian citizen by making a resolve for the unity and integrity of our country as we complete 77 years of independence on 15 August 2024 as proud citizens of a great Nation.
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