Robinder Sachdev, a Foreign Affairs expert, said that the Bangladesh protests are also being joined by radicalists, the extreme left and China-backed groups, apart from the students, which is a worrying trend.
Speaking to ANI, Sachdev said, “Sheikh Hasina has been in power for the last fifteen years. The last elections were boycotted by the opposition. In a way, the democratic participation has not been there. The radicalists, extreme left and China-backed groups are taking advantage of the situation.”
He said that whenever there is such an attack, the Indian diaspora becomes a victim of hate crimes in Bangladesh.
“In such an environment, there is a high risk of hate crimes against the Indian diaspora in Bangladesh,” Sachdev said, adding that Sheikh Hasina is seen as pro-India.
“With Sheikh Hasina being seen as pro-India, hate crimes being carried out against Indians and total lawlessness in the country, it gives the opportunity to miscreants to commit further mischief,” Sachdev said.
Sachdev said that India cannot meddle with the internal affairs of Bangladesh, but it can take steps to ensure the safety of Indians in Bangladesh. There are several Indian engineers in Bangladesh.
“India must evacuate the Indians from Bangladesh. It is up to Bangladesh to handle its internal affairs. It is India’s job to take care of its citizens all over the world,” he said.
India must make sure that its borders are sealed, he said.
“In such a volatile situation, there is a risk that Bangladeshis may try and flee from Bangladesh, and the Chinese may try to take advantage of it. It is beneficial for China as tensions between Bangladesh and India flare,” Sachdeva said.
Sachdeva said that China is to benefit from the India-Bangladesh spat because “Sheikh Hasina has not been very cooperative with China. Bangladesh’s opposition has been much more pro-China and pro-Pakistan in its stance.”
He said that the times are very volatile. The miscreants’ groups may try to give the students’ quota protests a different, anti-Indian turn. So, it is in the interest of Indians to return to India.
The protests will result in losses for businesses and will add to the job crisis as people come back to India.
Sachdeva said that apart from bringing Indians back, the government must seal the borders, as many radicalists may try to enter the country at this time along with refugees.
Student protests in Bangladesh have turned violent, with dozens of people reportedly killed and hundreds injured in clashes with police.
Protesters are demanding that the government end a quota system that reserves jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in the war of independence from Pakistan in 1971, something they consider discriminatory. (ANI)
