India Is Unlikely To Scale Up Engagement With Bangladesh Till elections Are Held, said India’s former High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Ambassador Pinaki Ranjan Chakravarty, at a discussion in New Delhi recently.
He offered this insight well after the Dhaka visit of India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
“As far as India is concerned, I think, we have decided to have very low level engagement with this government.”
He said that though External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met the Foreign Affairs Adviser of Bangladesh, Md. Touhid Hossainin New York, our Foreign Secretary went there as Foreign Secretary level talks were due.
“Otherwise, I don’t think, there has been a very high level engagement.’’
Ambassador Chakravarty added, “ The government’s desire seems to be to remain engaged which we have done with all governments in Dhaka- whether they were dictators or democrats. I suspect it will not be scaled up to a very high level and we will have to wait for an elected government.
He added that the decision seems to be not to engage fully with the Muhammad Yunus govermment because it is a temporary government.
The 84 year old Nobel laureate took charge of Bangladesh within three days of the Hasina’s ouster.
Earlier this month, India’s Foreign Secretary held first high level discussions with his Bangladeshi counterpart Mohammad Jashimuddin, after the ouster of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Referring to Yunus’ Victory Day speech, Ambassador Chakravarty said that he mentioned his intention to hold elections in in end of 2025 ore 2026 after all the reforms are done and voters lists are prepared.
The seasoned Indian diplomat remarked, “The question is about ten Commissions of reforms but nobody really knows the status of these reforms.’’
“The urge to vote today is very strong because people feel that they have been denied a free and fair election.’’
He also expressed concern over the attack on the minorities- the Hindus and the tribals in Bangladesh who have been hit very hard.
“ Of course, they including Professor Yunus have tried to dodge and duck say that it is not communal. But how much can you hide in today’s world when social media is so strong.’’
He went on to say, “The government has finally come around to admit that there have been 88 communal incidents but the organization that represents the minorities has documented about 4000 such incidents. On that score, passions arose in India also.’’
Ambassador Chakravarty voiced concern over the way the Indian visa offices and the cultural centre were attacked in the chaos following Hasina’s removal sans any regret came from any quarter.
Veteran journalist Gautam Lahiri who has been tracking India Bangladesh relations for a long time, stressed the need to keep Bangladesh in good humor.
“We share a 4000 kilometer border. We cannot ignore this neighbour. India’s first job is to have good relations with Bangladesh so that our security is not compromised.’’
He drew attention to different versions on elections given by Muhammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh’s caretaker government.
Lahiri who is the President of the Delhi based Press Club of India, said that while Yunus told a media organization that the elections will take place in 2025, he told another that they will be be conducted in 2026.
“He told Al Jazeera that he will go on for four years. Which Yunus should we believe?, “ he asked.
He added that the situation in Bangladesh is very fluid right now. “There is a churning going on.’’
Replying to a question on resumption of visa services to Bangladeshi nationals, Ambassador Chakravarty said that these services were disrupted for various reasons, in the absence of security. “ It was not our fault.’’
“ I think, Government of India feels that security is not particularly good and adequate right now. We are giving limited visas.”
He added that resumption of visa services is mutually beneficial.
Last summer, India had offered an e-medical visa facility for Bangladeshi nationals seeking medical treatment in India.
This offer was made during the then Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s two day State visit to India.
Hasina’s visit was the first incoming State visit in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term.
In a statement, Modi had also said that Bangladesh is India’s largest development partner and India attaches the highest priority to Bangladesh.
The decision to grant medical e-visa was significant given the fact that India is a big medical destination for Bangladeshi nationals.
According to sources in Dhaka, nearly 4.5 lakh medical visa applications were made by Bangladeshi nationals in 2023 alone.
That averages out to more than 1,200 medical visa applications every single day.
Former Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said in reply to a question at a briefing, “It is our understanding that there is a substantial chunk of current visa applicants from Bangladesh that prefer to come to India for medical treatment.”
He said that the numbers could range anywhere between 20 to 30 per cent of the total number of applications received by our embassy in Dhaka.
“More importantly, it is also a segment of people we want to prioritise in terms of focus mainly because it pertains to their medical needs,’’ Kwatra had said.
