Tension has increased in relations between India and Bangladesh due to recent incidents in the neighboring country. Former diplomat Mahesh Sachdev said that the interim government in Dhaka wants the situation to calm down and India would also be ready to support the same sentiment. India summoned the High Commissioner of Bangladesh on Tuesday for the second time in a week. Bangladesh had also summoned the Indian Ambassador regarding the security of its mission.
Mahesh Sachdev has been India’s Ambassador to Algeria and Norway and High Commissioner to Nigeria. He said that both India and Bangladesh are trying to understand and reduce the tension in bilateral relations. High Commissioners are highly placed individuals in the capitals of both the countries and summoning them to the Ministry of External Affairs is an indication that a particular incident is being addressed at the top level, he said. I think this is part of the process of building understanding at the highest level between both sides.
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Sachdev said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has not yet clarified what was the reason for summoning the Bangladeshi High Commissioner. Only when this information is given, its objective and success can be told properly. He told news agency ANI that the interim government of Bangladesh wants that the situation should remain calm and that discontent in the neighboring country should not affect the relations between the two countries.
Sachdev said, I think it is a positive sign that the interim government of Bangladesh wants the situation to calm down and whatever is happening in Bangladesh should not affect the good neighborly relations between India and Bangladesh. India is also ready to support such sentiment.
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India summoned the Bangladesh High Commissioner at a time when protests were taking place in the neighboring country over the killing of student leader Sharif Usman Hadi and the mob lynching of Dipu Chandra Das. The murder of Dipu Das took place in Mymensingh district of Bangladesh, sparking widespread criticism and raising questions over the safety of minorities in the country.
Bangladesh’s Education Advisor CR Abrar met the family of Dipu Das on behalf of the interim government and expressed sympathy and assured support. The office of Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor Mohammad Yunus also expressed deep sorrow over the killing of Dipu Chandra Das and extended condolences to his family. During the meeting, the education advisor talked to Dipu Das’s father Rabilal Das.
He reiterated that this murder is a horrific and condemnable crime, which has no place in Bangladeshi society. Violence cannot be justified by any allegation, rumor or religious difference. No person has the right to take law into his hands.
