Bangladesh is India’s problem because Americans couldn’t care less

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo)

At the joint press conference of US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the former was asked about the role of the US ‘Deep State’ in the events in Bangladesh leading to ouster last year of Sheikh Hasina as the country’s prime minister.

Trump’s reply was short and sharp. “Well, there was no role for our Deep State”, he said. He added that he would leave Bangladesh to Modi. Another sentence in his response suggested that Bangladesh may have not really registered with him because he said that it’s a problem that’s been worked for hundreds of years- the country has been in existence for a just a little over 50 years.

Two aspects stand out in his response when seen in the context of the press conference. Trump didn’t shy away from bringing US domestic politics into his replies. Allegations about the ‘Deep State’ have been central to his political campaign and combating it is among the core ideas of his supporters.

Therefore, if Trump said there was no American ‘Deep State’ role in Bangladesh, some assumptions held by a section of the Indian commentators on Bangladesh may be misplaced. Shiekh Hasina’s ouster may have had everything to do with the nature of her regime and the eventual reaction to it. Not external forces.

That said, Bangladesh’s unsettled state does present a problem for India. The two countries share a land border which is over 4,000 km in length. Five Indian states, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, border Bangladesh. Consequently, India will always have to be sensitive to the state of affairs in Bangladesh.

An independent assessment of the situation in Bangladesh explained why the Indian government has a reason to be worried about the situation there.

On February 12, the United Nations Human Rights Office released a fact finding report on the situation in Bangladesh related to protests of July and August 2024. This fact-finding mission was set up following an invitation from the Interim Government of Bangladesh. The interim government’s aim was to build a case against the Hasina’s Awami League. Indeed, that did happen to an extent but the fact-finding mission also confirmed reports of minorities being attacked during the period.

A relevant section from the report follows:

“During and after the protests, members of the Hindu community, Ahmadiya Muslims and indigenous groups in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, were also subject to violent attacks by mobs, including burning of homes and some attacks on places of worship.”

Official statements of political parties and the interim government promise protection to minorities. However, as the fact-finding report shows, the ground reality can be very different for minorities. That gives India a powerful reason to be concerned about what is going on in Bangladesh because the problems will inevitably spill over here.

Therefore, Modi has a reason to take a deep interest in problems in Bangladesh. Also, some Indian commentators need to be open to acknowledging that Sheikh Hasina brought about her own downfall by suppressing democracy. It doesn’t make the successor regime perfect, but hopefully Trump has put to rest the tendency to embrace conspiracies instead of acknowledging reality.