India knew about the widespread protests against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh that took place in July and August last year, but they found themselves unable to intervene in any significant way.
India`s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, recently shared this information while addressing the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on External Affairs.
According to a report by The Hindu, Jaishankar acknowledged that while India was aware of the unrest in Bangladesh, there was little they could do to influence the situation.
"India was not in a position to do anything about the popular uprising in Bangladesh because we did not have that kind of ‘influence’ over Hasina. So, apart from giving advice, we couldn’t do much at the time," Jaishankar explained.
Jaishankar also indicated that India, like other major global powers, was well-informed about the growing instability in Bangladesh.
He pointed to comments made by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, as an example of international awareness.
Turk had recently warned that if Bangladesh’s military acted against unarmed protesters, they could face a ban from participating in UN peacekeeping missions.
In the meeting, members of India’s Parliamentary Consultative Committee held a wide-ranging discussion on India’s foreign policy, focusing primarily on the situations in Bangladesh, Myanmar, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Jaishankar also shared that Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the interim government’s Chief Advisor in Bangladesh, is expected to visit China later this month.
This visit is seen as highly significant, with several key agreements likely to be signed between the two countries.
Among the expected agreements is one focused on aviation, aimed at strengthening air connections between Chinese cities and Bangladesh’s major hubs in Dhaka and Chittagong.
Additionally, Jaishankar highlighted the involvement of external forces in Bangladesh`s internal affairs, noting,
"China is not our adversary but rather a competitor."
Towards the end of the session, Jaishankar touched on the state of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), stating,
"The last SAARC meeting took place in November 2014, and since then, the organization has been dormant. However, this suggests that there is room for a revival in the future."
By summarizing these developments, it’s clear that while India was aware of the protests in Bangladesh, geopolitical constraints and limited influence over Prime Minister Hasina’s government kept India from intervening more decisively.
The discussions between India’s External Affairs Committee and Jaishankar have brought these diplomatic challenges to the forefront, raising questions about India`s influence in its neighboring regions.
-20250321131424.jpg)
-20250321112258.webp)
