Deafening silence: Where is the Hindu rights champion, the BJP government, now?

Deafening silence: Where is the Hindu rights champion, the BJP government, now?

After tumultuous recent protests in Dhaka, Sheikh Hasina has finally resigned, but a state of anarchy has ensued. An unruly mob is attacking members and allies of the former government, and unexpectedly, some Hindus in Bangladesh have also come in the line of fire as soft targets. In this precarious situation, it is essential to calm the mob and establish a humanitarian corridor for the persecuted individuals to ensure their safe exit and that goal can never be achieved without the aid of neighboring countries.

Establishing a humanitarian corridor in such a volatile situation is extremely crucial as many Hindus are trying to flee the violence affected areas in Bangladesh to neighboring India. However, India, the only neighboring country, has offered a cold shoulder by sealing the borders instead of opening it on humanitarian grounds. Even the Indian railways on August 5 suspended all train operations to Bangladesh to further aggravate the situation.
The big question is why the BJP-dominated Indian government, which claims to champion Hindu rights, has failed to address the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh. Although ruling party and its members have previously used the rhetoric of protection of Hindu minorities in neighboring countries as a tool of great political mileage but when the occasion arise to walk the talk the BJP government looked baffled and shell-shocked.

Another query is why Modi government has made a seismic shift in its policy pertaining to minorities’ protection in neighboring states? The answer seems simple: the Indian government appears to be more interested in courting the new Bangladesh government in its political orbit than protecting minorities. Muhammad Yunus, the new interim government head, expressed displeasure over India’s nonchalant stance, viewing the protests as an internal matter. “If there is a fire in a brother’s house, how can I say it is an internal affair?” With Mr. Yunus’s ascension to power, the BJP government faces a dilemma, as it also provides a safe haven to his staunchest opponent, the recently deposed PM Sheikh Hasina.

Another dilemma for the Indian government is coping with increasing calls at home to safeguard persecuted Hindus in Bangladesh. Following aggressive campaigns like the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 and efforts to pass legislation against Hinduphobia at the United Nations, the BJP government has become a hostage to its own rhetoric. Even political parties in India across the spectrum have put the Modi government to the swords for lack of clarity and inaction regarding the ever evolving situation in Bangladesh. Recently, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has also lambasted the incumbent government over it: “If Prime Minister Modi could stop the war in Ukraine, he should also take similar steps in Bangladesh and save the Hindus.”

Recent media reports indicate that the CAA in India has exacerbated the situation for Hindus in Bangladesh. Since the law’s passage, there has been a marked increase in violence and discrimination against the Hindu minority population. Reports suggest a staggering 200% rise in atrocities against Hindus since 2014, fueled by tensions surrounding the CAA.

The Indian government’s muted response to the evolving situation in Bangladesh undermines its historically false narrative of intervention in East Pakistan in 1971 on humanitarian grounds. Also PM Narendra Modi’s visits to Bangladesh in recent pasts, he has repeatedly broached upon the role of Indian backed Mukti Bahini forces in 1971 Bangladesh’s war of Independence and how they protected the Hindu’s back then. In contrast, the current apathy to the plights of Hindus in Bangladesh suggests only one thing that India’s 1971 incursion into East Pakistan was solely aimed at weakening their regional rival and further their political ambitions. With no geopolitical incentives involved in aiding persecuted Hindus in Bangladesh, the BJP government has turned a blind eye to their miseries.

Even more appalling is the BJP-led government’s inability to raise its voice against the anarchy in Bangladesh, fearing regional isolation. Besides Pakistan and Afghanistan, Delhi has lost goodwill among ruling elites in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives too due to its condescending approach. Recent developments are disturbing for the New Delhi government, which once vowed to isolate Pakistan but now finds itself in a similar predicament.

The moribund status of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the propping up of alternative regional institutions like the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) are glaring examples of Indian government’s attempts at isolating Pakistan but all these moves backfired for them as they ultimately fell prey to their own shrewdness. So through unwarranted backing of Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian rule, BJP government has jeopardized itself not only at the home front but also at the international level.

Thus, the predicaments for the right-wing NDA coalition are worsening daily due to the political mines they have been digging for their foes. The only way out is to acknowledge the gravity of emerging challenges in South Asia and address them pragmatically. The first step requires opening a humanitarian corridor for affected people in Bangladesh, especially Hindus. Additionally, India needs to backtrack from its adversarial approach toward its neighbors, as no region can progress in a hostile atmosphere. It is high time for the self-proclaimed “savior of Hindus,” the Modi government, to act, as the continued inaction towards worsening conditions in Bangladesh could draw India in this quagmire too. As Albert Einstein also once famously said
“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing”