Jaishankar Says India Flagged Radicalisation, Minority Attacks in Bangladesh During Modi-Yunus Meet

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New Delhi: In a significant diplomatic exchange, India raised strong concerns regarding the rise of radicalisation and recent attacks on minorities in Bangladesh during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus last week. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit held in Bangkok on April 4, marking their first face-to-face interaction since the political shift in Dhaka.

Speaking at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit on Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar revealed that India did not hold back in expressing its apprehensions. “We conveyed our concerns about the rhetoric which is coming out of people in Bangladesh, radicalising tendencies, and the attacks on minorities,” Jaishankar said. “I think we were very open about sharing those concerns.”

Relations between New Delhi and Dhaka have been under strain since Yunus assumed leadership of the caretaker government following the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina amid massive student-led protests in August. India has been consistently vocal about the interim administration’s failure to safeguard minority communities in Bangladesh and the growing climate of religious intolerance.

Jaishankar further highlighted that New Delhi also stressed the importance of conducting free and fair elections in Bangladesh. “Holding elections is not just a democratic necessity but also a stabilising factor for the region,” he noted.

Sheikh Hasina, currently living in self-exile in India after fleeing her country, remains a sensitive issue in Indo-Bangla diplomatic discourse. Her continued presence in India has only added to the tension, with Dhaka viewing it as a political statement.

While the meeting between Modi and Yunus did not lead to any formal agreement, the tone of the Indian message was unmistakably firm. With India being a key regional partner, New Delhi’s concerns are expected to weigh heavily on the interim Bangladeshi leadership as it navigates domestic unrest and growing international scrutiny.

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