Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar have already received international approbation for their finesse in navigating critical political crises in many places, and Mr Modi is already counted as among the noted statesmen in the world. But since July this year, a fire has been raging in our backyard and day by day turning into a huge conflagration and India’s response, to say the least, is inadequate.

A students’ unrest against the quota system in Bangladesh, which should have died a natural death as the Supreme Court of Bangladesh rejected it, soon turned into a movement to oust the democratically elected Sheikh Hasina government. However, there was no gainsaying the fact that the last election of Bangladesh was far from being a fair process, as the opposition totally boycotted it, there was very low voter turnout and there were allegations of rampant rigging. The students’ unrest soon turned bloody, violent and nasty, with clear indication that it was being overwhelmed by Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), banned by the Hasina government. Islamic fundamentalists took quick control and the statue of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was dismantled.

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It was a sorry spectacle as Mujib, through an intense struggle led by the Mukti Bahini and with support from India, created Bangladesh, fighting against the terrible oppression of West Pakistan. He and almost his entire family ware later executed by reactionary elements. This time also, Sheikh Hasina feared a similar fate and India gave refuge to her, further incurring the wrath of Islamic fundamentalists of Bangladesh.

Violent attacks on Hindus, particularly Bengali-speaking Hindus, destruction of Hindu temples and arrests of Hindu monks have become the order of the day, triggering a flow of refugees to India. The role of India and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the liberation struggle of Bangladesh is well documented and earned for Mrs Gandhi the sobriquet ‘Iron Lady of India’. However, gratitude towards India dwindled over the years for a number of reasons. These include disputes over water sharing of Teesta and 54 other cross-border rivers, Bangladesh’s refusal to give a transit route to India’s Northeast through its territory, which has been granted only very recently, resentment among many Bangladeshis that India’s continuous support to Sheikh Hasina is a kind of intervention in Bangladesh’s internal affairs and politics, and a Big Brotherly attitude by Delhi, which undermined the sovereign, independent status of Bangladesh.

While language and culture were valuable elements of the identity of Bangla – deshis, gradually only religion, read Islamic fundamentalism, took their place. Was that a kind of a reaction to the rise of Hindutva in India and growing tentacles of right-wing politics in our country, as Muslim minorities have become victims of many attacks in India and the mosaic of India’s pluralist, secular, liberal social order got dented? Is there an involvement of Pakistan’s ISI and various terrorist organizations which, despite the sorry state of affairs in their own country, are always keen to ‘bleed India through a thousand cuts’? Or is it the handiwork of the American Deep State?

Hasina has accused the United States of orchestrating her removal from power for refusing to allow a US airbase on St Martin’s Island, a strategic Bangladeshi location in the Bay of Bengal. She has suggested that this refusal led to foreign interference in her country’s affairs, particularly in the form of the anti-quota student protests that, she alleged, were used to destabilise her government. The Deep State refers to the clandestine network of powerful individuals or groups within the government or military that operates independently of elected officials to influence or control government policy and decision-making in order to pursue its own agenda.

The interim government that has taken over the reins of Bangladesh is perceived by some observers to be pro-US. The most prominent figure in this government is Mohammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize owner, founder of Grameen Bank and a globally recognised pioneer in microfinance. Known for his strong links with US organisations, such as USAID and the Ford Foundation, Yunus is seen by some as aligned to US interests and the US, despite apparent bonhomie with India, dislikes India’s dominance in the region. What about our another troublesome, powerful neighbour, China?

China has been increasingly active in Bangladesh under the framework of Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative. China was quite comfortable doing business with Hasina. However, China has also faced setbacks in Bangladesh, often due to Hasina’s attempts to balance between the interests of China and India. Even as Beijing stepped up its financing to Bangladesh, Dhaka cancelled a deep-sea port at Sonadia Island that would have been constructed by a Chinese firm.

These Chinese port projects in the Indian Ocean are a perennial concern to New Delhi, which sees them as dual use facilities that can host Chinese surveillance ships in peacetime and potentially encircle India in a contingency. More recently, Hasina is believed to have irked China by deciding to take up India’s offer to fund the Teesta River water management project. Encircling India with hostile neighbours is always the motive of China. While it is evident that the present situation in Bangladesh is a complex interplay of domestic and international factors, the million dollar question is, how to stop the atrocities on minority Hindus in Bangladesh, and bring back a stable, democratic, secular government there?

The opinion raised by some that an economic embargo will work is untenable, since China and Western powers will step in with their supplies. It is baffling that the Indian establishment has till now only expressed ‘deep concern’ at the events in Bangladesh. Why not outrage, why not a stern statement that such attacks on minorities are not acceptable? Why are the Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister not embarking on another spree of visiting foreign countries, personally delivering the message that peace must be restored, elections must be held and secular, democratic governance must return to Bangladesh?

After all, these are platitudes the developed countries keep using against developing countries so often. Now is the time for them to walk the talk. Why are the common men and women of India and particularly West Bengal, and the intellectuals, not vocal enough? After all, West Bengal, being ad – jacent to Bangladesh, has to bear the brunt of disturbance most severely. Hindus, Muslims and the intellectuals, the custodians of Bengali language and culture need to start a strong civil society movement, giving out the clear message that secularism needs to be protected in the entire subcontinent as it contains a pluralistic social order.

One political party has suggested further division of the country into Hindu and Muslim dominated regions. Partition of countries on the basis of religion has proved to be disastrous in the past. The situation of 2024 is very different from 1971 and any military intervention will destabilise the entire South Asian region. A tit for tat policy will not work. We must fight for good sense to prevail, to nurture harmonious living, and must remember that not just religion, but language and culture also are vital parts of our composite identity. ‘Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction’, said Blaise Pascal, words we would all do well to remember

(The writer is Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Women’s Christian College, Kolkata and can be reached at jayita_m@hotmail.com)