Things are getting messy between Bangladesh and India right now. Let me break it down like I’m just telling you over chai.
Two days ago, the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi put up a sign outside saying: “Sorry yaar, no visa services, no consular work, nothing – until further notice.” Full stop. Indians can’t apply for visas there anymore, at least for now.
Why? They’re saying “unavoidable circumstances” and security issues. Basically, a bunch of 20-25 people showed up outside their building on Saturday, shouting about the killing of a Hindu garment worker in Mymensingh and asking for better protection for minorities. The Bangladeshi side got spooked, said their High Commissioner was threatened, and shut everything down.
But here’s the real tea – this is straight-up payback. Last week in Chattogram, a crowd got angry and started throwing stones at the Indian Assistant High Commission. India got fed up, shut their visa centre in Chattogram indefinitely, and said they’re still deciding when to reopen. So Bangladesh went: “Okay, if you’re closing, we’re closing too.” Tit for tat.
There’s also been trouble at the Bangladeshi consulates in Agartala and Siliguri – protests, some vandalism, the usual.
And the whole thing is tied to this bigger storm that’s been brewing since a young leader named Sharif Osman Hadi got shot in Dhaka on December 12 and died in Singapore on the 18th. His funeral turned into massive protests. Some turned violent – media offices got attacked, Awami League places got hit, and a lot of people started chanting anti-India slogans, saying the attackers ran to India.
India says the protest outside their Delhi mission was tiny and peaceful, nothing serious. Bangladesh says their people felt threatened, so they pulled the plug.
Right now, visas are frozen both ways, people are angry on both sides, and everyone’s waiting to see if this blows over or gets worse – especially with elections coming up in Bangladesh in February and a lot of worry about minorities and Indian students there.
It’s one of those situations where nobody wants to blink first. I’ll keep you updated if something big happens.
Sources:
- The New Indian Express
- The Times of India
- The Economic Times
- ANI
- Prothom Alo
- The Daily Star
- The Tribune
