Has the anti-India narrative in Bangladesh escalated to such a level that New Delhi is being held responsible for natural calamities like floods? Why Muhammad Yunus-led interim government of Bangladesh is not taking steps to curb those forces who want to fish in Troubled waters to settle scores with the neighbouring country? Is he unable or unwilling to convince his countrymen that they should not have bad ties with India?
India Held Responsible For Floods In Bangladesh
These questions were being raised after social media platforms in Bangladesh were full of anti-India rants after an unprecedented flood threw normal life out of gear. It began with Officials from the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) accusing India of opening the sluice gates of Dumboor dam without informing Bangladesh.
Talking to local media, Partha Pratim Barua, a sub-divisional engineer working with the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) said, “No, we were not notified by the Indian side about their decision to open the reservoir sluice gate.”
“India Did Not Notify Before Releasing Water”
He said further that the Comilla-Tripura riverfront is not covered under the MoU signed for exchanging rainfall data. He said further that Bangladesh somehow manages to get data, but there is no norm of notifying the other side when India opens the sluice gate.
Students’ Protest Against India
Soon afterwards, students of Dhaka’s Jagannath University protested against India, holding it responsible for floods that inundated thousands of homes in the bordering areas.
India Rejects Allegations
Denying the accusations, Ratan Lal Nath, Minister of Power, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare in Tripura, said no gate was opened for the Gumti Hydro Electric Project. Elaborating on the issue, he said the reservoir’s storage capacity is up to 94 metres. He explained that once the water crosses this level, it will automatically exit through the gate. He also said that when the reservoir’s water level falls below 94 metres, the gate will automatically close.
India Rubbishes Dhaka’s Charges
Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that the Indian side is regularly communicating with Bangladesh on data about the flooding despite a power outage that occurred at 6 pm Wednesday. He emphasized that India moved one step forward and tried to maintain communication through other means created for urgent data transmission.
Bangladesh Anticipates Floods In June
The entire episode was well-planned and engineered to foment anti-India feelings is evident by the fact that Bangladesh’s former Planning Minister Abdus Salam earlier in June said that based on weather analyses, the premier anticipates possible flooding soon. He also warned that the country must be ready to take necessary actions if it occurs.
Anti-India Rant Due To Hasina?
Political observers have said that most of the people in Bangladesh are angry at former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and they believe that she was very close to India. Anger against Hasina fed anti-India sentiments and the forces inimical to India exploited the situation to create an anti-India narrative, making it the main force behind the plight of Bangladesh.
When the country was plunged into complete chaos and anarchy for two days and statues and images of ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rehman were vandalized, the statue of Indian poet Rabindra Nath Tagore was not spared. The national anthem of Bangladesh, “Aamar Sonar Bangla, Aami Tomay Bhalo Bashi” was composed by Tagore.
Hilsa Export To India Stopped
Similarly, after the power changed hands, Dhaka stopped exporting Hilsa fish to India, the famous Bengali delicacy, particularly popular in the Indian state of West Bengal. The price of the fish crashed in Bangladesh and the people involved in its business suffered the most. Muhammad Yunus, Chief Advisor to the Interim government earlier called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and assured him to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and other minorities in India.
India Under Pressure Over Sheikh Hasina
Adviser for Foreign Affairs of the interim government of Bangladesh Md Touhid Hossain told “Indian Express” Hasina is issuing statements from New Delhi that are not conducive for a better relationship between the two neighbouring countries.
On the other hand, the Bangladesh National Party, the main opponent of Hasina’s Awami League, has asked India to extradite the former Bangladesh prime minister. Hasina has been slapped with several criminal cases since she resigned and fled to India minutes before hundreds of people stormed her official residence in Dhaka and looted almost everything on August 5.
Political observers believe the present dispensation in Bangladesh is encouraging anti-India forces as it wants to tilt the country away from New Delhi in the name of a balancing act and following an independent foreign policy. Is Muhammad Yunus not aware of this nefarious design or is he an accomplice? Time will tell, but much water will flow down the Padma River before that.
