A soldier stands guard at the vandalised museum of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of Sheikh Hasina who resigned as Prime Minister on Monday, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina continues to remain at the Hindon Air Force Station near Delhi, where she landed after fleeing her country on Monday (August 5). The C130J aircraft that brought her to India has flown out of the base.
While uncertainty prevails in the neighbouring country, there are apprehensions over the future of the strong military-to-military cooperation that had significantly deepened over the years, especially under Ms. Hasina’s government, as India looked to counter Chinese influence in the neighbourhood, including by supplying military hardware to Dhaka.
The military-to-military channels remain important lines of communication during the ongoing crisis, in addition to the diplomatic channels, as the Bangladesh Army is in charge to oversee the transition to an interim government.
Sources said Ms. Hasina continues to be in the ‘safe house’ since she arrived at Hindon and is expected to stay for another day or two till her next destination is finalised. Her departure was delayed after the prospect of asylum in the U.K. did not seem to materialise and now the United Arab Emirates has emerged as a possible option among others, two sources independently said.
India and Bangladesh have broad-based their defence and strategic cooperation, involving regular visits, training activities, bilateral and multilateral exercises, and more importantly, supply of military hardware by India. The Liberation War of Bangladesh of 1971, fought jointly by the Mukti Bahini and the Indian armed forces, and India’s finest military victories also reverberate strongly in the Indian military fraternity. India has also extended a $500-million defence Line of Credit to Bangladesh to procure military hardware.
In photos: Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina’s resignation
People wave the Bangladeshi flag as they celebrate the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
A Bangladeshi man raises a flag in front of a vehicle set on fire at the Ganabhaban, the Prime Minister’s residence, after Sheikh Hasina’s resignation in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
After Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country, people loot a monitor, a computer and a duck from the Ganabhaban, the Prime Minister’s residence.
People stand near vandalised, burnt-down cars at the Mohammadpur Police Station.
People walk next to vandalised cars at the Mohammadpur Police Station after former PM Sheikh Hasina’s resignation.
People visit the site of the vandalised statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the Bangladeshi nation.
A member of the army stands guard as people gather at the entrance of the Parliament Building a day after the resignation of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
People visit the vandalised Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum.
People gather at the entrance of the Parliament Building a day after the resignation of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. A banner hangs on the entrance of the Parliament Building that reads ‘Justice’.
A view of a mural of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina vandalised by protesters and adorned with a necklace of sandals.
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Indian Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi had visited Bangladesh on an official visit from July 1 to 4, while Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal V. R. Chaudhari visited Dhaka from February 26 to March 1.
“Naval cooperation between India and Bangladesh has been traditionally strong, encompassing a wide span which includes operational interactions through port calls, bilateral naval exercises, along with capacity building, capability enhancement and training initiatives,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement during the Navy chief’s visit.
Coinciding with the Navy chief’s visit, the Bangladesh Navy signed a contract for an 800-tonne ocean-going tug with India’s Garden Reach Shipbuilding and Engineers.
Defence industrial cooperation has emerged a major area of cooperation and has synced well for both countries. As India looked to increase defence exports, Bangladesh, which acquired a lot of Chinese military hardware over the years, was also keen to procure from India.
As reported by The Hindu, Dhaka had shared a long wishlist with India of a range of hardware and New Delhi had responded positively on several of them.
“There is a real question mark on the defence industrial cooperation with the way situation has unfolded there and the strong anti-India sentiment that is spreading. That depends on the new dispensation that will come in and their view of the relationship with India,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity. “Both China and Pakistan will attempt to take advantage of the situation to move Bangladesh away from India.”
Recently, this kind of situation had played out for India in the Maldives with the change of government there, several officials pointed out.
Another major area of concern for India is border management as the two countries share a 4,096-km-long international border. Over the years, the armies as well as agencies on both sides have developed a good understanding on the ground. It is the working arrangements and relationships that will come to test amid the unfolding crisis as both sides keep close watch on the borders, another official noted.
Smuggling of narcotics and fake currency, cattle and human trafficking also remain major concerns given the porous border and any influx of refugees into India due to the current crisis will accentuate these aspects as well, officials stated.
With the situation in Manipur and the influx of refugees from both Myanmar and Bangladesh into Mizoram in the past few years, the scenario is particularly delicate. For instance, as reported earlier, there had been influx of some Kuki Chin people into Mizoram from the Chittagong hill tracts of Bangladesh post-November 2022 after operations by the Bangladesh Army in the area against the Kuki Chin National Front (KCNF) and also targeting the new terror organisation Jamaa’tul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya (JAFHS).
Bangladesh has also been sensitive to India’s concerns by acting against insurgent groups operating against India that have set up bases on their side.
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