India’s foreign relations in South Asia may be in for incredibly challenging times as Bangladesh reels in turmoil with the exit of Sheikh Hasina. An immediate cause of concern may be the safety of Indians in that country who are facing the backlash of the tumult that saw the exit of a long ruling Prime Minister and head of the Awami League party. Reports of attacks on Hindus and temples in the immediate aftermath of a huge social upheaval led by students may die down once public order is restored under an interim government to be formed at the instance of the Bangladesh Army.
But minorities will have to learn to live with fear in a Bangladesh certain to lean towards a more radical Islamist disposition. The Army there must be sensing a great opportunity amid the political turbulence to dominate the country much as the Pakistan Army does even as one of its first acts was to release the imprisoned Opposition leader and former PM Khaleda Zia, besides restoring the discredited Nobel prize winner Md Yunus to public life. It is to the credit of India’s political system that all parties stood united in their assessment of the critical situation arising out of the Bangladesh crisis and the repercussions the nation may face with the departure from power of a friend though she was an autocrat who sacrificed democratic ideals to entrench herself as the undisputed leader of her nation.
The fear is that the many positive things that Sheikh Hasina did, like upholding secular principles .