Kochi, 6 August 2024 (TDI): After a political unrest in Bangladesh toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration, India has increased the number of troops stationed along the border (for the border security) with that nation.
On Monday, Ms. Hasina left Bangladesh and traveled to India, where she passed the night. Her current location is unknown.
The federal government of India has invited the opposition parties to a conference, although it has not yet formally addressed the events.
India and Bangladesh have strong cultural and economic relations, and the two countries share a 4,096 km (2,545 mi) border.
To examine the situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a meeting on Monday. According to reports, S Jaishankar, the foreign minister, would address parliament on Tuesday.
Long-term tensions in Bangladesh are feared to spread to India, which is thought to have backed Ms. Hasina during her 15-year term despite her crackdown on dissent and imprisonment of opposition leaders.
Bangladesh was created in 1971 following a war with Pakistan and has a border with five Indian states. A little over 915.35 kilometers of the border are unfenced, according to government data from November of last year.
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Ms. Hasina’s tenure was comparatively tranquil for India in terms of security because she had taken tough measures against extremists who were anti-Indian. In order to protect commercial routes for the states bordering Bangladesh, she had also provided transit privileges.
Senior representatives of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) reviewed “operational preparedness and strategic deployment of BSF in these important border areas” on Monday during their visit to the Bangladesh border in the eastern state of West Bengal, according to a spokesperson.
According to the BSF, the government has given it strong instructions to prevent anyone from entering the nation without legitimate documentation.
India and Bangladesh train services have been stopped “indefinitely”; they had been stopped since the middle of July when violent uprisings broke out in Bangladesh.
Additionally, India has advised its nationals living in Bangladesh to proceed with “utmost caution.”
With the assistance of its diplomatic offices in Bangladesh, around 4,500 Indians had returned home in July.
The northeastern state of Meghalaya enforced a night curfew along its border with Bangladesh on Monday in response to Ms. Hasina’s resignation.
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Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has called for peace from West Bengal, the state with the longest border to Bangladesh and strong linguistic and cultural links.
Additionally, products no longer pass through the border’s Petrapole land port. Hundreds of Indian Lorries are reportedly stranded on the Bangladeshi side.
There aren’t many options available to India right now, a senior official told the BBC on Monday
“Our borders need to be more strictly monitored. Anything else would be considered a form of intervention.”
