India’s Capacity to Assist Bangladesh Amidst Ongoing Crisis

The dramatic resignation of Bangladesh’s long-serving Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her subsequent flight to India highlight the deep bond between the two nations. Hasina, who led Bangladesh—a country with a population of 170 million—for nearly 15 years, faced a significant challenge when student protests against civil service quotas escalated into a widespread and violent anti-government movement. The clashes between police and protesters have resulted in at least 280 deaths so far. n June, Hasina made two visits to India within a span of two weeks. Her first trip was to attend the inauguration ceremony of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Following that, she conducted a two-day state visit, marking the first visit by a head of government to India since Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party secured its third consecutive victory in the parliamentary elections.

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India-Bangladesh Relations: Strong Ties and Shared Interests Amidst Challenges

India has a special relationship with Bangladesh. The neighbours share a 4,096km (2,545 miles)-border and linguistic, economic and cultural ties. Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, was born after a war in 1971 with West Pakistan (now Pakistan), with India supporting Bengali nationalists. Bilateral trade between the two countries is around $16bn (£12bn), with India being Bangladesh’s top export destination in Asia. To be sure, the ties are not perfect: differences arise over Bangladesh’s close relationship with China, border security, migration issues and some Bangladeshi officials’ discomfort with Mr Modi’s Hindu nationalist politics.

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Ms Hasina’s resignation Bangladesh’s army chief waker – uz – zaman has announced plans for an interim government. He will meet President Mohammed Shahabuddin and reports say he’s hoping for a solution by the day’s end after speaking with opposition parties, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Leadership of the interim government remains unclear.