Diplomatic storm over breach of Bangladesh mission in India

Break-in by Hindu protesters comes amid worsening rift between the nations

- Nirmala Ganapathy

NEW DELHI - A security breach by protesters against one of Bangladesh's diplomatic missions in India on Dec 2 has triggered a diplomatic storm, underlining the growing distrust between the two countries.

Bangladesh said on Dec 3 it had summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma to the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, to express its concern about protesters breaking into the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in northeastern India's Tripura state.

The protesters from the Hindu Sangharsh Samiti group are accused of damaging property and desecrating the Bangladesh national flag as they demonstrated against the arrest of a Hindu priest in Dhaka.

Bangladeshi priest Chinmoy Krishna Das was arrested on sedition charges on Nov 25 for allegedly disrespecting the Bangladesh flag at a rally. His arrest, which some viewed as an attack on the Hindu minority, triggered fresh protests in India and Bangladesh.

Hindus make up 8 per cent of the 170 million population in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

Hindu groups in Bangladesh allege that there have been over 2,000 incidents of violence against their community since the August ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who resigned following massive student protests against her increasingly authoritarian rule.

While the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has maintained that the number of incidents of violence is greatly exaggerated and spread by misinformation, news of violence has had reverberations in India.

The Narendra Modi government has repeatedly urged the Bangladeshi government to protect the rights of minorities, with Hindu groups closely tracking the developments. Protests have been held by Hindu groups and also members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.