New Delhi: India has registered a strong protest with Bangladesh over a now deleted-social media post by student leader Mahfuj Alam, special aide to Mohammad Yunus, wherein he had shared a controversial map of Bangladesh that included India’s eastern and northeastern areas such as West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in his weekly briefing: “We have registered our strong protest on this issue with the Bangladesh side.
“We understand that the post being referred to has reportedly been taken down. We would like to remind all concerned to be mindful of their public comments.
“While India has repeatedly signalled interest in fostering relations with the people and the interim government of Bangladesh, such comments underline the need for responsibility in public articulation,” he stressed.
In his Facebook post, Mahfuj Alam who is also advisor to the interim government, alleged that India practises a “contain” and “ghettoize” policy towards Bangladesh. He claimed that the 1975 coup which saw Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and almost his entire family assassinated, and the 2024 protests both came to save Bangladesh from Indian “reliance” and “hegemony”.
He concluded that to become truly “independent”, Bangladesh must “come out of its cage” and expand geographically.
He later deleted the post following backlash.
Alam is the same person that Yunus, in his address at a Clinton Global Initiative event in New York in September, had introduced as the “mastermind” of the protests which led to the August 5 changeover in Bangladesh.
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Ties between the two nations have turned cold over the rising incidences of attacks on Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and their properties and places of worship, which began following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, and its replacement by the army-backed interim government led by Mohmmad Yunus. India has repeatedly protested the attacks and called on the interim government to ensure the safety and security of the minorities.
The arrest and denial of bail to Hindu monk Chinmoy Das and the protests that followed, both in Bangladesh and India, led to further worsening of ties.
On December 9, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was in Dhaka for the Foreign Office Consultations during which besides discussions on the bilateral ties, the FS raised the issue of attacks on minorities.
