India played a ‘silence’ tactic on Bangladesh’s demand, New Delhi maintained silence on Sheikh Hasina’s extradition

New Delhi: Bangladesh has created an uncomfortable diplomatic situation by formally demanding the extradition of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from India. India has admitted that it has received this request, but has currently refused to give any official statement. Regarding Hasina, who has been living in India since last August, India has never clarified whether it has officially given her asylum or not. Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has good relations with India. In such a situation, when public anger came against him/her in August, he/she turned to India.

Foreign Secretary’s visit was important

In his/her statement in Parliament, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar had said that Sheikh Hasina had asked for permission to come to India on very short notice. he/she had also said that it is for him/her to decide what is Haseena’s future programme. Now, the way the interim government of Bangladesh has demanded the return of Hasina by citing the extradition treaty, that too when India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had returned from Bangladesh just a few days ago. The Foreign Secretary spoke to the senior leadership of Bangladesh there and made it clear that the interests of the people of Bangladesh are paramount for the Government of India. In such a situation, India is ready to cooperate with the interim government of Bangladesh. In view of what happened in Bangladesh in August, Misri’s visit was the first high profile diplomatic visit from India, which was considered important in removing the discomfort in relations.

Silence on Dhaka’s demand

After Bangladesh’s recent move, many meanings are being inferred from India’s silence. International affairs expert Omair Anas says, ‘It seems that India is in favor of moving forward on this issue with great consideration and caution. The representatives of the interim government of Bangladesh know that after the arrival of the Trump administration, they will have to face more pressure on this issue from the Biden government. This is the reason why he/she put forward such a demand even before this. India will also try to follow the policy of remaining silent for the time being.

‘Compulsion of domestic politics’

Experts also say that even though Bangladesh is demanding the return of Hasina by referring to the extradition treaty, political extradition is not a part of it. Experts also say that sooner or later, whichever government comes to power in Bangladesh, it will expect the kind of cooperation from India that India has been giving to its neighboring countries. In such a situation, this demand for extradition seems to be more a compulsion of the immediate domestic politics there. Meanwhile, Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to Bangladesh interim government chief Mohammad Yunus, said it is the government’s priority to bring back Sheikh Hasina from India. The government is working to bring back Sheikh Hasina as soon as possible under the law of Bangladesh.

How big is the threat from fundamentalist forces?

Despite India’s continuous efforts to ease relations, representatives of the interim government of Bangladesh make such statements which are irritating. At present, people’s anger against Sheikh Hasina is being taken advantage of by political forces in the political landscape there. India hopes that like in Maldives, there will be a change in the sentiment currently being seen regarding India. However, a challenge in this path is also the fundamentalist forces, which if they rise once again, can threaten the peace of the entire region.