Link to Article: https://apnews.com/article/bangladesh-sheikh-hasina-muhamamd-yunus-sheikh-mujibur-rahman-c1169a5adea83bfaf63e0283973a1e53
Since Bangladesh ousted their previous Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, the country has been managed by an interim government that is currently struggling to keep protests and vandalism under control. During a scheduled virtual speech from the ex Prime Minister, protestors destroyed Rahman’s house, a site important to Bangladesh’s history but also a site associated with Hasina. The interim government has stated they will take action to get these destructive protests under control. India, a country Bangladesh is developing progressively negative relations with, has also condemned the attacks and criticized the Bangladesh government for demanding that India prevent Hasina from provoking further protests, rather than addressing the internal governance issues that led to the event.
The implications of this are twofold; continued unrest and protest in Bangladesh may make the transition back to democracy difficult, threatening the stability of the country, and the statements issued by Bangladesh officials may continue to worsen relations between Bangladesh and India. The ousted Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, fled to India several months ago and has been housed there ever since. Bangladesh has demanded that India return her to Bangladesh so they can prosecute her for her crimes as Prime Minister, but India has refused to do so. Coupled with the pre-existing perceptions of India as anti-Muslim and anti-Bangladeshi, positive relations between the two are quickly deteriorating.
Obviously it is in Bangladesh’s interest to manage unrest in their country. It’s also in their interest to deflect blame from themselves when something goes wrong — if they can target the people’s anger away from the government and towards a common enemy, unity becomes that much easier. However, this strategy puts them at risk of losing positive relations with one of their biggest allies. Although, seeing as “good relations” is not the same thing as “good friends,” it’s more than possible that the two countries can simply continue working together despite the animosity between their people. Truly, it doesn’t seem all that likely that Bangladesh and India would completely break ties, though it’s difficult to say what the reaction will be if India continues to house Hasina after already having supported her for 15 years.
It all comes back to a country’s national interest. Regardless of how long India and Bangladesh have been allies, as soon as their positive relationship is no longer beneficial, they are no longer allies. In the same way, as long as the relationship is strategically beneficial, they will likely stay allies regardless of cultural differences.