Jaishankar says India was aware of anti-Hasina wave but could not intervene: The Hindu

India was aware of an anti-Sheikh Hasina wave building up in Bangladesh ahead of the violent overthrow of the former Prime Minister’s government on August 5 last year, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed the Consultative Committee on External Affairs on Saturday (March 22), The Hindu reports.

However, India was not in a position to do much as it lacked the necessary leverage over Hasina who could only be “advised”, he told Members of Parliament.

According to the report, The Hindu learnt that Jaishankar indicated that India — like a few other leading stakeholders — had been aware of the tumultuous situation inside Bangladesh. In this regard, he mentioned the UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk’s recent remarks about the UN warning the Bangladesh army against a confrontation with unarmed protesters during the anti-Hasina protests, that such a move would prompt the UN to ban the army from peacekeeping operations.

The Consultative Committee on External Affairs members met Jaishankar for a frank discussion on India’s foreign policy where the circumstances in the neighbourhood — especially in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Pakistan — dominated.

India-Bangladesh ties

While the interim government in Bangladesh has initiated dialogue with India, the Delhi-Dhaka relationship has been fraught with tension in view of India providing asylum to Hasina.

India has engaged with the interim government by sending Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in December 2024, but the Ministry of External Affairs is tight-lipped on a possible formal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus in Bangkok on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit on April 2-4.

Professor Yunus, who has hosted a series of international dignitaries, is on track to visit China next, where the two countries are expected to sign multiple agreements, including ones on aviation links that will increase connectivity between Chattogram and Dhaka and Chinese destinations.

Jaishankar highlighted the role of “external actors” in Bangladesh, and mentioned that China was “not an adversary but a competitor".

At the meeting, he also discussed the future of SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation), which has not met since November 2014.