A day after former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India, Foreign Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed Parliament on Tuesday that the government was in touch with authorities in Dhaka and monitoring the situation regarding minorities in that country. Making a statement in the Rajya Sabha, Jaishankar said Hasina sought approval to come to India at a short notice, and arrived in Delhi on Monday evening. He said deep divides had existed in Bangladesh since the Parliamentary elections in January this year, after which a student agitation began in June. “On August 5, demonstrators converged in Dhaka despite the curfew. Our understanding is that after a meeting with leaders of the security establishment, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina apparently made the decision to resign. At very short notice, she requested approval to come for the moment to India. We simultaneously received a request for flight clearance from Bangladesh authorities. She arrived yesterday evening in Delhi,” Jaishankar said. He said events took a serious turn on Sunday, when there were attacks on the police and government installations. “Properties of individuals associated with the regime were torched across the country. What was particularly worrying was that minorities, their businesses and temples also came under attack at multiple locations. The full extent of this is still not clear,” he said. He added that there were 19,000 Indians in Bangladesh, of which 9,000 were students, and the government was in touch with the Indian community through diplomatic missions. “The bulk of the students have already returned to India in the month of July on the advice of the High Commission. In terms of our diplomatic presence, in addition to the High Commission in Dhaka, we have Assistant High Commissions in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet. It is our expectation that the host government will provide the required security protection for these establishments. We look forward to their normal functioning once the situation stabilises,” he said. Expressing concern over the condition of minorities, he said the government was monitoring the situation. “There are reports of initiatives by various groups and organisations to ensure their (minorities’) protection and well being. We welcome that, but will naturally remain deeply concerned till law and order is visibly restored. Our border guarding forces have also been instructed to be exceptionally alert in view of this complex situation,” he said. Earlier in the day, Jaishankar had briefed an all-party meeting of leaders at Parliament about the situation in Bangladesh. In the Rajya Sabha, he said the concern about the violence in Bangladesh was shared across political parties.
