Strong response reflected public mood, but India ties face setback
M Humayun Kabir, former diplomat, argues that India cannot entirely avoid responsibility for allowing Sheikh Hasina's remarks from its territory, noting that the episode reinforced negative public perceptions in Bangladesh
Sheikh Hasina is in India, and the way she communicates with others is ultimately subject to the control of the Indian authorities. Therefore, regardless of what the Indian government says, it cannot entirely avoid responsibility for allowing Bangladesh to be portrayed in a negative light. From that perspective, I believe the Indian government bears some responsibility.
The second issue is Bangladesh's response. I think it broadly reflected public sentiment. You cannot make derogatory statements about a country, show no sign of regret, and then behave as though nothing has happened. Many people viewed this as part of a broader attempt to undermine Bangladesh, and I think the public reacted negatively to that.
In that sense, the government captured the public mood and responded strongly. Those would be my observations.
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This incident has undermined the recent efforts to improve bilateral relations. Clearly, it was a missed opportunity. The possibility of improving relations still exists, but this episode has undoubtedly pushed the relationship into more difficult territory.
The negative portrayal of Bangladesh and the associated propaganda have not been helpful. While one may argue that this was not formally an action of the Indian government, the perception in Bangladesh is that the government was involved. That perception has generated strong public sentiment.
Consequently, the incident has not helped efforts to restore normal bilateral relations. On the contrary, it has made that process more difficult.
