Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus salutes to the attendees upon arrival at the Bangabhaban to take oath as the head of the interim government, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, August 8, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A notification issued by the Bangladesh President’s office last week has triggered concerns about “racial profiling” of the minority Hindu community in the neighbouring country.

The notification from the President’s Personnel department, issued on August 29, had sought the personal details of senior Hindu officials in the government, ostensibly to make an invitation list for an event at Bangabhaban, the office and residence of the President of Bangladesh Mohammed Shahabuddin. Vijaya Dashami and Sri Krishna Janmashtami are both in Bangladesh’s list of national holidays.

However, the claim that the list of Hindu officers is being compiled for festival purposes only is “a bit hard to buy”, according to Suhas Chakma, director of the Delhi-based Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), given the backdrop of reported incidents of violence against minority groups in Bangladesh in the wake of last month’s ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government.

‘Racial profiling’

“Seeking the list of only Hindu officers by the President of Bangladesh is nothing but an act of racial profiling of the Hindus by the Government of Bangladesh for the purpose of specific targeting of minorities based on their religious belief,” said Mr. Chakma, indicating that the notice has to be seen within the context of several Hindu officials and academics being forced to resign by agitating students and protesters over the last few weeks.

Mr. Chakma, who has been vocal about the condition of religious and ethnic minorities in Bangladesh, Myanmar and India’s northeastern States, added that there is “genuine fear” that senior officers will be targeted and “silenced”. He pointed out that, subsequent to the notification from the President’s office, other Bangladeshi Ministries have also issued similar notices, citing the festival season. He shared a similar notification issued by the Bangladesh Ministry of Textiles and Jute with The Hindu.

“This violates the UN human rights laws relating to racial discrimination and the rights of the minorities and is a fit case for the UN Rapporteurs to intervene,” Mr. Chakma said.

New Delhi:

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina quit this week and fled the country after violent protests demanding her resignation.

Ms Hasina, who started her fifth term as Prime Minister earlier this year, left the capital Dhaka in a military aircraft and landed in India.

Her shocking exit has now impacted the trade between India and Bangladesh, which had grown during her tenure.

Movement of trucks carrying goods between India and Bangladesh at the Changrabandha border check post in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district has almost come to a standstill.

“We estimate that about $300 million worth of export trade has been affected due to the political crisis in Bangladesh. We export about $30 million to Bangladesh every day,” Ajay Sahai, the Director-General of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) said.

Bangladesh, notably, is India’s biggest partner in the subcontinent, while Delhi is Dhaka’s second biggest partner in Asia after China.

Bangladesh is also the fourth largest export destination for India.

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“Export has come to a standstill. Many trucks are stuck and even the movement of people with visas has minimised now,” Dhiraj Guha, an Indian exporter, said.

“Indian import is happening but export is completely stalled and many of our trucks are stuck,” another businessman said.

The political crisis in Bangladesh may also stall a potential free trade agreement between the two countries, which began in October last year.

Local Businesses “Hit Hard” Due To Bangladesh Crisis

Local businesses in the Indian states along the border have also taken a hit due to the crisis in Bangladesh.

Shopkeepers, transporters, and money changers are reporting over 80 percent decline in their businesses.

“The movement of people across the border is decreasing with every passing day. We have been sitting the whole day and are not getting any passengers to ferry to the nearest station,” Sanjay Das, an auto rickshaw driver at the international border check post in Petrapole in the Bagaon district of West Bengal, said.

“Our business has been hit hard,” he added.

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The business has also slumped at the Akhurah-Agartala border check post in Tripura, a major India-Bangladesh border trade point.

“Earlier, we used to receive 15 trucks of fish imports daily. Other items would range from about 35 trucks. But today, only one truck of fish and two trucks of other items have entered. There is almost no trade happening and it is hurting us financially,” Titan Das, a good handler, said.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, however, said he doubts that this will “stay for long”.