Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is expected to raise with Dhaka India’s concerns over attacks on Hindus and other minorities as he embarks on a day-long visit to Bangladesh on Monday (December 9, 2024), in the first high-level trip from New Delhi after a massive uprising ended deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule in August.

Mr. Misri is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Md. Jashim Uddin and meet the country’s de-facto foreign minister Mohammad Touhid Hossain.

It is learnt that the Indian foreign secretary is also likely to call on Bangladesh’s interim leader and Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus during his nearly 12-hour visit to Dhaka.

On its part, Bangladesh is likely to convey its concerns over India continuing to provide shelter to Hasina. Last month, Mr. Yunus said his government will seek Hasina’s extradition from India, people familiar with Mr. Misri’s visit said.

The close ties between India and Bangladesh came under severe strain after Hasina was forced to leave the country in the face of a massive anti-government protest in August. Mr. Yunus came to power days after Hasina took shelter in India.

The relations deteriorated further in recent weeks over attacks on Hindus and the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das.

There have been spate of incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities as well as attacks on temples in the neighbouring country in the last few weeks that triggered strong concerns in New Delhi.

“Our position on the matter is very clear — the interim government must live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on November 29.

“We are concerned at the surge of extremist rhetoric, increasing incidents of violence and provocation. These developments cannot be dismissed only as media exaggeration. We once again call upon Bangladesh to take all steps for the protection of minorities,” he said.

India also hoped that the case relating to Bangladeshi monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, arrested on a charge of sedition, will be dealt with in a just, fair and transparent manner.

In the meetings, the Bangladeshi side is also likely to raise an incident of storming of its mission in Agartala on Monday (December 9, 2024) by a group of protesters.

Subsequently, Bangladesh Foreign Ministry on Tuesday (December 10, 2024) summoned the Indian envoy to Dhaka Pranay Verma and lodged a protest over the incident.

West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura witnessed protests in the last few days over the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh and the arrest of Mr. Das.

Mr. Das was arrested at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport last month in connection with a sedition case.

India on Friday (December 6, 2024) announced that Mr. Misri is travelling to Dhaka to attend a meeting under the framework of Foreign Office Consultations.

“The foreign secretary is scheduled to visit Bangladesh for Foreign Office Consultations on December 9. This is part of our structured interactions with the Bangladesh side,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in brief remarks.