According to the recent report by Human Rights Watch, what we have known for some time has all but been confirmed: The Indian government has forcibly expelled more than 1,500 Bengali-speaking Muslims -- which includes children and women -- into our country over just the past six weeks.
To say that this has been unacceptable behaviour from our neighbours would be an understatement, but it is also, simply, disappointing.
The complete disregard for due process and core legal protections, to remove these individuals without hearings, legal counsel, or recourse to appeal, is not the standard that the largest democracy in the world had set -- a nation that Bangladesh historically has looked up to as its closest ally.
Indeed, New Delhi’s claims that those deported were illegal migrants ring hollow due to its utter lack of transparent proceedings. If the harrowing accounts of some of these individuals is anything to go by, these deportations are nothing but push-ins at gunpoint.
Of course, the fact that most if not all of them are Bangla-speaking Muslims lays bare the deeply troubling pattern of discrimination towards Muslims that has become synonymous with India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which has long employed a most derogatory rhetoric toward Muslims -- particularly Bangla speakers.
We must also praise Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain who only recently reiterated the commitment to maintaining a constructive, mutually respectful relationship with New Delhi, even as we face the strain of needing to manage the arrival of these vulnerable individuals who had forcibly been uprooted without warning.
At such a moment, we commend our leadership for taking the high road and adhering to the principles of reciprocity and mutual respect, which stands in stark contrast to India’s heavy-handed approach.
India has long been a nation to admire, and remains an important ally for us, despite these challenging times. However, given its stature and history as a democracy, we expect better.
