The Indian government has laid out infrastructure development policies in the northeastern state to increase connections with Bangladesh, but political and religious tensions could complicate the situation at this time. Despite calls for diplomacy from Delhi and Dhaka, hotels and hospitals in Tripura have said they will no longer welcome Bangladeshi citizens.
Agartala () – Tensions between India and Bangladesh continue to rise along all the borders between the two countries, to the west, where Bangladesh borders West Bengal, and to the east, on the border with the Indian state of Tripura, which is located in the northeastern region of India, geographically connected to the rest of the Indian subcontinent by a 22 kilometer corridor.
Relations began to deteriorate when former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, forced to resign by massive anti-government protests, fled to India, which had supported her authoritarian administration for the past 15 years. Recently a group of protesters stormed the Bangladesh consulate in Agartala, the capital of Tripura. In response – the protesters said – to the arrest in Bangladesh of the Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das, who at the end of November had organized a demonstration to call for the protection of religious minorities. Bangladesh, unlike India, is a Muslim-majority country, and Hindus are considered supporters of the former prime minister and her party, the Awami League.
Delhi has distanced itself since the consulate attack, with local police arresting seven people and suspending three officers for negligence after the unrest. Those responsible had stated that they were part of an association called “Hindu Sangharsh Samiti” (Hindu Action Committee), but according to The Indian Expressis not a registered organization. This is a slogan that several activists have joined, including some belonging to the Indian far right.
Despite diplomatic statements by the two governments, tensions between Delhi and Dhaka continued. When images were released of some students in Dhaka trampling on the Indian flag, the Tripura Restaurant and Hoteliers Association announced that it would suspend services for citizens from Bangladesh. He then changed his mind and said he would welcome those who came to India for medical treatment. However, similarly, ILS Hospital, a private hospital in Agartala, had said it would not treat Bangladeshi patients. Yesterday the Bangladeshi consuls in Calcutta, West Bengal and Agartala were recalled to their country for “consultations”.
The recent events between the two countries contrast with the history that has characterized the region, where it is said that, if “Bangladesh is surrounded by India, Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh.” During Bangladesh’s war of independence from Pakistan in 1971, Tripura welcomed refugees fleeing violence and was the headquarters of the army fighting for liberation. Northeast India is also characterized by economic underdevelopment due to lack of connectivity and infrastructure, and has been the scene of ethnic insurgencies.
Things began to change at the beginning of the 20th century, when Delhi launched the Vision for the Northeast. The Narendra Modi government has long worked with former Prime Minister Hasina to increase connectivity in the region. In 2021, the Maitri Setu, a bridge that connects Sabroom, in Tripura, with Chittagong, the most important port city in Bangladesh, and the railway line from Agartala to Akhaura, in Bangladesh, was inaugurated. The previous year, several trade routes were opened along the rivers and a special economic zone was created for the development of four sectors (agri-food, rubber, bamboo and textiles). Bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh stood at around $14 billion in fiscal year 2023-24.
The current Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, has reiterated from the beginning that reports of attacks on religious minorities are exaggerated, and in his statements he has expressed the hope that relations between the two neighbors can be restored despite the political and religious tensions of recent months.
Several analysts believe that it is now the responsibility of the Indian government to try to tone it down: “It is essential that the Indian government sends a clear message that it is prepared and willing to change its policy and work with the current government and people of Bangladesh ”, commented Professor Ali Riazprofessor at Illinois State University. “Furthermore, it is important for the Government of India to ensure that its territory is not used by Hasina or anyone else to create instability and violence within Bangladesh.”
However, the State of Tripura, like the central government in Delhi, is run by the ultra-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In 2018 the BJP, which until 2013 did not even have a deputy in the local Legislative Assembly, obtained an overwhelming majority, and in 2023 it managed to remain in power thanks to an alliance with a local party, the Tipra Motha Party, which until A few years ago he called for the creation of a separate State for the indigenous Tripura ethnic group, the majority group. In August this year, the BJP won more than 97% of the votes panchayats (the lowest administrative level in rural areas), but the opposition had complained that he was unable to present candidates due to intimidation from the ruling party.
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