During her 15-year autocratic rule, Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, never so openly exposed her pro-India identity as she did recently. Two associates of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made derogatory comments against the personal life of Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him), which obviously angered the Muslims community globally. There was obvious anger towards India.
The worldwide Muslim world, being overwhelmed with grief and anger, demanded the punishment of the two fanatic and communalist members of the India’s ruling BJP, Nupur Sharma and Jindal Kumar. However, Sheikh Hasina, neither followed the Muslim community nor condemned India.
Being the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina ignored the sentiment of the Muslims who make up 92 per cent of the total population of her country and played the role of a silent spectator. This publicly branded her as a trusted and subservient surrogate of India.
It was her sacred duty to take a strong stand condemning the Modi regime and, like the Arab countries, urge the people to boycott India in all sectors and expel Indian workers from Bangladesh. But she went in the opposite direction and isolated Bangladesh from the Muslim world, only to serve her own interests and that of her Indian masters.
All the leading Muslim countries, and apex body of the Muslim countries strongly condemned Nupur Sharma and Jindal Kumar, sought exemplary punishment of these fanatics and communal Hindus, urged to boycott Indian products and even threatened to expel Indian workers from their countries. Only the Bangladesh government remained mum and Hasina did it to please Modi and get his illegal support to continue her anti-people, illegal regime in the next election. She openly declared that she needs power.
If Hasina was a patriot, it was an opportune time to bring Bangladesh out of India’s hegemonic claws and get close to the wealthy Muslim countries around the world. But to prove herself as India’s genuine attendant, she did not care for the interest of Bangladesh or its people. Thus, Bangladesh lost another golden opportunity of becoming closer to the wealthier Muslim countries around the world and export more manpower to those countries to avail many other types of financial benefits.
Quoting Sheikh Hasina, social media reported that she warned her party, the Awami League activists not to organize any anti-India demonstrations against India’s crime. Her information Minister, Hasan Mahmud, has termed the row over the remarks against Prophet Mohammad as “internal issue”.
This is a false and baseless comment made by the Minister. Such childlike comments on the part of ministers unveil the reality that they do not represent the beliefs and sentiments of the Bangladeshi people, as they are not the people’s representatives. In flattering India, the Awami League has lost its senses.
The AL even shamelessly congratulated Modi by stating, “We congratulate the Indian government for taking legal action against those who commented on the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)”. It must be noted that none of the BJP officials in question were arrested, nor did they face any punitive actions.
Nupur Sharma was simply suspended, while Naveen Kumar Jindal was expelled. They were neither arrested nor tried, rather they are in their homes, enjoying care-free lives.
Suspension is not a not a punishment, rather it is cruel eyewash, a joke. Suspension or expulsion can be withdrawn anytime. The people in question need to face court trials and be declared unfit for public office.
Modi, instead of protecting Muslims, allowed the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister to arrest or kill Muslims and set fire to their homes and shops if they dared to protest against Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kuman Jindal.
Despite heavy pressure from home and abroad, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) condemned Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal. On June 7, 2022, Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, the Senior Joint Secretary General of the BNP issued a statement and severely condemned the remarks of Sharma and Jindal.
The statement stated that the derogatory remarks of two leaders of the BJP hurt the feelings of the Muslims around the world and aggrieved them. The issue, like all others, came to the attention of the BNP. The combative comments of Sharma and Jindal against the faith and religion of others are tantamount to extreme audacity. Their comments created crystal clear dissension in the society. This type of comment totally ignores the religious freedom of human beings, which is antagonistic to the fundamental and universal human rights. The BNP strongly condemned and protested such insulting remarks, the statement declared.
The BNP echoed the sentiments and feelings of Bangladeshi Muslims. It was the responsibility of the ruling AL to lodge strong protests with New Delhi. It could summon the Indian High Commissioner to the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry office and hand over a protest note highlighting the sentiment of the people of Bangladesh. But instead, the AL to continued its illegal regime and appeased Modi and remaining silent.
*The writer is a Bangladeshi-American journalist and researcher based in the US.
June 21, 2022
The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of Aequitas Review.
