New Delhi: India on March 5 alleged at a United Nations Human Rights Council session in Geneva that a UN fact-finding report on Bangladesh had “mainstreamed” the concept of “revenge violence against minorities,” even as external affairs minister S. Jaishankar discussed the South Asian neighbour with his UK counterpart in the Kent countryside.
At an interactive session on transitional justice during the ongoing UN Human Rights Council meeting, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk referred to last month’s fact-finding report on violence in Bangladesh during the student protests and after Sheikh Hasina’s removal from power, calling it “an important measure for accountability” and expressing hope that it would “contribute to reconciliation, healing, and reform.”
He noted that he had just come from a side event on the fact-finding report, which also had members of the interim government of Bangladesh.
“My Office is supporting the interim authorities in their efforts to lead a peaceful and inclusive process grounded in human rights,” he said.
The fact-finding mission, led by Türk, concluded that former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina and senior political leaders were directly involved in operations that led to serious human rights violations during last year’s student-led protests.
India had not previously reacted to the report’s findings. Even while stating its position on the session’s theme, the Indian representative did not engage with the allegations against Hasina, but strongly criticised the report’s references to violence against minorities.
‘Mobocracy’
“In this context, my delegation would also like to express our concern at the concept of ‘revenge violence against minorities’ being mainstreamed by certain reports of fact-finding,” said Anupama Singh, first secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, on March 5.
While she did not explicitly mention the title of the report, the phrasing of her remarks made it clear that she was referring to the one on Bangladesh.
“This idea is deeply troubling and flawed as it ascribes legitimacy to violence against minorities and also calls them out as the originators of actual violence,” she added.
She further claimed that “‘mobocracy,’ which thrives on the concept of the victor’s spoils, has not been adequately discussed.”
Emphasising that freedom of expression and opinion should not be applied selectively, Singh noted that reconciliation is a “long and arduous process” and “should not be conceived merely as a band-aid that can be applied to past harms.”
“Without a deeper change in the society, artificially imposed standards are unlikely to achieve any success. Reconciliation within any nation must be not only be home-grown but also home-nurtured,” she added.
It is noteworthy that ruling politicians in India – including prime minister Narendra Modi when he was Gujarat chief minister and Rajiv Gandhi when he was prime minister – have used the narrative of revenge to justify communal violence on minorities like Muslims and Sikhs.
Since the interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate Mohammed Yunus took charge, relations with New Delhi have been tense, with India repeatedly accusing Dhaka of turning a blind eye on attacks on minorities, particularly Hindus, following Hasina’s exit. The interim government has maintained that it has taken action but also argued that India has exaggerated the incidents.
‘Power vacuum’
The UN report stated that the political vacuum following Hasina’s ouster led to a “broad pattern of violence” against minorities. However, it noted that the motivations behind these incidents were varied, driven by “religious, ethnic and political biases.”
The OHCHR report acknowledged the difficulty of verifying the true extent of violence against these groups, noting that reports from advocacy organisations “often conflict to varying degrees with those of on-the-ground journalists.”
Despite these challenges, it stated that “the information provided by interlocutors” indicated “a broad pattern of violence against specific communities rooted in religious, ethnic and political biases,” with incidents often involving property destruction and the suppression of diverse identities.
The UN report also highlighted that “the power vacuum created by the unrest and overrunning of police stations led to increased vulnerabilities for distinct religious and indigenous groups, particularly Hindus, indigenous communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and Ahmadiyya Muslims.”
However, it emphasised that the motivation behind these attacks was not solely communal.
“Different and often intersecting motives drove these attacks, ranging from religious and ethnic discrimination to perceived opportunities for revenge against Awami League supporters among minorities, local communal disputes, including about land, and interpersonal issues,” the report said.
The OHCHR report further observed that “misinformation has clouded the understanding and context of several incidents,” underscoring the importance of relying on verified sources when reporting such events.
Jaishankar at Chevening House
Bangladesh was also one of the issues on the able when Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar met with his UK David Lammy at Chevening House in Kent on Wednesday.
“We exchanged views on regional and global issues including the Ukraine conflict, West Asia, Bangladesh and the Commonwealth. In an uncertain and volatile world, India-UK ties contribute to stability and prosperity,” posted Jaishankar on his official account on X.
We exchanged views on regional and global issues including the Ukraine conflict, West Asia, Bangladesh and the Commonwealth.
In an uncertain and volatile world, India-UK ties contribute to stability and prosperity.
🇮🇳 🇬🇧
(2/2) pic.twitter.com/WyHOyGvrex
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 5, 2025
Lammy’s post on X about the meeting focused on the bilateral aspect of the talks.
Following Hasina’s ouster and her flight to India, the UK foreign minister had called for a “full and independent UN-led investigation into the events of the past few weeks,” adding that the UK wanted to see “action taken to ensure Bangladesh a peaceful and democratic future.”
Hasina arrived at Hindon Air Base in Ghaziabad on August 5, 2024, just hours after resigning, as thousands of protesters stormed the Prime Minister’s official residence.
There had been speculation that Hasina intended to seek asylum in the UK, where her sister is a citizen. However, UK law had ruled out that possibility. She remains in India, despite the interim government in Dhaka seeking her return.
