New Delhi: “The instability in our neighbourhood” is a “cause of concern for us”, chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan said on Thursday (August 8) as an interim government took charge in Bangladesh after weeks of violence overthrew Sheikh Hasina as prime minister.
General Chauhan, who was speaking at a conference on ammunition manufacturing, also referred to two “major security challenges” India faces vis-a-vis Pakistan and China.
“We have a proxy war raised by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir whose sudden escalation we are now seeing in the south of Pir-Panjal. And the prolonged border dispute with China is yet to abate,” the general said.
There has been a spate of attacks by militants in the Jammu region, with Jammu and Kashmir’s director general of police saying in June that up to 80 armed terrorists had entered India, while India and China’s militaries are yet to disengage at two points in eastern Ladakh.
The armed forces chief said that a “strong armed force backed by a strong defence-industrial sector” was a “sine qua non” for India.
Following a few days of political limbo, an interim government was sworn in in Bangladesh yesterday with economist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus at its helm.
Prior to that, Bangladesh was gripped by weeks of protests – initially against a contentious quota system but later against Sheikh Hasina’s rule – that saw around 300 people being killed and ultimately led to the end of Hasina’s 15-year term as premier.
There has been violence after Hasina’s ouster, including against Bangladesh’s Hindu community, with Hindu homes, businesses and temples reportedly damaged or vandalised.
The Hindu cited Indian Border Security Force officials as saying that some Bangladeshi people had tried to cross over into India in the last few days, but that they were stopping Bangladeshis if they did not possess valid entry documents “irrespective of [their] religion”.
The newspaper also reported that there are concerns around the future of Indo-Bangladeshi military co-operation, which was strong during Hasina’s term as PM, in light of Bangladesh’s regime change.
“There is a real question mark on the defence industrial cooperation with the way situation has unfolded there and the strong anti-India sentiment that is spreading,” The Hindu quoted an unnamed senior official as saying.
The official was referring to a heightening of antipathy towards India, with whom the Hasina government enjoyed strong ties and where she is currently lodged after fleeing Bangladesh.
