The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: With former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina now completing 24 hours in India, her stay is likely to be extended, as the UK rules do not allow her to apply for asylum without being physically present there.
After more than 15 years in power, Hasina resigned and departed from Dhaka on Monday, accompanied by her sister, Sheikh Rehana, on a Bangladesh military helicopter to cross the border. It was the culmination of weeks of agitation led by university students which was aggravated by violent crackdown and clashes, which left hundreds dead.
From the India-Bangladesh border, she transferred to a military aircraft and arrived at the Indian Air Force base at Hindon, Ghaziabad, which is located near the Indian capital, on Monday evening.
As per reports, she had sought asylum to the United Kingdom. Her sister is a UK citizen.
However, British sources stated that while it would be legally impossible to give clearance for asylum to Hasina while she was outside the UK, they suggested that applying from India would be her best bet.
The UK immigration rules have no provision for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge, they said.
According to a 2022 UK House of Lords Library research paper, a person seeking asylum who does not have visa-free travel could enter the UK “either irregularly, such as by a small boat; by using false documents; or on a visa for some other purpose, such as tourism or study.”
Further, Hasina was advised to find shelter in India for now. “Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety,” said UK sources.
There is no clarity on whether Hasina has sought to stay longer in India or applied for asylum here.
It will not be the first time that the two sisters will be in the political wilderness in India. When Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family were murdered by Army soldiers in 1975, the sisters survived because they had left the country for Germany a few weeks earlier.
She was offered political asylum in India by prime minister Indira Gandhi and stayed in Delhi for six years until 1981.
India’s external affairs Minister S. Jaishankar made a statement in parliament on Tuesday about the situation in Bangladesh, which mentioned Sheikh Hasina’s arrival in Delhi.
“Our understanding is that after a meeting with leaders of the security establishment, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina apparently made the decision to resign. At very short notice, she requested approval to come for the moment to India. We simultaneously received a request for flight clearance from Bangladesh authorities. She arrived yesterday evening in Delhi,” he said.
However, the foreign minister made no mention of her status or length of stay in India, though he did indicate that the initial request by Hasina was “for the moment” only.
But, Jaishankar was apparently more expansive at a closed-door briefing for all political parties.
PTI, citing sources, reported that the minister said Hasina was in a “state of shock” and India was “giving her time to recover before it speaks to her over various issues.”
India has apparently assured her help and is “giving her time to recover before it speaks to her over various issues.”