Harsh Vardhan Shringla, former Indian foreign secretary who was high commissioner to Bangladesh from 2016 to 2019, speaks to Vivek Chhetri on the developments in the neighbouring country.

Q: How do you look at the quota protest in Bangladesh and the dramatic turn of events on Monday?

Shringla: The quota was the symbolic face of the protest but I believe that many underlying factors gave traction to this protest. The Covid-19 pandemic hit the country’s economy hard and the Ukraine war aggravated the situation. The cost of essentials saw a steady rise. Food, fertilisers, pesticides became more expensive. Foreign exchange took a beating and unemployment increased, giving rise to the current situation.

It is also true that radical elements have taken up the agitation (from a student’s movement).

Q: Why do you think Sheikh Hasina, who was seen as a strong leader, resigned?

Shringla: I think this was the only option left to avoid an increase in violence, instability, (and) to save the lives of students and also those of the minorities. I think resigning and leaving the country to make way for an interim government was the only option to control the situation in the country.

Q: What are India’s main concerns, as Hasina’s government was considered friendly towards India, unlike the previous government under the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)?

Shringla: From India’s perspective, stability in Bangladesh is the main concern in whichever way it can be achieved. Its is in the interest of all concerned.

Q: How do you see events
unfolding in Bangladesh now?

Shringla: It is the army chief who is in control at the moment, and there is talk of the army forming an interim government.

I sense that he (the Bangladesh army chief) might opt for a neutral and apolitical interim government that would work to settle things in the country.

Q: During Hasina’s regime, India signed key pacts with Bangladesh on matters including rail connectivity, boosting trade, and having a ‘green partnership’. There is also the lingering issue of sharing the Teesta’s waters, a subject in which China is also showing keen interest. Do you think these issues will take a beating with Hasina’s ouster?

Shringla: It could. It will have to be seen. It is too early to comment at the moment on where things will head.

Cultural centre

An unruly mob on Monday damaged the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre and the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum located in the Dhanmondi area in the Bangladesh capital, eyewitnesses said, adds PTI.