NEW DELHI (AP) — Protests erupted in India’s capital on Tuesday over the lynching and burning to death of a Hindu man by an angry mob in neighboring Bangladesh, a new sign of tensions between the neighbors.
The protests in New Delhi, led largely by the Hindu nationalist group Vishva Hindu Parishad, highlighted the fragility of ties between India and Bangladesh, which are often seen as a rare example of stability in South Asia.
Bangladeshi student leader Sharif Osman Hadi, who was shot in Dhaka on December 12, died in a Singapore hospital on Thursday. Bangladeshi police said they had identified the suspect and that the gunman was likely to have fled to India.
Hadi’s death sparked widespread violence in Dhaka. The offices of two national dailies were set on fire and Indian diplomatic missions were targeted. A Hindu man was also burned alive, sparking protests in India on Tuesday.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered near the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday, chanting slogans and accusing Bangladeshi groups of wrongfully targeting minorities. They carried placards and banners that read “India will not tolerate torture of Bangladeshi Hindus” and “Our silence should not be mistaken for weakness, we are lions”.
Authorities erected roadblocks and implemented tight security around the diplomatic enclave, including police and armored vehicles. Security personnel used batons to stop some protesters who broke through barricades and apparently tried to enter the embassy.
One of the Indian protesters, Rajkumar Jindal, threatened “dire consequences” if Bangladeshi authorities failed to stop violence against Hindus.
“Those who commit atrocities should stop doing so. We are here to wake up sleeping people,” Jindal said.
Hadi took part in the 2024 political uprising that ended the 15-year rule of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Sheikh Hasina has been in exile since fleeing Bangladesh on August 5, 2024. He is a fierce critic of India and Hasina and plans to run as an independent candidate in a key constituency in Dhaka in the next national election in February.
Hadi’s death sparked a new diplomatic spat with India and prompted New Delhi to summon Bangladesh’s envoy this week.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry also summoned Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma to brief him on the security situation at Bangladesh missions in New Delhi and state capitals Kolkata and Agartala, a leading Bengali-language newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Tensions between India and Bangladesh have again increased with the death on Thursday of Dipu Chandra Das, a 25-year-old Hindu man who was lynched and burned in public on charges of blasphemy in Bhaluka subdivision of Mymensingh district.
Das’ killing heightened fears among Bangladesh’s Hindu community after Hasina’s ouster.
Religious minorities, including Hindus and Christians, have accused Bangladesh’s interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus of failing to protect the safety of Hindus and others. Yunus’ government has denied the accusations.
Sriram Sundar Cholia, an international affairs expert at the Jindal School of International Affairs in New Delhi, said Tuesday’s protests could complicate cooperation on trade, border management and regional connectivity at a time when the region faces economic uncertainty and political polarization.
“Opposing India and accusing India of conspiring to interfere in Bangladesh is an attempt to reinforce the country’s blatantly Islamist and non-inclusive path,” Cholia said.
Cholia said the breakdown was a setback for India’s broader regional strategy, and for Bangladesh, losing India’s development aid and markets could further dampen the country’s economic slowdown and further drive its dependence on China.
Bangladesh and India have maintained friendly relations since Hasina came to power in 2009 until she stepped down. Hasina is considered a friend by India and bilateral cooperation between the two countries has flourished. But Hasina’s opponents accuse her government of caving in to India, its main trade and investment partner.
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Alam reported from Dhaka.