India has increased its troop deployment along its border with Bangladesh following a political crisis that led to the fall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government.
Hasina fled to India on Monday and spent the night there, though her current location is not publicly known.
India has not yet officially commented on the situation, but the federal government has convened a meeting with opposition parties.
The border between India and Bangladesh stretches 4,096 kilometres (2,545 miles), and the two countries maintain strong economic and cultural connections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted a meeting on Monday to assess the situation. It is expected that Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar may address the Parliament about the issue on Tuesday.
There are concerns that ongoing instability in Bangladesh might affect India, which is perceived as having supported Hasina during her 15-year tenure, despite her actions against dissent and opposition leaders.
Five Indian states share a border with Bangladesh, which gained independence from Pakistan in 1971. Government data from last November indicated that approximately 915.35 kilometres of this border remains unfenced.
From a security standpoint, Hasina’s rule was relatively stable for India as she had targeted anti-India militants and granted transit rights for trade between Indian states and Bangladesh.
On Monday, senior officials from India’s Border Security Force (BSF) visited the border in West Bengal to assess “operational readiness and strategic positioning of the BSF in these critical areas,” according to a spokesperson.
The BSF has received strict orders from the government to ensure no one enters India without proper documentation.
Train services between India and Bangladesh have been suspended “indefinitely” after being halted since mid-July due to violent protests in Bangladesh.
India has advised its citizens in Bangladesh to exercise “extreme caution.”
In July, more than 4,500 Indians returned to India with the assistance of its diplomatic missions in Bangladesh.
Following Hasina’s resignation, the northeastern state of Meghalaya imposed a night curfew along its border with Bangladesh.
In West Bengal, which has the longest border with Bangladesh and strong cultural ties, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has called for calm.
The movement of goods through the Petrapole land port on the border has also been halted, leaving many Indian trucks stranded on the Bangladeshi side.
A senior diplomat told the BBC on Monday that India “doesn’t have many options at this moment.”
“We need to reinforce our border controls. Any other action could be seen as interference.”
NANCY MBAMALU
SOURCE: REUTERS
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