Bangladesh Unrest: India Pressured US To ‘Go Easy’ On Sheikh Hasina Before Ouster, Says Report

About a year before Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and flee Bangladesh, India had asked the United States (US) to stop pressuring the ‘ironfisted ‘former Prime Minister, The Washington Post reported, citing Indian and US officials. The 76-year-old Hasina was publicly criticised by US diplomats for imprisoning thousands of rivals and critics ahead of the 12th national parliament election which was held on January 7.

As per the report, Indian officials began to lobby their US counterparts to ease pressure on Hasina a year ago.

The US administration had sanctioned a Bangladeshi police unit, which, under the Awami League leader’s command, was accused of carrying out extrajudicial abductions and killings and also threatening to impose visa limitations on Bangladeshis who undermined democracy or committed human rights abuses.

The report said that Indian officials, in a series of meetings, urged their US counterparts to soften their pro-democracy stance. They reportedly argued that if the opposition were allowed to win an open election, Bangladesh could become a breeding ground for Islamist groups threatening India’s security.

“You approach it at the level of democracy, but for us, the issues are much, much more serious and existential,” The Washington Post quoted an Indian government adviser as saying.

“There were a lot of conversations with the Americans where we said: ‘This is a core concern for us, and you can’t take us as a strategic partner unless we have some kind of strategic consensus,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

Following the talks, the report said President Joe Biden-led administration softened its criticism of the Haisna government and shelved threats of further sanctions against her regime. The move reportedly disappointed several Bangladeshis.

However, as per the report, US officials claimed it was a calculated move that had little to do with Indian pressure. 

But now, after protesters defied the army’s curfew orders and ousted the former premier from Bangladesh, policymakers in both New Delhi and Washington are forced to confront whether they mishandled Bangladesh.

“There is always a balancing act in Bangladesh, as there is in many places where the situation on the ground is complicated and you want to work with the partners you have in a way that is not inconsistent with what the American people expect,” the report quoted a US official as saying.

In the months leading up to the January election, divisions emerged within the US government over how to handle Bangladesh. As per the report, some in the US State Department, including then-Ambassador Peter Haas and other embassy officials, argued for a tougher stance against Hasina, particularly since President Joe Biden had campaigned on a foreign policy plank of restoring democracy, people familiar with the matter said. 

Over 230 people died in Bangladesh in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina government on August 5, taking the death toll to 560 during the three weeks of violence.

Following Hasina’s resignation, a caretaker government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was formed in the country, promising to address administrative and political reforms and hold accountable those involved in the violence.