New Delhi, Dec 18 :
The ripples of the Citizenship Amendment Act can be felt in the neighbourhood. Bangladesh pulled out of a meeting on sharing of river data at the last minute on Tuesday. This is the second time Bangladesh has cancelled its engagements with India in a week. Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan had cancelled their scheduled visits to India in the wake of violence in Assam post the passing of the CAA. The Sheikh Hasina government has maintained that CAA is India’s internal matter, but it is no secret that the National Register of Citizen (NRC) has caused a strain on the relationship. When Hasina came to India in October, she brought up her concerns to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but she was told that it was an internal matter of the country. This was not the first time Hasina chose to voice her concern. At the sidelines of the General Assembly at the UN, Hasina is learnt to have told Modi that she was greatly concerned. Modi assured her that she had nothing to worry about as the two countries had the best of their relationship. In a press conference held later, the Bangladesh foreign secretary Shahidul Haque said, “Our relationship is best of the best at present. But at the same time we are keeping our eyes open (on the issue).” The warmth, however, may not be able to survive the winter of discontentment of the CAA. Especially with the Assam protests being specifically targeted against Bangladeshi immigrants. Last week, a security vehicle of Bangladesh Assistant High Commissioner Shah Mohammad Tanvir Mansur was attacked in Guhawati. The Bangladesh foreign ministry summoned Indian High Commissioner Riva Ganguly to lodge a protest. The CAA Bill and its pitch—especially Home Minister Amit Shah’s in the Lok Sabha—suggesting that minorities were being tortured in Bangladesh has certainly added to tension. Speaking to reporters, foreign minister Momen refuted the allegation saying: “It’s not true that torture on minority is taking place in Bangladesh.” He said: “Whoever gave them the information, it is not correct.” Going further, Momen spoke his mind. “India is historically a tolerant country which believes in secularism … their historic position will be weakened if they deviated from that,” he said.
Bangladesh is not the only country watching the developments with trepidation. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Global Forum on Refugees in Geneva, made it clear that his country will not accept any refugees. “We are worried there could be a refugee crisis; we are worried it could lead to a conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries,” he said. While Khan’s comments can be dismissed as the usual Indo-Pak rhetoric, it does not take away the anxiety that is being felt in India’s immediate neighbourhood. Nepal, with its porous border with India, is watching the situation with great concern. And for the Afghans, the passing of the CAA has constituted as a great betrayal. Especially because India has always been a safe haven.
Beyond just the immediate neighbourhood, the voices of concerns have been growing louder. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed his concern and called for restraint. We urge full respect for the rights of freedom of opinion and expression and peaceful assembly,” he said while answering a question about the protests at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi.
