Upon Indian independence from Britain colonial rule in 1947, the land was split as East Pakistan, India and West Pakistan. With Bengali mainly spoken in the East, this land later became known as Bangladesh. With the 50th anniversary of Bangladeshi independence, Indian Prime Minister Modi, visited Bangladesh for a two-day trip in order to commemorate the anniversary but his arrival was not unanimously welcomed. His trip includes commemorations of the birth of independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Modi’s visit, cloaked by Bangladeshi celebrations, has a significant political agenda for his own interests as well. Starting Saturday, voting begins in several state elections. Specifically in West Bengal, which borders Bangladesh. Modi’s Hindu-Nationalist party has increased religious polarization in India and discriminated against Muslims. Considering Bangladesh’s Muslim majority population, Modi’s trip can be seen as a political move to appeal to this majority.
As chief minister in Gujarat in 2002, Modi was publicly deemed responsible for the Hindu-Muslim riots that left more than 1,000 people dead. While he denied any role in this bloodshed, his party’s rhetoric against Muslim minorities makes this difficult for citizens to believe.
Protestors in Bangladesh who are opposed to Modi’s visit criticized Hasina for inviting Modi, citing the controversial 2019 amendment to the citizenship law as a coherent example of his discrimination. The law used to prohibit legal migrants from becoming Indian citizens. It defines illegal immigrants and adds a provision that states a person must have lived in India or worked for the federal government for at least 11 years before they can apply for citizenship. There is an exception for six religious minorities including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsi and Christians. For any one of these minorities who are from Pakistan, Afghanistan or Bangladesh, they only have to live/work in India for six years to become a naturalized citizen.
The amendment is inherently exclusionary and violates the Indian constitution within itself. The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and ensures that faith can not be made a condition of citizenship. By dividing migrants into Muslims and non-Muslims, the bill is simply reinforcing the ideologies of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The anniversary of Bangladeshi independence sets an incredibly unique stage for Modi and other South Asian politicians to forward their political agenda. In the case of Modi, this is his first visit after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; this simply furthers his attempts to show how vital Indian-Bangladesh relations are.
ABC News, ABC News Network, abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/india-pm-modi-visits-bangladesh-mark-independence-day-76698603.
“Citizenship Amendment Bill: India's New 'Anti-Muslim' Law Explained.” BBC News, BBC, 11 Dec. 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50670393.
ALAM, JULHAS. “Born in War, Bangladesh Marks 50 Years of Independence.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 24 Mar. 2021, apnews.com/article/business-dhaka-pakistan-bangladesh-india-f47a1530289745df7ed1b99516d93a98.
1 comment:
It'll certainly be interesting to follow this election; I'd imagine that, Indian Prime Minister, Modi's consistent discrimination against Muslims will, at least to some extent, damage his electoral campaign. As I'm not particularly knowledgeable regarding the political nuances of this region, I'm also curious as to whether Modi's political aspirations might have been better served with an earlier visit to Bangladesh. The COVID-19 pandemic may have made travel difficult, but I wonder if Modi has vocalized concern for Bangladesh throughout this crisis. Perhaps he might have been better received by the country if he had not only treated the Muslim majority with respect, but also had provided them with support throughout the pandemic. It's rather transparent that this visit was politically-motivated, which may hurt his weakened popularity even more.
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