Hindus our citizens, we are taking care of them: B’desh

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raised the issue of the safety of minorities, particularly the Hindu community in Bangladesh, during a meeting with Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Mohd Touhid Hossain. The meeting took place on Monday on the sidelines of the UN’s ‘Summit of the Future’ in New York.

In response to concerns about attacks on minorities, Hossain told news agency ANI, “Hindus are our citizens, and we are taking care of them.” He emphasised that the Bangladesh government is doing everything possible to ensure the protection of all its citizens, including Hindus.

Talks over water-sharing soon

• Bangladesh will soon take steps to hold negotiations with India over the sharing of water of transboundary rivers, an adviser of the interim government said on Wednesday
• India and Bangladesh were set to sign a deal on Teesta water-sharing during then-PM Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka in 2011, but West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee declined to endorse it
• Speaking at a seminar, Water Resources Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan said Bangladesh would soon take steps to hold negotiations with India over the sharing of water from transboundary rivers, a state-run news agency reported

Hossain also questioned the portrayal of violence in Bangladesh by the Indian media, stating, “Any violence that has taken place is being shown as violence against Hindus, which is not correct. I think the Indian media needs to stop hyping up this issue.”

Following his meeting with Hossain, Jaishankar posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Had a meeting with Foreign Affairs Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain of Bangladesh in New York this evening. The conversation focused on our bilateral ties.”

This was the first in-person interaction at the level of the External Affairs Minister since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh on August 5 amid widespread protests. An interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, was installed on August 8.

Since Hasina’s departure — she arrived in India aboard a special plane — there have been several reports of violence and unrest in Bangladesh, particularly targeting minorities, including the Hindu community.

The situation in Bangladesh was also discussed during a bilateral meeting between PM Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in Wilmington, Delaware, on September 21. At a press briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed that Bangladesh was a point of discussion, and there was an exchange of views regarding the ongoing situation there.