“Verbal toxin from India”: Sheikh Hasina has much to complain about, writes veteran columnist
The diplomatic crisis India is facing following comments on Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by suspended leaders of BJP – Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal – is far from over, according to veteran columnist and journalist Subir Bhaumik.
Most Muslim nations, from Malaysia and Indonesia in the east to the Arab nations and Iran in the west, have furiously protested the incidents so far.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Some are also lodging formal protests with Indian envoys, or issuing strong statements, or both.
Bhaumik, a former BBC correspondent and author of five books on South Asian conflicts, in an opinion piece published in The Federal recently, wrote on Bangladesh refraining from formal protest over the offensive Prophet remarks.
"Only Bangladesh has not formally protested but even its education minister Dipu Moni some time back called on India to protect its minorities during a speech in Bengaluru," he wrote.
Bhaumik also wrote that inaction from Bangladesh government on the issue might feed the agenda of its opposition party BNP.
"From Amit Shah's 'termite' jibe at Bangladeshis to the current furor over the Prophet, Sheikh Hasina has much to complain about because such mindless verbal toxin emanating from India only energises her nation's Islamist Opposition, who are gunning for her," reads the opinion piece.
The actions by the Muslim nations on the "Nupur-Navin episode only points to a deeply interconnected world where every action will have immediate reactions," the writer noted.
India needs friendly relations with all these Muslim countries for several reasons, including the safety of its migrant workers who send remittances and the maintenance of energy security to connect to the isolated northeast to restrict China, Bhaumik added.
India cannot afford to let attacks on its own Muslims go unpunished if it has to urge Muslim countries for the establishment of cremation grounds for Hindu migrant workers, as Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu recently did during his visit to Qatar, he wrote.
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