The Indian Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs has been advised by two non-official witnesses that New Delhi faces its “greatest strategic challenge in Bangladesh” since the 1971 Liberation War.
The Parliamentary Committee is headed by senior Congress parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor and comprises of MPs from major political parties, including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“The challenge in 1971 was existential, a humanitarian crisis, and a birth of a new nation. Today, the threat is subtler but probably graver, more serious; a generational discontinuity, a shifting of political order, and a potential strategic realignment away from India,” the witnesses told the MPs, according to the report tabled in Indian Parliament on Thursday.
Further, on the question of granting political refuge to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told the Committee that the Indian government didn’t “promote the practice of politics from our territory aimed against a third country.”
While the all-MP committee noted that the developments in the wake of August 2024 have been a cause of concern, they backed the Indian government’s policy of “non-interference” in the internal political processes of Bangladesh.
“The committee notes that the Government of India has adopted a calibrated policy of non-interference in Bangladesh’s internal political processes, while maintaining constructive engagement with the Interim Government and other democratic stakeholders,” the report said.