Sheikh Hasina, the Bangladesh Prime Minister recently criticised the opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party for running ‘Boycott_India’ campaign, a campaign against the use of Indian products and services.
The opposition party BNP has accused and labeled Sheikh Hasina and her party Awami League Party as ‘pro-India’.
On Wednesday, Sheikh Hasina who is also known to have good relations with his Indian counterpart and their ministers stated that ‘if the BNP leaders have truly boycotted Indian products, they will burn their wives’ Indian sarees.’
She further stated that ‘They must answer if they can eat without Indian spices. I want to know if they have truly boycotted Indian products.’
The Reason Behind the ‘BoyCott_India’ Campaign
The BoyCott India campaign was launched not only for India’s reportedly interference in the internal politics of Bangladesh but also for variety of reasons.
One of the primary reason is the passing of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by the Indian government in 2019,the CAA was criticised by many people of Bangladesh as an instrument of discrimination against the Muslims and the minorities. It provides asylum to the illegal Non-Muslim immigrants from neighbouring countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanisthan, which raised concerns to the potentinal discrimination of the Muslims in India and the risk of migrating more Muslims from Bangladesh.
Second, the passing out of India’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state of Assam which is very near to the Indian-Bangldesh border Sutarkandi which is known for its famous International Trade Centre such as exports of silicon, fruits and coal.
But the thing Bangladesh people fears about the NRC act which aims to identify the illegal immigrants with no documents and can result into the expulsion of many Bangladeshi immigrants living in India.
The third and foremost issue is the geographical and historical tensions both India and Bangladesh face including BSF border issues in which many Bangladeshi civilians have been killed by the Indian Border Security Force as smugglers and illegal migrants and the Ganges water sharing dispute which is the main subject of conflict for over 35 years in which Bangladesh authorities often raised concerns about reduced water flow of the Padma river(which is Ganges when it enters Bangladesh) during the dry season, which impacts agriculture and livelihoods in the country.
The People Who Started the ‘India Out’ Campaign
The ‘BoyCottIndia’ campaign is influenced massively by the same people who started the ‘India Out’ campaign which was started after the January elections.
A group of Bangladeshi people and political campaigners started the ‘India Out’ campaign after the elections in January in where many stated that Modi’s government has been supporting Sheikh Hasina and her government to stay in power.
Pinaki Bhattacharya, an excommunicated Bangladeshi civilian living in Paris also supported the ‘India Out’ campaign and started by requesting his followers on social media to boycott Indian products and services and to raise voices against‘India’s relentless meddling in Bangladesh’s domestic affairs.’
#boycottindianproducts pic.twitter.com/gGA0bsguzJ
— Pinaki Bhattacharya (@PinakiTweetsBD) January 17, 2024
He further stated that ‘A striking example of such interference was the mockery of democracy seen in the January 7 elections, where India’s involvement was pivotal in upholding a regime that blatantly favours India’s strategic, political, and economic agendas.’
The campaign is received positively by many Bangladeshis in which some reports stated that many people decided to buy alternatives to Indian products in Bangladesh and foreign countries such as in some marketplaces in Dhaka, which are typically stocked with Indian clothes and products refused to accept new delivery.
The total sales of Indian products such as cooking oil, bathroom products, processed foods, cosmetics, and clothes decreased at a massive rate.
Indian Officials On The ‘BoyCottIndia’ Campaign
S Jaishankar, India’s External Minister stated that ‘There are two realities we must recognise. China is also a neighbouring country and in many ways will, as part of competitive politics, influence these countries [Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.’
While Shantanu Mukherjee, a Indian Police Service(IPS) officer and Bangladesh expert in New Delhi stated that ‘anti-India forces in Bangladesh but they are small in number. Those anti-Indians are a minority in Bangladesh. They don’t want the relations between Bangladesh and India to become sweeter.’
BNP Officials Replies Back To Sheikh Hasina
Responding to the Prime Minister comments, the senior joined secretary general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party(BNP) Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir stated that ‘the leaders of BNP usually do not buy Indian sarees. He said his maternal uncle gifted an Indian saree to his wife during their visit to India a long ago ago.’
While a twitter user by the name of Riaz Osmani stated that ‘the boycott of Indian products or ‘Boycott India’ campaign by some BNP supporters will create religious and nationalistic tensions between the peoples of Bangladesh and India. This is NOT desirable. Grievances against Indian govt’s meddling in our politics should be addressed differently.’
