DHAKA: Bangladesh’s interim government expressed shock on Monday at a politician in India’s call to deploy UN peacekeeping forces in the country to protect Hindus and other minorities from violent attacks.

The Muslim-majority nation saw a student-led uprising in August that ousted autocratic premier Sheikh Hasina after 15 years of iron-fisted rule.

In the chaotic hours after her toppling, reprisals against perceived supporters of her regime saw several attacks on the country’s minority Hindu community, leaders of which say they fear further violence.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of India’s West Bengal state — which shares close cultural and linguistic ties with Bangladesh — urged New Delhi on Monday to petition the UN to address their concerns. “They can send the peacekeeping force to Bangladesh and rescue our people,” Banerjee said.

Bangladesh’s de facto foreign minister Touhid Hossain expressed dismay over what amounted to one of the biggest censures of his country’s leadership by India since Hasina’s ouster.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2024