After Maldives, ‘India Out’ slogan in Bangladesh too: Will Bangladesh be able to follow in the footsteps of Maldives? 

Prime Minister Hasina Wajid didn’t just say that. Still, while addressing a rally of her party, Awami League, she further said that the ‘hot spices, onions, garlic and other items coming from India are also from the opposition (BNP) should not be seen in the houses of the leaders. 

He said that when the opposition party ‘BNP’ was in power, his government ministers and their wives used to buy sarees during their visits to India and sell them in Bangladesh.

 According to the Bangladesh newspaper ‘Daily Star’, Sheikh Hasina’s ‘sarcastic’ remarks came after opposition leader Roohul Kabir Rizvi threw his Kashmiri shawl on the road as a symbolic protest against Indian products.

Every neighbor is angry with India:

On the other hand, Jawahar Sarkar, a member of parliament of the ruling Trinamool Congress in the Indian state of West Bengal, has expressed concern over the situation in Bangladesh. 

Commenting on the ongoing campaign in Bangladesh, he wrote on social media platform X: ‘Every neighbor is angry with India. Pakistan promotes terrorism, pro-China Nepal hates India hooliganism, Lanka has problems (with India) because of Tamils ​​and Basism, Maldives kicked us out, Bhutan leans towards China, and now the ‘India Out’ movement is active in Bangladesh.

Washington-based Bangladeshi journalist Mushfiq-ul-Fazl Ansari asked a question about this to US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. Mushfiq Ansari said that the ‘India Out’ campaign is gaining momentum in Bangladesh. People are boycotting. Indian products in a big way because they believe that India is working behind the scenes to keep Sheikh Hasina in power. 

In response, Matthew Mailer said: ‘We have reports of this campaign, but we cannot comment on any user’s decision, whether in Bangladesh or elsewhere in the world. But we value our relations with both Bangladesh and India and we will continue to work with the governments of both countries.

 Is Bangladesh going the way of the Maldives?

 We spoke to Sanjay Bhardwaj, Professor of South Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and he said that Bangladesh’s ‘India Out’ campaign cannot be compared to Maldives’ ‘India Out’ campaign. Professor Sanjay says that the Maldives is a small country and is entirely a Sunni-majority region, compared to Bangladesh, which is much larger and has a substantial Hindu population. 

He said that the President of Maldives, Muhammad Muizhu, also benefited from the internal differences of his rival party, while on the other hand, China has been active in Maldives for almost a decade. He further said that ‘Bangladesh is so dependent on India that without shopping in Calcutta, they cannot even enjoy Eid.

Bangladesh cannot afford to boycott India:

According to the thinking of Professor Sanjay if the products of India are stopped from entering Bangladesh. If it happens then the inflation chances will rise from kitchen spices to medicines. Bangladesh is dependent on India because onions, garlic coconut oil, and edible oil are all supplied to them from India. It is not only a matter of boycott but also a matter of livelihood.