India Faces Tightrope Walk After Bangladesh Turmoil, Sheikh Hasina's Ouster

After her escape from Dhaka in turmoil, Sheikh Hasina landed at the Hindon airbase in Delhi and is likely to fly to the UK today to seek political asylum.

The shocking turn of events leading to Sheikh Hasina's ouster as Bangladesh Prime Minister has put India in an extremely tricky situation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security last night to discuss the Bangladesh situation that has immense strategic ramifications for New Delhi. The Centre is yet to publicly state how it plans to navigate this neighbourhood crisis and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will brief MPs at an all-party meeting soon. Here's why the Bangladesh situation is a tightrope for India

Sheikh Hasina Is In India

After her escape from Dhaka in turmoil, Ms Hasina landed at the Hindon airbase in Delhi and is likely to fly to the UK today to seek political asylum. However, there is no confirmation on whether the UK has offered asylum to her, so it is not clear what happens if the UK does not give her a green signal. In its response to the Bangladesh situation, London has only called for a UN-led probe but has not touched upon the asylum issue. The question then is will Ms Hasina then stay in India or seek another destination. India now faces a diplomatic dilemma and does not want to be seen as overtly backing the ousted leader because that may complicate its relationship with the new dispensation in Bangladesh. Also important is the history of Sheikh Hasina's relationship with India. Long before she became Prime Minister, the Indira Gandhi government had given her refuge after her whole family, including father Mujibur Rahaman, was assassinated during the 1975 unrest in Bangladesh. So abandoning her at this point will also not be an easy decision, considering her equations with Delhi.