PM’s letter to Modi: crude display of opportunism
May 19, 2014 12:01 am
WHILE warm felicitation to the prime minister-elect of a neighbouring country is part of diplomatic etiquette, the letter that the Bangladesh prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, sent on Friday to Narendra Modi of the ultra Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, who is expected to be sworn in as the prime minister of India next week, appears to exude too much warmth — to the point that it risks being regarded as a subservient, if not altogether sycophantic, overture.
According to a report published in New Age on Sunday, Hasina praised Modi for his ‘dynamic, inspiring and visionary leadership qualities’, expressed her delight ‘to see a great friend of Bangladesh leading an extremely friendly country, India, in the coming days’ and hoped that he would make Bangladesh his ‘second home’ and ‘first destination’ of his official visit abroad. She even went to the extent of apparently likening the BJP’s resounding win in the Lok Sabha elections, which occasioned one of the highest voter turnouts in India’s recent history, with her Awami League’s vacuous victory in the January 5 elections to the 10th Jatiya Sangsad, marred by opposition boycott, and widespread violence and voter fraud, and marked by not more than 10-12 per cent voter turnout.
The praise that Hasina showered on Modi is generally unqualified and largely undeserved. The BJP leader’s dynamism has further polarised Indian society and polity; he has inspired perpetual fear among the minorities, especially Muslims; and, last but not least, his vision stems from Hindutva, as championed by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who authored the pamphlet Hindutva: Who is a Hindu?
in 1923 and asserted in 1929 that ‘Hindustan [India] is meant for Hindus.’ Triumphant emergence of such Hindu fundamentalism in India may fuel Muslim communalism in its neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh.
Furthermore, Modi is not ‘a great friend of Bangladesh’; in fact, in one of his speeches on the campaign trail, the BJP leader declared that ‘after May 16, these [so-called illegal immigrant] Bangladeshis better be prepared with their bags packed’ for deportation from India. Nor is India ‘an extremely friendly country’; had it been, the genuine grievances and legitimate rights of Bangladesh vis-à-vis killing of its citizens on the border by the Border Security Force, water-sharing of Teesta and other trans-boundary rivers, growing imbalance in bilateral trade, etc would have been effectively addressed by now.
However, such overabundance of unqualified and undeserved praise by Hasina should not surprise anyone; after all, the current Awami League-led government, acutely aware of its lack of both political and social legitimacy, thanks to the engineered January 10 elections, is generally believed to have been able to hold on to power because of staunch support from New Delhi.
With the Congress party, its proven and perpetual mentor, out of power, the AL-led government is only expected to curry favour with Modi and his National Democratic Alliance, which is about to take over, to prolong its politically illegitimate hold on power. Not surprisingly still, according to media reports, Hasina followed up Friday’s letter with a phone call to Modi on Sunday.
It should also not surprise anyone if the Congress, which has supported the Awami League through thick and thin, feels aggrieved by such brazen display of political opportunism. It will also put in an awkward position those AL leaders, supporters and sympathisers who criticised Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia for congratulating Modi on his electoral triumph before others. Most importantly, Hasina’s letter would render hollow the Awami League’s self-professed commitment to secular democratic ideals and values and could also be construed as a betrayal to the spirit of Bangladesh’s liberation war.
- See more at: http://newagebd.net/12433/pms-letter-to-modi-crude-display-of-opportunism/#sthash.uY5CUDFS.dpuf
May 19, 2014 12:01 am
WHILE warm felicitation to the prime minister-elect of a neighbouring country is part of diplomatic etiquette, the letter that the Bangladesh prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, sent on Friday to Narendra Modi of the ultra Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, who is expected to be sworn in as the prime minister of India next week, appears to exude too much warmth — to the point that it risks being regarded as a subservient, if not altogether sycophantic, overture.
According to a report published in New Age on Sunday, Hasina praised Modi for his ‘dynamic, inspiring and visionary leadership qualities’, expressed her delight ‘to see a great friend of Bangladesh leading an extremely friendly country, India, in the coming days’ and hoped that he would make Bangladesh his ‘second home’ and ‘first destination’ of his official visit abroad. She even went to the extent of apparently likening the BJP’s resounding win in the Lok Sabha elections, which occasioned one of the highest voter turnouts in India’s recent history, with her Awami League’s vacuous victory in the January 5 elections to the 10th Jatiya Sangsad, marred by opposition boycott, and widespread violence and voter fraud, and marked by not more than 10-12 per cent voter turnout.
The praise that Hasina showered on Modi is generally unqualified and largely undeserved. The BJP leader’s dynamism has further polarised Indian society and polity; he has inspired perpetual fear among the minorities, especially Muslims; and, last but not least, his vision stems from Hindutva, as championed by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who authored the pamphlet Hindutva: Who is a Hindu?
in 1923 and asserted in 1929 that ‘Hindustan [India] is meant for Hindus.’ Triumphant emergence of such Hindu fundamentalism in India may fuel Muslim communalism in its neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh.
Furthermore, Modi is not ‘a great friend of Bangladesh’; in fact, in one of his speeches on the campaign trail, the BJP leader declared that ‘after May 16, these [so-called illegal immigrant] Bangladeshis better be prepared with their bags packed’ for deportation from India. Nor is India ‘an extremely friendly country’; had it been, the genuine grievances and legitimate rights of Bangladesh vis-à-vis killing of its citizens on the border by the Border Security Force, water-sharing of Teesta and other trans-boundary rivers, growing imbalance in bilateral trade, etc would have been effectively addressed by now.
However, such overabundance of unqualified and undeserved praise by Hasina should not surprise anyone; after all, the current Awami League-led government, acutely aware of its lack of both political and social legitimacy, thanks to the engineered January 10 elections, is generally believed to have been able to hold on to power because of staunch support from New Delhi.
With the Congress party, its proven and perpetual mentor, out of power, the AL-led government is only expected to curry favour with Modi and his National Democratic Alliance, which is about to take over, to prolong its politically illegitimate hold on power. Not surprisingly still, according to media reports, Hasina followed up Friday’s letter with a phone call to Modi on Sunday.
It should also not surprise anyone if the Congress, which has supported the Awami League through thick and thin, feels aggrieved by such brazen display of political opportunism. It will also put in an awkward position those AL leaders, supporters and sympathisers who criticised Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia for congratulating Modi on his electoral triumph before others. Most importantly, Hasina’s letter would render hollow the Awami League’s self-professed commitment to secular democratic ideals and values and could also be construed as a betrayal to the spirit of Bangladesh’s liberation war.
- See more at: http://newagebd.net/12433/pms-letter-to-modi-crude-display-of-opportunism/#sthash.uY5CUDFS.dpuf
