In his account before Parliament, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyan Jaishankar assured that India maintains regular exchanges with the Bangladesh authorities and remains in close and continuous contact with the Indian community through the embassy.

At least 19 thousand Indian citizens reside in Bangladesh, of whom nine thousand are students; most of whom have returned to India in July on the recommendation of the High Commission.

Regarding the safety of the High Commission in Dhaka and its chapters in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, and Sylhet, the Foreign Minister expressed that he expects the government of Bangladesh to act to guarantee their protection. “We hope they will function normally once the situation stabilizes,” the diplomat emphasized and confirmed the presence in India of former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, who he said resigned due to the crisis and requested permission to travel to India shortly.

Jaishankar detailed the insecurity panorama in Bangladesh resulting from the protests, which were caused by a change in the modality of the government’s granting of labor quotas, which Dhaka agreed to modify after several days of protests. However, the violence escalated, leading to attacks and setting fire to police stations, government establishments, and residences of senior authorities, as occurred with that of the head of government.

The various decisions and measures taken subsequently only exacerbated the situation, and at that point, the rallies focused on demands for Hasina’s resignation, said the Minister, who found particularly worrying the incidents of violence against minorities and their businesses. “The full extent of this is still unclear,” he said.

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