NEW DELHI, Aug 15, (AP): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed concern over the unrest that led to a change of government in neighboring Bangladesh and the attacks on Hindus and other minorities there.
Modi addressed his nation from New Delhi’s 17th-century Mughal-era Red Fort on its 78th Independence Day and assured Bangladesh that India would continue to support it in developing its economy.
"We hope the situation gets normal there soon,” Modi said in a speech broadcast live.
Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India on Aug 5 after weeks of violent protests that prompted her ouster.
She is likely to stay in New Delhi until she decides where she will seek asylum. An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power in Bangladesh and is expected to organize fresh elections.
During the protests in Bangladesh, many Hindu homes, shops and businesses were attacked. Yunus met with Hindu community leaders earlier this week and assured them of their protection.
The student-led protests began in July against a quota system for government jobs that critics said benefitted people with connections to Hasina’s party. The protests morphed into a movement against her government, leaving more than 300 people dead including students and police officers in the ensuing violence.
Aug. 15 marks India’s independence from British colonialists in 1947, but it was also the day in 1975 when Bangladesh's first leader after independence, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the father of Hasina, was assassinated in a military coup.
Hasina survived by not being in the country. India gave her refuge, and she lived in Delhi from 1975 until her return to Bangladesh in 1981.
Modi said Thursday that India believes in peace and not war, and is on the path of rapid economic development. It aspires to be a developed nation by 2047 when it completes 100 years of independence from British colonialists, he added.
In his nearly 90-minute speech, Modi did not refer to India’s tense ties with neighboring Pakistan and China, or any steps to improve relations with them.