INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
continuing violent unrest after the ousting of the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina; in particular, attacks on Hindu homes, shops and
Let us not let this slip away because of our mistakes
I fervently appeal to everybody to stay calm
Please refrain from all kinds of violence
I appeal to all students, members of all political parties and non-political people to stay calm
on Thursday.Violence against Hindus appears to have started just hours after Hasina resigned and fled the capital, Dhaka, on Monday
Images of Hindus being lynched by mobs, temples set on fire and businesses looted have flooded social media in India, although the full
scale of the attacks is unclear.View image in fullscreenThe divisional Awami League office after being set on fire in Barishal, Bangladesh
Its rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) and the hardline Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, backed the protests.Hasina remains in India
Muslims.Tarique Rahman, son of BNP leader Khaleda Zia and acting chair of the party, appealed to Bangladeshis to keep everyone safe
with their Hindu neighbours to protect a Hindu temple from a violent mob
Student leaders have formed volunteer groups to help guard other sites.But alarm is growing in west Bengal, which is the closest Indian
state to Bangladesh and shares a 2,200km (1,360-mile) border
fullscreenBangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) activists gather during a rally in Dhaka on 7 August
Photograph: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty ImagesSome rightwing Hindu religious leaders in India have already become vocal, calling for the
country to act.The self-appointed spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev said anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh was not merely an internal
any possible influx of Hindus into India depended on how widespread the violence became and how close the affected areas were to the border
commission in Dhaka home on a special flight
Indian diplomats and other staff, though, remain in the country, in Dhaka and in Indian consulates in four other cities.India is watching
the upheaval in Bangladesh, with which it has had very close relations under Hasina, very carefully
The two countries have maintained close security, trade, investments and defence cooperation.New Delhi fears that an unstable neighbour, in
which the Jamaat-e-Islami might have a greater role, will allow rivals China and Pakistan more influence in its affairs.
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
