Escalating Tensions: India-Bangladesh Relations Face Crisis Amid Protests

The killing of a Hindu man during recent violent protests in Bangladesh has pushed already strained ties between Dhaka and Delhi into a deeper crisis.

As the two neighbours accuse each other of destabilising relations, questions are growing over whether their once close, time-tested relationship is fraying beyond repair.

In India, the episode has sparked protests by Hindu nationalist groups. The man who was killed - Dipu Chandra Das, 27 - a member of Bangladesh's Hindu minority, was accused of blasphemy and beaten to death by a mob last week in Mymensingh, in northern Bangladesh.

The incident happened as violent protests broke out over the murder of Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent student leader, in the capital, Dhaka.

Hadi's supporters alleged that the main suspect, who they say is linked to the Awami League - the party of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina - had fled to India, further fuelling anti-India sentiment in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Bangladeshi police, however, said there was no confirmation that the suspect had left the country.

In recent days, the South Asian neighbours have suspended visa services in several cities, including Delhi, and accused each other of failing to ensure adequate security for their diplomatic missions.

The two countries have also summoned each other's high commissioners to raise their security concerns.

I sincerely hope tensions don't escalate further on both sides, Riva Ganguly Das, a former Indian high commissioner to Dhaka, told the BBC, adding that the volatile situation in Bangladesh made it difficult to predict which way things would go.

Anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh is not new.

A section of Bangladeshis has always resented what they see as India's overbearing influence on their country, especially during Hasina's 15-year rule before she was deposed in an uprising last year.

The anger has grown since Hasina took refuge in India and Delhi, so far, hasn't agreed to send her back despite several requests from Dhaka.

In the aftermath of Hadi's killing, some young leaders are reported to have made provocative anti-India statements.

In recent weeks, Bangladeshi security forces had to stop protesters from marching toward the Indian high commission in Dhaka.

Last week, a mob pelted the Indian assistant high commission building in Chittagong with stones, prompting outrage from Delhi. Police later detained 12 people in connection with the incident, but they were released later without any charge.

There were counter rallies in India. Bangladesh strongly objected to a protest by a Hindu group outside its diplomatic premises in Delhi, calling it unjustifiable.

I have not seen this kind of suspicion and mistrust between the two sides before, Humayun Kabir, a former senior Bangladeshi diplomat, said.

He added that both sides should protect each other's diplomatic missions according to established norms.

The brutal lynching of Das, a garment factory worker, has only added to the anger on the Indian side.

He was accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad and was lynched by a mob, who then tied his body to a tree and set it on fire.

Videos of the killing were widely shared on social media, triggering outrage on both sides of the border.

Bangladesh's interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, said there was no place for such violence in the new Bangladesh, promising that no one involved in the killing would be spared.

Analysts say his killing has once again raised questions over the safety of minorities and civil society activists in Bangladesh, with religious fundamentalists becoming more assertive and intolerant after Hasina's exit.

Many in Bangladesh suspect Islamist radicals to be part of the mob that vandalised and set fire to the buildings of two Bangladesh dailies - The Daily Star and Prothom Alo - and a cultural institution last week, accusing them of being pro-India. Civil society activists in Bangladesh have criticised the interim administration for failing to stop the recent violence.

Even before the protests, the interim government was under scrutiny as it struggled to maintain law and order and deliver results amid the political turmoil.

Policy makers in India are aware of the changing dynamics in Bangladesh.

With the interim administration in Dhaka facing criticism over its lack of control and legitimacy, there is broad consensus that an elected government would be better positioned to address Bangladesh's domestic and foreign challenges.

The country is scheduled to hold elections on 12 February but until then, Yunus has the difficult task of avoiding further violence.