- 7 months ago
In this episode of India First, India Today's Gaurav Sawant analyses the deepening crisis in Bangladesh as the 'blame India' narrative in the Sharif Osman Hadi murder case crumbles.
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00:00Good evening, you're watching India First. I'm Gaurav Savan. Amit's rising anti-India
00:07rhetoric in Bangladesh. New Delhi is reached out to Dhaka with External Affairs Minister
00:12Dr. S. Jai Shankar traveling to Bangladesh to attend the last rites of former Bangladesh
00:16Prime Minister and BNP leader Begum Khalidazia. Now this move is being viewed as an outreach
00:22to reset ties with BNP. Tensions remain high in Bangladesh. One more Hindu was singled out
00:30and killed. He was killed by a colleague of his. Of course, there's also that fake narrative
00:37blaming India for the situation in Bangladesh. That fake narrative seems to be collapsing
00:42with an accused in the Hadi murder case surfacing in Dubai and blaming the Jamaat-e-Islami for
00:49student leader Omar Sharif Hadi's killing. We get you more in our top story.
01:04Bangladesh is at a crossroads. Moaning a towering political figure even as violence and instability
01:12grip the streets. Amit protests over Sharif Osman Hadi killing, the so-called India angle
01:24in the murder is falling apart.
01:30Days after Bangladesh police claimed the killers had fled to India, Faizal Kareem Masood, identified
01:35by the police as a prime suspect, has surfaced in a video from Dubai. He flatly denies involved,
01:41and points fingers at elements linked to the Jamaat-e-Islami.
01:46you
02:16This is not the first Jamaat reference.
02:39Earlier, senior BNP leader Nilofar Chaudhary Mouni had also flagged Islamist links in the
02:44Hari's own brother had blamed the Mohammed Yunus-led government.
03:14I request this government under whose leadership Usman Hadi was killed that they can't escape
03:21the responsibility of this murder.
03:23If you think when you are ousted from power in next two months and you will run away to
03:28a different country, let me tell you that people of this country will bring you to face
03:33the justice.
03:35So we request the government to produce the culprits and ensure justice.
03:39With the prime accused abroad and Islamist links surfacing, the India-bashing script
03:46is collapsing.
03:53Amid this political storm, Bangladesh bids farewell to a towering leader, Khalida Zia.
03:59India sent a clear and respectful message.
04:05External Affairs Minister Jai Shankar attended the funeral.
04:09Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tribute, recalling Khalida Zia's role in strengthening
04:14India-Bangladesh ties.
04:16But beyond politics, a far graver crisis is unfolding on the streets.
04:23Hindu hate, violence is escalating with three Hindus killed since Hadi's murder.
04:28The latest victim, Bajendra Biswas, shot dead inside a garment factory in Maimon Singh.
04:41As Islamist links surface, the blame-India narrative crumbles and Hindu killings mount.
04:48Bangladesh faces deepening instability.
04:52Bureau Report, India Today.
04:53In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs expressed concern over the unremitting hostilities
05:03against minority Hindus in Bangladesh, but the targeted killings continue.
05:07Two lynchings and one Hindu auxiliary force guard shot dead at point-blank range by a colleague.
05:14But is that narrative that the Muhammad Yunus administration was falsely blaming India
05:18for the Hadi killing coming apart, with the Hadi murder accused surfacing in Dubai
05:24and then releasing a video from there?
05:26Are India-Bangladesh ties set to deteriorate in the run-up to February elections?
05:32Joining me on India first, Salahuddin Shoaib Chaudhary.
05:35He's a counter-terrorism specialist and the editor of The Blitz.
05:39Joins us from Dhaka.
05:40Ambassador Pinak Ranjan Chakravarti is former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh.
05:44Subir Bhaumik is a respected senior journalist and author.
05:48Gentlemen, welcome.
05:50Salahuddin Chaudhary, has the statement of Faisal Kareem Masood,
05:54an accused in the Hadi murder from Dubai, blaming the Jamaat-e-Islami,
05:59does that expose that fake narrative of the Muhammad Yunus administration blaming India?
06:04How is that being viewed in Bangladesh, sir?
06:08Thank you very much, Gaurav Sawantji.
06:11Namaskar.
06:12You see the narrative that Muhammad Yunus, his Islamist cabal, and Pakistan,
06:20I think they have been trying to spread to the country and to the world,
06:26that the Hadi's killer, this Faisal Kareem Masood, has fled to India
06:31and now is in Ramuhir in Meghalaya.
06:34Even with this bogus propaganda, Yunus regime, even summoned the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka,
06:43Mr. Pranay Varma, and even demanded that the killer should be handed over to Bangladesh.
06:51Now what happens?
06:52This Faisal Kareem Masood has issued two videos, two video statements within the gap of just 10 hours from Dubai,
07:01and he has not only accused Jamaat-e-Islami, he has also in the second video has accused Yerush.
07:10And he has explained his relations with Hadi, that he went to Hadi for using him as a lobbyist in getting some government job,
07:20for which Hadi took 500,000 taka as admins, meaning Hadi was making money through this kind of the lobbyist activities.
07:29That's not a problem.
07:31Now, even the very theory of accusing this Masood as a killer,
07:40Yunus regime said the killer was wearing masks, and they were in a motorbike.
07:46But you and I both know that even FBI, even CIA, they cannot identify a criminal when they wear the mask.
07:53And they said they identified the killer to the motorbike by seeing the number plate.
07:59And after three days, they said that number plate was fake.
08:02So where from this theory is coming up that the motorbike, even within a fake number,
08:09the killers wearing masks, and they are accusing India.
08:12And as you know, 70, that one second, even Pakistan, I say, began propaganda on the social media,
08:19stating that the Indian law is behind Hadi's murder.
08:22So now, at least the falsehood has been partially debunked by Masood, and I wish and I hope…
08:30And this lies at the level of the state, Ambassador Chakravarti.
08:33The fact that the police made some toll claims, the administration made claims
08:37that they were seen crossing the border.
08:39Now it emerges that the accused took a flight from Bangladesh.
08:44And this is the second statement of the comment of Hadi's brother
08:47that blames the Jamaat and the administration.
08:51What explains this continued deflection tactics of the Muhammad Yunus administration,
08:55in your view, Ambassador?
08:57It's very clear, these are very well laid out plans to build narrative against India.
09:05Don't forget that the Yunus government was put in place by the agitation which was basically
09:13spearheaded by the Jamaat-e-Islami.
09:16And the Jamaat-e-Islami was being supported by Pakistan's ISI.
09:20And so I think once they came to power, the Pakistan's ISI's plan unfolded, which means that
09:29build up enough, you know, kind of narrative, social media, wherever, that, you know,
09:35and make Bangladesh more and more anti-India.
09:41One doesn't have to explain Pakistan's objectives, which are always, you know, it's India-centered,
09:47how to hurt India, how to incite violence against India, how to send terrorists into India.
09:55They wanted to use Bangladesh earlier too, and they have used it.
10:00And now they thought it's a good opportunity to turn the tide again and make Bangladesh receptive
10:08to anti-Indian moves and anti-Indian conspiracies.
10:12So, I think this was a well-laid-out plan to do all this, but, you know, sometimes even
10:19well-laid-out plans, you know, unraveled, because there was no evidence.
10:26You know, you can say what you like, unless there is evidence, nobody is going to believe you.
10:31No, but imagine here he is the head of an administration who's a Nobel laureate,
10:35and his administration is lying through the teeth and blaming India without a shred of evidence.
10:41Shubir Bhomik, is there evidence to indicate that Hadi killers fled to India?
10:45Or again, is that desperate deflection tactics of the Yunus regime,
10:49wanting to fan anti-India fire in the run-up to the February 2026 elections, sir?
10:55Well, Hadi was actually killed, as his brother has rightly said, by people within who are close to
11:05Mr. Yunus. Actually, he pointed a finger very clearly to NCP. If you notice, Hadi has been critical
11:13of our military, critical of India, but he has been also very critical of the National Citizens Party.
11:20He said, on several locations, I assure you, I will surely recall, that much as the Army League has, you know, sort of made
11:2971 its own stuff, has monopolized 1971, the July Revolution, as they call their last year's incident,
11:38were monopolized by the NCP. And, you know, this did not go well with a lot of top NCP leaders.
11:45Now, Hadi's brother is not a fool to make such a straightforward acquisition in present Bangladesh,
11:55where mobs can beat up anyone or kill anyone. You know, he will not take the risk unless he was terribly sure
12:04of evidence to the effect that his killers were actually people who were close to the Yunus administration,
12:11within it, whatever. This is a deflection tactics, blaming India. You know, I mean, in Bangladesh,
12:20as they say, when we talk between each other, and somebody says, you know, please get me to do,
12:26you know, we call it Todbir in Bangladesh, that you want something done, and you want to get it done,
12:34you want Indian influence. So, I often joke and say, that if the Begum will be with me,
12:41he will also do India. And I'm, you know, that's how they blame India.
12:47But Ambassador Chakravarti, yeah, Ambassador Chakravarti, how do you view the visit of Dr.
12:52Jaishankar to Dhaka to attend the last rites of Begum Khalida Ziya? Is that a curtsy call?
12:57Is that diplomaties? Or is that an outreach with an attempt to reset ties with the BNP leadership, sir?
13:05It's a mixture of all what you said. I mean, I think India, India, in its foreign policy,
13:12you know, has to deal with its neighbors, because this is a compulsion of geography and history and
13:21everything else. And our own interest in promoting a neighborhood which is mutually sort of supportive,
13:29in which we can do business and create more prosperity and deal with our problems, which are
13:37many of them which are common. And that is always the intention of Indian policy makers.
13:43Now, hence, I think we are doing maybe call it outreach, but also some diplomatic protocol. After all,
13:50Kaleda Ziya was a former prime minister. There must have been indications from or some notes would have
14:03been sent out to all countries saying that we are having this, we would like to have you represented.
14:09And then I think India government would have decided that Jaishankar should be presented,
14:16which means that we are making a high level representation there to show that we are willing
14:23to do business with the new government whenever it comes after the election. And since most people
14:29think that it is going to be the BNP with Tarek Rahman now its head and possibly the next prime minister.
14:37So, I think that was the thought probably behind, you know, sending Dr. Jaishankar to Dhaka.
14:47Salauddin Chaudhary, will that anti-India sentiment continue to be fanned by the Jamaat-e-Islami in
14:52Bangladesh now with that focus shifting entirely to Tarek Rahman's leadership ahead of elections?
14:58Mr. Salauddin Chaudhary, you see, for Mr. Tarek Rahman, particularly with the presence of His
15:05Excellency S. Jaishankar at the funeral of Khalid Azir, now it is time for him to realize
15:12that India is never an enemy of Bangladesh. It's an ally, it's a friend of the people of Bangladesh,
15:17number one. Number two, for Tarek Rahman, the biggest challenge to become the next prime minister
15:23on February 12 is Jamaat-e-Islami and Muhammad Yunus. Because you know that on the 3rd of February,
15:30Yunus is also simultaneously holding a referendum, which gives the legitimacy to the July Charter.
15:37And once he gets the legitimacy, then on the 3rd of February, whoever wins in the general election,
15:44Yunus will declare himself as a supreme leader and his government will turn into a revolutionary
15:50government. In that case, Tarek Rahman, even if he becomes a prime minister, he will become a prime
15:55minister like Iran or North Korea. So for the sake of freeing the democracy of Bangladesh, for getting
16:03Bangladesh liberated from the evil classes of Pakistani, Ayatay and Yunus, and the Islamic jihadist
16:08cronists, Tarek Rahman now will have to look for an ally in political field. And that ally is no other
16:15party than Awami League. Because in the previous time, every time there was a demonstration for democracy or
16:24anti-military dictatorship protest, Khalid al-Jay and Shekhathina fought together.
16:31They did come together against the military regime. But now, with the Awami League already, you know,
16:38pushed out, can Tarek Rahman come to power? You know, because when you look at all the surveys,
16:46they seem to indicate that Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP are almost neck and neck or Tarek Rahman is just a
16:52little ahead. But Shubir Bhamek, this clearly would indicate that this is not the end of the road for
16:57Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus post the elections in Bangladesh. Because many, many say,
17:03and, you know, as you heard Mr. Choudhury also indicate, he may want to post the referendum,
17:09become the all-powerful head of Bangladesh.
17:14Well, as I've said before in your program as well, and in many other, you know, channels,
17:20that Yunus is desperate to become president because he wants immunity from prosecution.
17:26There have been several charges against him, money laundering,
17:29financial irregularities, labor law violations. And now, of course, a lot of conflict of interest
17:35cases, because after becoming chief advisor, he has got a lot of favors done to his Grameen group
17:41of companies. So he wants immunity from prosecution. He also, if he becomes president, is the supreme
17:48commander of the armed forces. Most importantly, please note that this election is not just an
17:55election. There is also a referendum along with it. And one of the agenda of that referendum,
18:01yes or no, is if this is accepted, the July charter, then the president of Bangladesh, more
18:08powers to president. That's one of the major themes of this July charter. So if Yunus, if the July
18:16charter is accepted in the referendum, if the referendum is held alongside the election,
18:21and if the elections are not postponed, Yunus will desperately try to be president because then
18:26he will emerge as the most powerful president in the history of Bangladesh. No president before
18:31would have had so much powers. So he is a power-hungry man.
18:34So do we see a clash, Ambassador Chakravarti, between Tariq Rahman and Muhammad Yunus
18:39and Jama'at-e-Islami coming closer to Professor Muhammad Yunus in the weeks ahead, in the run-up to the February elections?
18:49Well, according to the current line-up, if the BNP and its allies, smaller parties,
18:57will be fighting against Jamaat and the NCP, because the NCP, the Students Party,
19:03has now allied with the Jamaat. Now the NCP is a creation of Professor Yunus, and hence I think that
19:12Professor Yunus's guiding hand behind this alliance is very clear. And I agree with Subir what he said
19:19about Professor Yunus wanting to remain in power. And when I met him in 2007, when he had floated a
19:30political party to fight in the 2008 elections, it became clear to me that he has been seeking a political
19:38role in Bangladesh. And that is what I had assessed at that time. And now it is proven to be right, because
19:47he, I think, wants to stay on. And as Subir said, if the referendum goes through, then the president
19:54becomes, it gets much additional powers. And they will restrict the prime ministership to two terms.
20:02There are a lot of things like that in the so-called referendum. Now, that would, of course, require
20:09a constitutional amendment, because the current constitution, which is lying suspended, does not
20:15allow all these things to happen. So they will have to then go through the National Assembly to get the
20:22constitutional amendment. Now, whether that would be possible, or they will say,
20:27no, the referendum is good enough, and the constitution stands amended. I do not know what
20:33the legality of that will be. But I do believe that there will be legal issues. And I think people
20:39will challenge it. It will go to court, but then the courts have been packed with his nominees.
20:44Exactly. That's point one. And then this rise of radical Islamists. You know, the last two minutes I
20:52have on this part of the show, Salahuddin Chaudhary, the targeting of Hindus, it continues. Is it a part of
20:58a wider plot? There have been three instances from Deepu Das to Amrit Mandal. Both of them were lynched,
21:04and now Bijendra Biswas shot dead in Mehman Singh. Bangladesh government denies targeted killing of
21:09Hindus and other minorities. But what's your reading, sir? Mr. Samant, since the last year of the coup,
21:16Pakistan and ISI in Pakistan have gotten access to Bangladesh. And they are planning to turn
21:21Bangladesh into an East Pakistan. So they want a Hindu-free East Pakistan. And from the Osman
21:28Hadis murder, you have seen that immediately after the murder, they were attacked on media houses. And then
21:35the murder of our Deepu Chandadar and Amrit Taludar and others. So it is a complete plot of the Pakistani
21:43ISI to not only spread the reign of anarchy through the whole country, but target Hindus and religious
21:51minorities and turn Bangladesh into even a worse place than Pakistan. That is what they want. And I
21:59would like to firmly say that Yunus is the top facilitator of Pakistan's agenda. He is the
22:06implementer of Pakistan's blueprint. And together they are doing that with your kind permission.
22:12Just one more point I would like to add here. Please.
22:14That Islamists, Jamaat-Islamists and others all will try to keep Tariq Rahman elude from our
22:21militants. Because they don't want Tariq Rahman to get an ally for the future movement,
22:28or even now any movement against Yunus. Because they are afraid of unity between BNP and Avami
22:35League, which will cause a disaster for Yunus or any autocratic entity in this country. So,
22:43for my country now, the atrocities and genocide on Hindus and others, this is all blueprint of
22:50Pakistani ISI. But sir, is it even possible, the last 30 seconds that I have, Mr. Chaudhary, is it even
22:57possible for Avami League and BNP to come together with the kind of checks that have been put on the
23:02Avami League and their inability to contest? Yes. Even for Avami League, it's a question of existence.
23:10And for BNP also, it's a question of existence. Because both parties will be ultimately disseminated
23:16by the Pakistani ISI and U.S. deep state. And that is their minus two formula, which they tried to
23:24implement in 2007 failed. This time they are trying again. So, Tariq Rahman should remember
23:30that with or without Khalid Adia, BNP is very much in the list of minus two. And if they want to
23:36avoid the minus two, so BNP will have to join hands with Avami League. And I think...
23:40Will that happen? That remains to be seen. But we'll be tracking that story very closely.
23:46Mr. Chaudhary, Mr. Bhomik and Ambassador Chakravarti for joining me here on this India First
23:51special broadcast. Many thanks. Now, as we say goodbye to 2025, the world comes together to welcome
24:00a brand new 2026. Dazzling fireworks to joyous street celebrations to a quiet prayer and loud cheers.
24:10Cities across the globe are lighting up with hope and happiness. So, as the clock resets,
24:17so do dreams, so do ambitions and aspirations. A moment to reflect on the year gone by and look ahead
24:25with renewed optimism. Here's wishing all our viewers at India today a very, very happy, prosperous,
24:35healthy 2026. May it bring peace, progress, good health and prosperity for you and your loved ones.
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