Modi meets Yunus in Bangkok

PM Modi meets Bangladesh Chief Adviser Yunus, raises India’s concerns over safety of Hindus

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were also present during the meeting.

New Delhi | April 4, 2025 The Indian Express

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus in Bangkok on Friday. (Photo: MEA)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Bangladesh interim government’s Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus in Bangkok on Friday, and conveyed India’s support for democratic, stable, peaceful and inclusive Bangladesh, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.

In their first meeting since the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August last year, Modi also underlined India’s desire to forge a positive, constructive relationship with Bangladesh, Misri added.

According to Misri, Modi also underlined India’s concerns on the safety and security of minorities in Bangladesh, including Hindus, and urged Yunus to ensure the protection of minorities and investigate atrocities.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Summit meeting of the leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) grouping.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were also present during the meeting.

Bangladesh officials said the issue of Hasina’s extradition, her presence in India, and her making “incendiary comments” were also raised. They also said that Yunus raised the issue of Teesta river-water sharing, renewal of Ganga treaty, and border killings during the discussions. They called the meeting “constructive, productive, and fruitful”.

Bangladesh is the incoming chair of the BIMSTEC grouping.

The meeting took place a day after Jaishankar, in a first response from the government, said on Thursday that “cooperation is an integrated outlook, not one subject to cherry-picking”. He was responding to Yunus’s recent statement in China that Northeast India is “landlocked” and Dhaka is the “only guardian of the ocean for all this region”.

Modi and Yunus were seated next to each other at the BIMSTEC leaders’ dinner on Thursday night.

Addressing the 20th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok, Jaishankar said, “Our Northeast region in particular is emerging as a connectivity hub for the BIMSTEC, with a myriad network of roads, railways, waterways, grids, and pipelines. The completion of the Trilateral Highway will connect India’s Northeast all the way to the Pacific Ocean, a veritable game-changer.”

“We are conscious that our cooperation and facilitation are an essential prerequisite for the smooth flow of goods, services and people in this larger geography,” he said, adding, “keeping this geo-strategic factor in mind, we have devoted increasing energies and attention to the strengthening of BIMSTEC in the last decade.”

Last week, pitching for “extension of the Chinese economy”, Prof Yunus, during his four-day visit to China, had said, “Seven states of India, eastern part of India, called seven sisters… they are landlocked country, landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach out to the ocean.”

“We are the only guardian of the ocean for all this region. So this opens up a huge possibility. So this could be an extension of the Chinese economy. Build things, produce things, market things, bring things to China, bring it out to the whole rest of the world,” he had said.

For India, access to and from the Northeast states – through the ‘Chicken’s Neck’ corridor in West Bengal – has been a challenge, economically and strategically. Over the last decade-and-a-half, this formed an important element of Delhi’s engagement with Dhaka as it worked with the previous government, led by former PM Sheikh Hasina, on ways to transit through Bangladesh.

With Yunus’s comments, Dhaka is seen as projecting its leverage on access to Northeast India, a concern for Delhi. His bid to project Beijing as the new partner adds a layer of complexity to the already-fraught India-Bangladesh ties. Jaishankar’s response frames the context that India is the regional hub for cooperation.

Since the interim government headed by Yunus stepped in following Hasina’s ouster in August 2024, the ties between India and Bangladesh have been strained over Delhi’s concerns about the violence targeting minorities, including Hindus.🔺

India's Modi urges Bangladesh leader to avoid rhetoric that mars ties

 India's Modi urges Bangladesh leader to avoid rhetoric that mars ties

By Devjyot Ghoshal and Shivam Patel April 4, 2025

Summary

• Modi-Yunus meet for first time since PM Hasina's exit from Dhaka
• Yunus wants to work with Modi to reset Bangladesh-India ties
• Bangladesh seeks Hasina's extradition, India non-committal

BANGKOK/NEW DELHI, April 4 (Reuters) - India's prime minister urged Bangladesh's interim leader to avoid rhetoric that marred bilateral relations during their first meeting on Friday since the ouster of Bangladeshi premier Sheikh Hasina, India's foreign ministry said.

Relations between the South Asian neighbours, which were robust under Hasina, have deteriorated since she fled the country last August, in the face of massive student-led protests, and sought shelter in India.

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Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who took over as the chief adviser of an interim government in Dhaka after Hasina's exit, met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday on the fringes of the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok.

"Prime Minister (Modi) urged ... that any rhetoric that vitiates the environment is best avoided," India's foreign secretary Vikram Misri told reporters.

"(Modi) reiterated India's support for a democratic, stable, peaceful, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh," Misri said, adding that the Indian leader had also stressed New Delhi's desire for "a positive and constructive relationship with Bangladesh based on a spirit of pragmatism".

Bangladesh described the 40-minute exchange between the two leaders as "candid, productive, and constructive".

Yunus told Modi that Bangladesh wanted to work with him to set the relationship on the right track for the benefit of both countries, Yunus's press office said in a statement.

Public opinion in Bangladesh has turned against India, in part over its decision to provide sanctuary to Hasina. New Delhi has not responded to Dhaka's request to send her home for trial.

'ATROCITIES'

The two leaders discussed Bangladesh's request seeking Hasina's extradition, Misri said, without elaborating further.

"She has consistently made false and inflammatory accusations against the interim government of Bangladesh," the statement from Bangladesh quoted Yunus as saying.

Yunus requested New Delhi take appropriate measures to restrain Hasina from making incendiary remarks while she remained in India, said the statement, adding that Modi said India did not support any particular party in Bangladesh.

Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh Interim Government shakes hands with Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra ahead of the 6th BIMSTEC Summit, in Bangkok, Thailand, April 4, 2025. Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via REUTERS

India's Misri said Modi had asked Yunus to help maintain border security and stability, and expressed his hope that Bangladesh would thoroughly investigate all cases of "atrocities" committed against people from minority groups, including Hindus.

India has repeatedly urged Bangladesh to protect its minority Hindus, saying they were being targeted in the Muslim-majority country since Yunus took charge. Dhaka says the violence has been exaggerated and is not a communal issue.

"The hope would be that this meeting would start the process of rebuilding some engagement," said Harsh Pant, foreign policy head at the Observer Research Foundation, an Indian think-tank.

"I think at this point, simply stabilising the relationship perhaps should be the priority."

With longstanding cultural and business ties, the two nations share a 4,000 km (2,500 mile) border. India also played a key role in the 1971 war with its rival Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh.

Modi and Yunus met on the sidelines of a summit in Bangkok of BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, a grouping that also includes Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.

Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal in Bangkok and Shivam Patel in New Delhi; additional reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by John Mair and Gareth Jones

FSP Exposed Anura's betrayal

ENB Poster Modi Go Back

FSP calls proposed defence pact with India betrayal

The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) says that if JVP’s pioneer leader Rohana Wijeweera had been alive today, he, too, would have joined the FSP in opposing the proposed defence agreement between Sri Lanka and India, calling it a serious betrayal of the nation’s interests.

Duminda Nagamuwa, Propaganda Secretary of the FSP, told the media that the JVP-led NPP government was reportedly planning to sign the agreement.Speaking to the media, Nagamuwa said there was lack of transparency surrounding the proposed accord, which had already drawn the attention of Indian experts.

“These experts have termed the agreement as the most significant between the two countries since the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord of 1987, Nagamuwa said.

“Cabinet Spokesman Minister Nalinda Jayatissa recently revealed that a number of agreements involving defence, energy, health, and digitalisation are set to be signed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Sri Lanka. Foreign Minister Wijitha Herath had previously stated that agreements would be signed covering six key areas, but details of these agreements have not been disclosed to the public,” Nagamuwa said.

“We call upon the people of this country to realise the dangers lurking in these agreements. If the government keeps the people in the dark about their contents, they will be illegitimate.”

He said those agreements had not been presented to Parliament for approval. That marked a troubling continuation of a trend where previous agreements have been signed without proper public discourse or parliamentary scrutiny, he said.

Nagamuwa said that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the proposed accord had been signed by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2023, and that the JVP/NPP was now proposing the same deal. “If Ranil Wickremesinghe had tried to sign this accord, the people would have taken to the streets in protest. But now, this government is pushing the same agreement forward,” he said.

Nagamuwa appealed to the public to closely observe the processes leading up to the signing of the accord. “We believe that this agreement will have serious implications for the country’s national security. If Comrade Wijeweera were alive today, he too would stand with us in opposing this government’s betrayal of our national interests,” he said.

The Island 2025/04/4

Continue Read:

Secret Indo-Lanka Security Pact

Modi-Anura Secret Security Pact

ENB Poster Modi Back Home

"சயனைட்" நாவல் - ஒரு பார்வை

 "சயனைட்" நாவல் - ஒரு பார்வை

"தங்கமாலை கழுத்துக்களே கொஞ்சம் நில்லுங்கள்!

நஞ்சுமாலை சுமந்தவரை நினைவில் கொள்ளுங்கள்,

எம் இனத்தை மறக்கலாமா?

நம் இருப்பை இழக்கலாமா?"

தமிழ்த் தேசத்தை நேசித்த போராளிகளின் வாழ்க்கையைப் பற்றிய ஒரு நாவலாகவே இது இருக்கிறது.

போராட்ட காலத்திலும் போருக்குப் பின்னரான காலத்திலும் போராளிகள் எதிர்கொண்ட சவால்கள், அவர்களின் வீர தீரச் செயல்கள், அவர்களின் தியாகம், அவர்களின் காதல், அவர்களின் சமூகப் பணிகள், அவர்கள் கொண்டிருந்த தேசத்தின் மீதான பக்தி என எல்லாவற்றையும் சொல்லும் நூலாக மட்டும் இல்லாமல், ஒரு ஆதாரமான ஆவணப்படுத்தலாகவும் இருக்கிறது.

போரின்போது போராளிகளின் சாகசமும் வீரமும் தியாகமும் இந்த உலகம் அறிந்தது. ஆனால் அவர்களுக்குள் இருந்த ஈரம், சமூக அக்கறை, சின்னச் சின்னக் காதல், ரசனைகள், நட்பு, பாசம் என எல்லாவற்றையும் சொல்லியிருக்கிறது இந்த நாவல்.

போருக்குப் பின் ஒரு இமயத்திலிருந்து பள்ளத்தாக்கில் விழுந்தவன் கதைபோல, தம் சிம்மாசனத்திலிருந்து கீழே இறங்கிப் பணியாட்களாக வேலை செய்யும் அரசர்களாக மாறிப்போன போராளிகளின் மனநிலையைத் தெட்டத் தெளிவாக வெளிச்சத்திற்குக் கொண்டு வந்திருக்கிறது இந்த நாவல்.

போருக்குப் பின் அவர்கள் சிறையில் அனுபவித்த துயரம், அவர்களின் மர்மமான மரணம், அவர்களைத் தொற்றிக்கொள்ளும் நோய், அவர்களின் குடும்பப் பிரிவுகள், அவர்களை இந்தச் சமூகம் இப்போது எப்படி மதிக்கிறது என்ற உளவியல் கண்ணோட்டமாகவே இந்த நாவல் அமைந்திருக்கிறது.

நாவல் ஆசிரியர் ஒவ்வொரு பாத்திரத்தையும் படைக்கும்போது, அதன் மனம் சார்ந்த உளவியலைச் சிறப்பாக எடுத்துக்காட்டுகிறார். பாத்திரங்களைப் படித்தே அந்தப் போராளிகளின் மனநிலையை, அவர்கள் எதிர்கொள்ளும் உளவியல் சிக்கல்களை, சமூகச் சவால்களை, வாழ்க்கையில் எதிர்கொள்ளும் போராட்டத்தை நாங்கள் அறிந்து கொள்ளக் கூடியதாக இருக்கிறது.

ஒவ்வொரு நிலப்பரப்பையும் அந்த நிலப்பரப்பில் வாழும் உயிரினங்கள், குருவிகள், மரங்கள், உணவுப் பழக்கம், விவசாய முறைகள், இயற்கை காட்சிகள் என அந்தப் பகுதியை படம் பிடித்துக் காட்டுவது மிகச் சிறப்பாக இருக்கிறது.

போர்க்காலத்திலும் போருக்குப் பின்னரான தமிழரின் வாழ்வியலை அது புடம்போட்டுக் காட்டுகிறது.

குறுகிய காலத்துக்குள் மாறிப்போன எங்கள் மனநிலை, மேலிருந்து கீழே விழுந்தவர்கள் எழுந்து வருவதற்காகப் போராடும்போதும் அவர்கள் இன்னும் அந்தத் தாக்கத்துக்குள் இருக்கும் விதம், மீண்டும் மீண்டும் அவர்களை அச்சமூட்டும் இராணுவத்தின் தலையீடுகள் எல்லாவற்றையும் இந்த நாவல் வெளிப்படுத்திக் காட்டுகின்றது.

இன்றும் ஈழ மக்கள் எதிர்கொள்ளும் சவால்களைக் காட்டுவதோடு, இந்த மண் விடுதலைக்காகப் போராளிகளின் ஆயுதப் போராட்டம் ஓய்ந்த பின்னும் அவர்கள் வாழ்வதற்காகப் போராடிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறார்கள் என்பதைப் படம் பிடித்துக் காட்டுகிறது இந்த நாவல்.

அவர்கள் வாழ்வியலுக்காகப் போராடிக் கொண்டிருக்கிறார்கள், அவர்களின் குடும்பங்களுக்காகப் போராடிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறார்கள், அவர்களின் நோயோடு போராடிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறார்கள், மீண்டும் அவர்கள் கைது செய்யப்படலாமோ என்ற அச்சமான மனநிலையோடு போராடிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறார்கள். இதனால் அவர்கள் மிகப் பெரும் உளவியல் சிக்கலுக்குள் மாட்டிக் கொண்டிருக்கிறார்கள் அல்லது வேண்டுமென்றே திட்டமிடப்பட்டு அவர்கள் இந்த உளச்சிக்கலுக்குள் தள்ளப்படுகிறார்கள். இவற்றையெல்லாம் தீபச்செல்வனின் தேசியம் சார்ந்த எழுத்தாணி இந்த நாவலில் எழுதி வடித்திருக்கிறது.

இது போர் வீரர்களின் இரத்தத்தால், கண்ணீரால் எழுதப்பட்ட வீர செயல்களைத் தாண்டி, அவர்களின் வாழ்வியல் சோகத்தையும் சேர்த்துப் பதிவு செய்து செல்கிறது.

தேசியம் சார்ந்த படைப்பாளிகள் இவ்வாறான படைப்புகளை வெளியிடும்போது, அந்தப் போர்க்களத்தில் நின்று தங்கள் உயிரை, அங்கங்களை, வாழ்வை, இளமையை எல்லாவற்றையும் தியாகம் செய்த போராளிகளைக் கௌரவிப்பதாக அமைவதோடு அவர்களுக்குக் கிடைக்கும் வெகுமதியாகக்கூட இது இருக்கலாம்.

ஒருவேளை இக்காலத்தில் வாழ்பவர்கள் தேசத்தைக் காணாமல் கூட கண் மூடலாம். ஆனால் அவர்களுக்கான அங்கீகாரம் இல்லாமல் கண் மூடிவிடக் கூடாது என்பதற்காக இந்த நூல்கள் அவர்களுக்காகவே சமர்ப்பிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கிறது.

ஒவ்வொரு பக்கமும் வாசித்து முடிக்கும்போது கண்ணீரால் நனைந்து போகிறது. அங்கங்கே காதல், குறும்பு, நகைச்சுவை உணர்வு மனதை தேற்றினாலும், சோகச் சுமைகளே சுற்றி இருக்கிறது இந்த நாவல்.

இது ஒரு போர் வீரனின் வாழ்க்கையில் சகஜமான ஒன்றுதான். இருந்தாலும், உலகத்தால் தோற்கடிக்கப்பட்ட எங்கள் போராட்டத்தின், எமது போராளிகளின் மனநிலையைப் படம் பிடித்துக் காட்டுகிறது இந்த "சயனைட்" நாவல்.

வட்டக்கச்சி வினோத்

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நன்றி.

Batalanda debate: JVP’s role likely to be discussed

 

Batalanda debate: JVP’s role likely to be discussed

02 Apr 2025 | BY Buddhika Samaraweera

The ruling National People’s Power (NPP) Government’s main constituent party, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna's (JVP) involvement in the killings during the 1988-1989 insurrection is likely to be discussed during the Parliamentary debate on the Report of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Establishment and Maintenance of Places of Unlawful Detention and Torture Chambers at the Batalanda Housing Scheme. 

The CoI report has considered the alleged youth killings at the Batalanda housing scheme by the Government of that period.

The CoI Report is set to be taken up for Parliamentary debate from 10 April. In light of this, several parties, particularly government critics, including Opposition political parties, are questioning whether the Government will also take steps to serve justice to those killed by JVP members during the same period.

When questioned by The Daily Morning as to whether the NPP would also push for a mechanism to serve justice for the killings attributed to the JVP, General Secretary of the NPP Parliamentarian Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe said: "We have not discussed this yet. The matter will be debated in the Parliament on 10 April, and during the debate, what we are going to do will come up."

The 1988–1989 insurrection in Sri Lanka was a violent uprising led by the JVP against the then Government. It was alleged to be driven by growing dissatisfaction with economic hardships, political instability, and the Indo-Lanka Accord, which allowed Indian Peacekeeping Forces into the country. It was reported that the JVP launched armed attacks, assassinations, and strikes to destabilise the Government, while the State also responded with countermeasures, including the alleged operation of unofficial torture chambers in the Batalanda housing scheme. It is believed that an unofficial detention and torture centre operated there, targeting suspected members of the JVP during the Government's crackdown on the insurgency. 

The CoI report on it, which was prepared during the tenure of former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, was recently tabled in the Parliament by the NPP Government, and is to be taken up for a two-day debate from 10 April.