Khaled, You Too?

Opinion

“We have given India something they will remember for a lifetime.” This statement by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during a press conference in 2018 remains a point of criticism by various media outlets and opposition parties. Today, when Khaled Mohiuddin was making snide remarks about Sheikh Hasina over this, I felt like asking: Khaled, you too?

The context of Sheikh Hasina’s statement arose from a journalist’s question following her visit to India. When asked whether she had made specific requests to India, Sheikh Hasina responded, “We have given India something they will remember for a lifetime. From bullets and bombings of the past, we have restored peace for them. They must acknowledge this. We seek no rewards. However, we remain grateful for India’s assistance during our Liberation War.”

During the BNP’s tenure, separatist groups in India’s northeastern states reportedly received regular arms shipments through Bangladesh. These arms, though not financed by Bangladesh, were jointly supplied by Pakistan and China, using Bangladesh as a corridor under BNP’s tacit approval. In fact, Pakistan’s military reportedly trained these separatists in the remote areas of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. When the Awami League came to power, such arms smuggling and training operations were halted, restoring peace in India’s northeastern states. This move saved India billions of dollars in military operations there.

Yet, somehow, this well-documented narrative has morphed into a skewed version where Bangladesh is seen as “giving away everything to India.” How this transformation occurred is a matter worth researching. It was surprising to see Khaled Mohiuddin unaware of these facts. Moreover, he refrained from countering the misinformation spread by BNP’s Azizul Bari Helal, who claimed that Bangladesh had signed agreements to export LNG gas to India. Instead, Khaled deferred by saying he would “look into it.”

— Enayet Ullah
Blogger and Online Activist