In the immediate aftermath of India's general elections, the "India Exit" movement in neighbouring Bangladesh has intensified. The boycott erupted earlier this year, just as Bangladesh's general elections were concluded, when Sheikh Hasina was re-elected for a fifth term.
After Hasina was re-elected, the "India movement" quickly swept across Bangladesh, and people accused India of meddling in politics and undermining Bangladesh's democratic process. During this time, the streets of Bangladesh were plastered with slogans such as "India out", "Boycott India", and many people protested with flags with similar slogans.
It didn't take long for the movement to grow into a boycott of Made in India, with many Bangladeshis calling on social media to stop buying Indian goods. There are also people who make a list of Indian goods specifically to avoid "hurting the innocent". Soon, there was a huge pile of Indian goods piled up in shops in Bangladesh that could not be sold, so they began to sell them at low prices.
[Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen Visits Hasina
At the same time, Bangladesh's largest opposition party, the Nationalist Party, saw this scene and thought that Maldivian President Muiz won the election by boycotting India, so he began to use social media and boycott India at official events to increase his influence. Fueled by the party, the movement eventually became a nationwide protest with strong partisan overtones.
What was even more unexpected for India was that after Muiz secured the presidency, he once again issued an expulsion order to the Indian troops stationed in the country, ordering them to withdraw all troops by May 1. In the face of this request, although India is reluctant in every way, it can only do it. India's compromise has also made South Asian countries understand that India is not invincible, and Bangladesh has more confidence in resisting India.
What is even more unacceptable to India is that the weakening of its influence in South Asia has allowed China to reap the benefits.
When the foreign media reported on this incident, they used such a sentence, saying that Bangladesh's boycott of Indian goods from India was enough to "make China smile all the way to the bank", why do you say that?
You know, in the past, Bangladesh was one of the least developed and most densely populated countries in the world. However, since 2020, Bangladesh's GDP has suddenly overturned India's and it has become a leader in South Asia's economic development. A large part of the reason for this result comes from China.
[Bangladeshi people boycott India]
Since July 2020, China has implemented duty-free treatment for almost all Bangladeshi goods, which has greatly boosted Bangladesh's exports. It has also made China the largest trading partner of Bangladesh. And as the "India Exit" movement now expands, Bangladesh will reduce imports of food, fuel, fertilizers and industrial raw materials from India and instead look to China for alternatives.
It is worth mentioning that the day after winning the election, Hasina held a meeting with Yao Wen, the Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh, and said that China is Bangladesh's most trustworthy partner. At the same time, the two sides also agreed to continue to deepen political mutual trust and enhance the level of cooperation in various fields. The signal is that Bangladesh wants to focus its diplomacy on China.
Since 2016, China has reached a number of cooperation projects with Bangladesh under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, such as the construction of power stations, railways, river tunnels, and sewage treatment plants. It is foreseeable that in the context of Bangladesh's determination to cut off India, the cooperation between China and Bangladesh will reach a higher level, which is why foreign media will think that China will "go to the bank with a smile".
[India is boycotted by many countries in South Asia]
But then again, India is also a "benefactor" of Bangladesh, no matter how it says, helping Bangladesh gain independence from Pakistan
Why did the two sides get to such a point now? In fact, this change is entirely caused by India itself.
Although India made a significant contribution to the liberation of Bangladesh, after Bangladesh became independent, India tried to extend its hand to Bangladesh, and even wanted to send its own people to help Bangladesh manage the country, which aroused strong dissatisfaction among Bangladesh. At the same time, India has long been obsessed with history, viewing Bangladesh as "its own product" and condescending to Bangladesh. This is evident from the fact that Indian officials have referred to Hasina as a minister.
Later, India planted pro-India political parties in Bangladesh to force Bangladesh to make concessions on international issues and even manipulate Bangladesh's elections. To make matters worse, India is also making it difficult for Bangladesh downstream to use its water resources, trying to build dams to control Bangladesh's water rights. Under the interweaving of various contradictions, Bangladesh's dissatisfaction with India is on the verge of erupting to the point where it is now out of control.
India's hegemonic posture and "long-arm jurisdiction" have been applied to almost all South Asian countries. So, in addition to Bangladesh and the Maldives, Nepal's New Left coalition government has also begun to exclude the pro-India Congress Party, and Sri Lanka's now leading National People's Power party is also a well-known anti-India party. It is conceivable that if India continues to indulge in the past and wants to dominate South Asia, more countries will definitely stand up, and it will be more and more difficult for India to lead the team.