A few videos of wild anti-Indian celebrations surfaced from Bangladesh on November 19. Just as Indians were inconsolable over their country’s defeat by Australia in the ODI World Cup final. Hoots and high-pitched cries of joy were heard.
Social media users expressed mixed feelings about these videos. With some claiming they didn’t accurately capture the mood of the nation. Others questioned if anti-Indian feelings were growing in Bangladesh. A neighbor that India assisted in gaining independence from Pakistan in 1971.
Such celebrations might come from Pakistan, but why from Bangladesh? And, what are the reasons behind it?
“Bangladesh’s young Muslims are happy because India lost the World Cup. Why are they so much anti-India. When India liberated their country and they depend on India for almost everything, healthcare, entertainment, clothing, beef, onion etc,” exiled Bangladeshi author activist Taslima Nasreen asked on X, reacting to the videos.
As Nasreen continued, “Governments encourage them to practice Islam, so they do and therefore automatically become anti-Hindu.”
Experts claim that since Bangladesh is schedule to hold a significant parliamentary election in January 2024, there is undoubtedly an effort to inflame anti-Indian sentiments. The rise in hate crimes in the Muslim-majority nation of India is also attribute to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism.
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Thousands of students watched the India-Australia final match on a massive screen that was at Dhaka University. They began to celebrate India’s defeat, and many of them could be seen joyfully dancing.
Videos of Bangladeshis enjoying their country’s World Cup victory over India went viral.
“India’s defeat is like Bangladesh winning the World Cup,” said a person in one of the clips of the elated celebrations.
“We are happier that India lost. Even Bangladesh winning the World Cup wouldn’t have make us this happy,” said another person in the video. That was posted on X and had been viewed over 2.6 million times.
However, Jayanta Ghoshal draws attention to the fact that the anti-Indian celebrations surrounding India’s World Cup defeat coincide with Bangladesh’s January elections.
The anti-Indian sentiment in Bangladesh stems from a number of places, but Suman Bhattacharya advises caution. “We are regard as the bullish big brother by our smaller neighbors, such as Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Maldives. As a result, we must handle these smaller countries with extreme caution,” he states.
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