Sun Mar 23 05:33:29 UTC 2025: **India Considers Meeting Between Modi and Yunus Amidst Bangladesh Hindu Attack Concerns**
New Delhi, March 23, 2025 – India is considering a request from Bangladesh’s interim government to arrange a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus at the upcoming BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok. This follows concerns raised by several Indian MPs regarding attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, addressing a Parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting on Saturday, stated that the Bangladeshi government claims these attacks were politically motivated, not targeted at religious minorities. While confirming a potential Modi visit to the BIMSTEC summit (April 2-4) and a planned trip to Sri Lanka next month, Jaishankar remained non-committal about the Modi-Yunus meeting.
The issue of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh dominated the parliamentary discussion, with MPs from various parties demanding action. Jaishankar assured the committee that the Indian government is engaging with the Bangladeshi interim government on the matter at multiple levels and will continue to do so. Other regional concerns, including fishermen’s livelihoods, drug smuggling, and arms trafficking from Pakistan and Myanmar, were also raised. The meeting also highlighted India’s efforts to strengthen BIMSTEC due to the inactivity of SAARC, attributed to Pakistan’s stance.
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