Modi's Hindu nationalist BJP party came to power in 2014, and Modi's commitment to a Hindu rashtra, or Hindu nation, while turning its back on secularism has undermined a core Indian foreign policy principle.
In 2019, the Modi government passed controversial citizenship laws that were criticized as anti-Muslim. The BJP's strident anti-migrant rhetoric sees hardline party members often railing against Muslim "infiltrators" with Indian Home Minister Amit Shah infamously calling Bangladeshi migrants "termites" during an election rally in West Bengal.
The revolution to oust a long-serving leader, who kept the Muslim majority and the Hindu minority in a peaceful coexistence, has opened a new chapter for Bangladesh society. Will this prove to be a destabilizing period in which the Islamic party, Jamaat, holds sway over the society? Will the secular history of Bangladesh be forgotten? The final question will be, when will the new US military base be opened on Saint Martin Island?
Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist
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