Rising Tensions: Boycott Movement Gains Momentum in Bangladesh as Muslim Leaders Reject Indian Products

Bangladesh (The Uttam Hindu): Relations between India and Bangladesh are becoming increasingly tense. A senior leader of Bangladesh's main opposition party the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has called for a boycott of Indian products and led a protest by burning sheets reportedly made in Jaipur. The protest took place on the streets of Dhaka while Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was on a two-day visit to the country. On the first day of his visit Misri emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety of Hindus and their religious places in Bangladesh. He conveyed India’s concerns about the welfare of minorities during a meeting with Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary Mohammad Jashimuddin.

The following day, BNP Joint General Secretary Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi spearheaded the protest in Rajshahi city where he set fire to chadar (sheets) allegedly manufactured in Jaipur, India. Rizvi holding up the printed sheet declared, “This chadar is made in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan in India. We are burning it in protest against Indian aggression and to announce our boycott of Indian products.” After making this statement, Rizvi and his party workers set the sheet on fire trampling on it while shouting anti-India slogans. Rizvi further stated that India’s friendship was limited to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and from now on they would boycott Indian products.

This protest is not the first of its kind from Rizvi. Just last week he burned an India-made sari belonging to his wife as part of his protest against the alleged insult to the Bangladeshi national flag in India. In December he publicly set fire to the sari stating, "This is an Indian sari. It belonged to my wife who gave it to be burned." Rizvi had also burned an Indian shawl in March earlier this year in a similar protest.

Interestingly, this incident of burning sheets in Bangladesh follows similar protests in India. In Kolkata, protesters had burned Bangladeshi-made Dhakai Jamdani sarees in a demonstration organized by the Bengali Hindu Suraksha Samiti. The protest was a response to alleged atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh with the protesters calling for a boycott of Bangladeshi products and warning of retaliation if attacks on the Hindu minority continued.