Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Saturday said India needs to address Bangladesh`s longstanding concerns to improve bilateral ties

Animosity towards Hindus in Bangladesh seems to have been going on for some time. In 2021, mob attacks during and after the Hindu festival of Durga Puja prompted human rights group Amnesty International to say that the Bangladesh state has, over the years, "failed in its duty to protect minorities".

The arrest of a Hindu monk in Bangladesh has triggered a fresh war of words with neighbour India over the condition of minorities in the country. Chinmoy Krishna Das, a spokesperson of a Bangladesh-based Hindu organisation, was arrested on sedition charges this week, spurring clashes that led to one death.

Members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal protested in Mangaluru, urging for the protection of Hindus in Bangladesh following the detention of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu. They discussed fears of a systematic effort to drive Hindus out of the country and called for intervention from the United Nations and the Indian government.

India’s reaction comes on the heels of increasing tensions in Bangladesh, particularly regarding the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, who was charged with sedition.

On the recent arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, a former member of ISKCON Bangladesh, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India expected him to receive a fair and transparent trial.