In Bangladesh, opposition leaders, particularly from the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), have initiated an anti-India campaign, urging citizens to boycott Indian products, with a recent focus on Indian sarees. This campaign gained traction after senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi publicly discarded a Kashmiri shawl, sparking a social media trend where other opposition figures followed suit, using hashtags like #IndiaOut and #BoycottIndianProducts.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, however, condemned the campaign, calling out opposition leaders to burn the Indian sarees worn by their wives if they truly advocate boycotting Indian goods. She highlighted the prevalence of Indian sarees among Bangladeshi women and accused opposition leaders of hypocrisy, claiming that their family members often shop in India and sell goods in Dhaka.
In response, Rizvi denied the allegations, stating that opposition leaders’ wives do not purchase Indian sarees. He recounted an incident where his wife received an Indian saree as a gift, but it tore after being stitched with kantha embroidery.
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Rizvi also criticized what he perceived as growing intolerance towards anti-India sentiments in Bangladesh, alleging that newspapers refrain from publishing news critical of India without providing evidence to support his claims.
Despite these tensions, India and Bangladesh maintain friendly relations, rooted in India’s support during Bangladesh’s liberation from Pakistan in 1971. The two countries have significant trade ties, with Bangladesh being India’s largest export destination in Asia and India being Bangladesh’s second-largest trade partner in the continent. Bilateral trade between the two nations amounts to billions of dollars, and India contributes to Bangladesh’s development through various infrastructure and energy projects.
