In the latest, India has decided to tighten rules on the import of goods from Bangladesh. Readymade garments from Bangladesh can enter only India through two sea ports—Kolkata and Nhava Sheva (in Maharashtra). Some other products from Bangladesh such as plastic items, wooden furniture, carbonated drinks, processed foods, fruit-flavoured drinks, cotton, and cotton waste will no longer be allowed through land border points in the northeastern states of Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura, and Mizoram, as well as Phulbari and Changrabandha in West Bengal.
These changes are expected to affect Bangladesh’s trade with India, as they limit the routes and border points through which goods can be brought in. This move comes a little over a month following India ended a special arrangement that had allowed Bangladesh to use Indian airports and ports to send its goods to other countries.
India has put these restrictions in place because Bangladesh recently stopped some value-added products from India’s Northeast from entering through land border points. In response, India is now limiting how and where Bangladeshi goods can be brought into the country. The trade tensions between India and Bangladesh are growing, especially following former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka in August last year due to large anti-government protests. The new import restrictions on Bangladeshi goods were officially announced by India’s Director General of Foreign Trade.
Bangladesh is one of the world’s biggest exporters of readymade garments, with exports worth about $38 billion in 2023. There are 11 land border points in India’s Northeast used for trade with Bangladesh. These include 3 in Assam, 2 in Meghalaya, and 6 in Tripura. Earlier, India allowed Bangladeshi goods to be traded freely through all these land routes and seaports, but now India has started limiting this access. This is not the first time Bangladesh has done something like this. There are several past incidences where Bangladesh had created a problem for the Hindus residing there.
Bangladesh Removes Security Clearance For Pakistanis To Get Visa Amid Tensions With India
Amid the increasing diplomatic rift between Bangladesh and India over alleged attacks on minorities, Dhaka has removed the requirement for Pakistani nationals of getting a security clearance before applying for a Bangladeshi visa. Notably, the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) circulated a message to all Bangladesh missions abroad, directing them to facilitate visas for Pakistani citizens and those of Pakistani origin residing in any country.
The instruction follows a letter from the Security Services Division (SSD) of the Bangladeshi home affairs ministry which was sent on December 2. This comes shortly following Bangladesh halted its visa and consular services in its mission in Tripura’s Agartala with immediate effect following an attack targeting the Bangaldesh High Commission over the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Das in Dhaka.
Atrocities On Hindus Continues In Bangladesh
In February 2025, a Muslim mob, including members of radical groups like ‘Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh’ and ‘Tawhidi Janata,’ attacked a Hindu man named Supta Saha Anik. They accused him of making “objectionable remarks” about Islam.
The mob held a protest in Kalmakanda upazila in the Netrakona district of Bangladesh, after Jumma Namaz. They demanded that the Hindu man be arrested for supposedly insulting Prophet Muhammad and gave a 48-hour deadline.
In December 2024, Muslims attacked 130 Hindu homes and 20 temples after accusing a young boy named Akash Das of making blasphemous comments on Facebook. In October 2024, a Muslim mob surrounded a college in Boalmari, Faridpur district, after accusing a Hindu boy, Hridoy Pal, of insulting Prophet Muhammad.
In September 2024, a Hindu boy named Utsab Mandal was nearly killed by a Muslim mob in the Sonadanga area of Khulna city over accusations of blasphemy. Later that month, another Muslim mob surrounded the Patiya police station in Chittagong, demanding the handover of a Hindu boy accused of insulting Prophet Muhammad.
Jamaat-E-Islami Harasses Hindus In Bangladesh
Human rights activist and exiled Bangladeshi blogger Asad Noor revealed that the minority community was being forced to join ‘Jamaat-e-Islami’ in Bangladesh. Noor made the revelations in a Facebook post and he informed that members of the radical Islamist outfit visited Kalmati Ward No.2 in Khuniagach Union of Lalmonirhat Sadar Upazila. They preyed upon 27 poor, destitute Hindus and forced them to join ‘Jamaat-e-Islami.’ According to the media reports, the radicals threatened to kill the victims and remove them from the nation. The impoverished Hindus had to comply with their diktat. The Jamaat-e-Islami members forced them into signing some forms and gave them Islamic books to brainwash them into changing their Hindu Faith.
Islamists are consistently target Hindu homes, businesses and temples in Dhaka. In one of the videos shared by ‘Voice of Bangladeshi Hindus’, a woman can be seen narrating, ‘They came and looted our house. They took away our money, gold and whatever valuable that was left with us. They also abducted my 14-year-old boy’. While breaking down in tears she narrated, ‘I don’t even know their identity and they vandalised our house and took everything away. They also beat us severely’
A man standing in the vicinity pointed out a mob of 10-12 men attacked their house. He said, ‘They beat me and made me sign on an empty stamp paper. They also sought a ransom of Rs 10 lakh to return the boy’. However, the incident took place in Jessore district in southwestern Bangladesh.
ISKCON Centre Vandalised In Bangladesh
An ISKCON temple in Meherpur, a town in the Khulna division of Bangladesh, was damaged and set on fire. This happened as violence continues to spread in the country after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left her position. The attack on the ISKCON temple is not the only one. Several Hindu temples across Bangladesh have also been attacked. This incident was part of a series of attacks on Hindu temples in Bangladesh during that period. In Chattogram, three Hindu temples were attacked by a mob following sedition charges against a former ISKCON member. The incident occurred around 2:30 pm in the city’s Harish Chandra Munsef Lane, where the Shantaneshwari Matri Temple, the nearby Shoni Temple, and the Shantaneshwari Kalibari Temple were targeted.
Cross Border Movement And Smuggling In India By Bangladeshis
Three Bangladeshi women were detained for illegally entering India and living under false identities. One posed as a transgender individual selling street food, while others used banned apps to contact families in Bangladesh. Three Bangladeshi nationals, including a woman, were arrested for illegal entry and residing without valid documentation. One had a prior arrest for similar charges. In Mathura district, 90 Bangladeshi nationals, including 22 children, were apprehended for illegally residing and working in India. They had entered the country 10-15 years ago via porous borders.
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