‘Wait & watch’: Eastern defences on high alert amid Bangladesh unrest
India rules out military threat from Bangladesh but remains on guard amid rising unrest
Lt Gen RC Tiwari, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, at a Border Outpost in Belonia, South Tripura, on Dec 19. (Photo: @easterncomd/X)
Shillong, Dec 24: The Indian defence forces are in a “wait and watch” mode amid a deteriorating law-and-order situation in Bangladesh, with concerns over rising radical activity.
“All wings of the defence forces are on a wait-and-watch mode at present. There is movement of our assets to forward positions and we are on high alert,” an official told The Assam Tribune.
On Tuesday morning, four Chinook helicopters and several Mi-17s flew southeast of Meghalaya. The Defence PRO of the Eastern Air Command described the sorties as “routine”.
“The 443-km Meghalaya–Bangladesh border is being closely monitored and BSF troops are on high alert,” BSF Inspector General O.P. Upadhyay said.
Beyond Meghalaya, the Indian Army has stepped up preparedness across states sharing an international boundary with Bangladesh.
In Assam’s Dhubri district, Army units have moved to the newly established Lachit Borphukan Military Station. Reports also suggest that some units from the Rangia Military Station have been redeployed to Dhubri.
Plans are underway to establish another military base in Tripura. Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen R.C. Tiwari has recently visited forward locations in the border state.
While Bangladesh is not considered a conventional military threat, defence forces are not taking any chances in view of escalating unrest, street violence by radical elements and reports of attacks on minorities.
“Currently, there is no direct threat from Bangladesh, but we cannot remain complacent when a neighbouring country is witnessing turmoil,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the situation in Bangladesh has worsened following the killing of student leader Osman Hadi in Dhaka last week.
On Monday, another activist, Motaleb Sikder, was shot in the head in Khulna. Both were reportedly associated with the National Citizen Party.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has stated that if voted to power, it would seek to restore the 1972 Constitution drafted under Ziaur Rahman, which did not explicitly enshrine secularism as a fundamental principle.
The BNP has historically been viewed as having a pro-Pakistan and anti-India political posture.
Security analysts have also flagged growing anti-India sentiment within sections of Bangladeshi society, fuelled by regional and international geopolitical undercurrents.