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Transnational Thursday for August 8, 2024

Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.

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Multiple bad incentives aligning is what's happening.

India was critical to the independence of Bangladesh, and both countries have generally had an amiable relationship. India has been a big proponent of turning Bangladesh into a somewhat secular nation. It is still 92% Muslim, with 8% Hindus.

Bad incentives:

  • Muslims have always oppressed Hindu minorities. So, the tensions have precedent. Using one against the other is Muslim politics 101.
  • Hasina is seen as the secular leader, so anti Sheikh Hasina riots have turned into anti-hindu riots.
  • Hasina is seen to be a close to India, so protestors are turning anti India. India has a major illegal-immigration problem from Bangladesh, so Indian public rhetoric is slightly anti-Bangladeshi right now, which has fanned the flames. Anti-India riots have turned into anti-hindu riots.
  • As Hasina pushed her opposition into a corner, they relied on the far-right (practically violent Islamists) for new rhetoric. Bangladesh has undergone massive Islamization (as has Pakistan & Maldives), and they genuinely want to destroy temples and beat up Hindus.
  • India is a non-retaliating big-brother of a terribly run subcontinent. So when leaders in Bangladesh/Nepal/Pakistan/Maldives fuck up, they love to point fingers towards India to move blame away from themselves. Free lunch.

This is coupled with some really odd global incentives which empowers the anti-hindu lynch mob:

  • India insists on being non-aligned. So CIA wants to find other means to counter balance China. Keeping the neighborhood unstable is to their benefit. Bringing down Hasina is so they can establish control in the chaos.
  • Ivy league students are stupid & uninformed. Hasina was running an authoritarian pseudo-democracy. She was still the most democratic and liberal choice by a country mile. Ivy league kids don't care, they started opposing her.
  • Indian muslims & left work together with global orgs to attack Modi's BJP from the outside. So Left-Muslim nexus is strong. Left doesn't want to bring light to hindus being persecuted by muslims because it ruins the narrative.
  • Hasina's reaction led to 100s of dead students. Global ivy-league kids had friends their age who died. So anti-Hasina and pro-islamist sentiment was purchased by west wholesale.

Truth is, Hindus are 2nd only to Jews in being lynched & exiled from every historic homeland. From Malaysia (whose Hindus ended up forming Singapore) to Afghanistan (which may be my family's ancestral home....20% chance), majority Islam has shown itself to be incompatible with Hinduism. There might be a bunch of incentives this time around, but this is a movie we Hindus have seen before.