Hopeful that situation in Bangladesh would return to normal soon: India

New Delhi: Around 6,700 Indian students have returned from Bangladesh, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday as the neighbouring country witnessed weeks of anti-government protests against quotas in jobs that triggered deadly clashes between police and university students.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India was hopeful that the situation in the country would return to normal soon.

Over 120 people have been killed in the clashes with protesting students demanding the Sheikh Hasina-led government to scrap a controversial job quota system. The overall situation has improved since Wednesday, according to reports from Dhaka.

“So far 6,700 Indian students have returned from Bangladesh,” Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing. He reiterated India’s position that it considers the ongoing situation in Bangladesh to be its internal matter. “We are aware of the situation in Bangladesh and have been closely following the developments there. India considers the ongoing situation in the country to be an internal matter of Bangladesh,” he said.

“With the support and cooperation of the Bangladesh government, we were able to arrange for the safe return of our students,” Jaiswal said.

“Being a close neighbour with whom we share very warm and friendly ties, we are hopeful that the situation in the country would return to normal soon,” he added.

Last week, Jaiswal said the total number of Indian nationals in Bangladesh was estimated to be around 15,000 which included 8,500 students.