New Delhi, Oct. 28 -- It is interesting that the Indian government is choosing to raise the bogey of Bangladesh "regime change," and not, for example, last year's Nepal narrative, to caution against what is happening in this country. Widespread street protests have broken out across India in recent months foregrounding some fundamental issues at stake for the survival of Indian democracy.

The undertone of the government narrative about the protests is also interesting and echoes one which is often raised when there is need to distract attention from issues of state accountability. What happened in Bangladesh, according to the unstated narrative, is that terrorist elements infiltrated the movement and, fueled by funding from "foreign" sou...