‘Mumbai feels like home’: Bangladeshi students stay optimistic despite visa uncertainty

Bangladeshi students who love to call Mumbai their home continue to look forward to building their future and hope that the diplomatic strains between the two countries will soon improveTheir hope flickers amid news of suspended tourist visas and evident manifestos against illegal Bangladeshi migrants We speak to these students about the challenges they faced in 2025Ananya Raha who has made Mumbai his home since the last 17months says for her things are in fact looking better ldquoI am doing my Masterrsquos in English Literature at a university in Mumbai and my academics and personal life have still been smooth sailingrdquo he says Raha had left her homeland in the early days of the unrest ldquoMy scholarships and visas were already spoken for While the tensions in the country were definitely a matter of concern I never felt them creep into my life in Mumbai Out of all the places I have lived Kerala Delhi and West Bengal this felt the most like homerdquo he said while talking to Sunday middayUthsa Sarkerloves how Indian academics include the international perspective right Shajib Kumar Das says that news coverage of his country on sometimes lacks nuanceRaha never experienced any discrimination but the room does quiten when his nationality is mentioned ldquoSome students get slightly uncomfortable but that too is very rare and most importantly it hasnrsquot impacted my academicsrdquo he saysStudents though look for few essential factors when deciding to move mdash safety diversity liberal outlook and social life ldquoI love how Hinduism is practised in Mumbai then back home Also staying in the financial capital of the country works best for my careerrdquo said Shajib Kumar Das who arrived in Mumbai only seven months ago to pursue MComTo live in a city that is a pot of cultures was essential for Das ldquoI am here to experience diversity and different opportunitiesrdquo he said Dasrsquos only grouse The representation of his country in news coverage ldquoAt times Bangladeshi residents do see civil unrest and even safety issues however I have realised that it is not really shown in right light by the Indian media At times there isnrsquot enough context in thecoveragerdquo he addsTies eased and the ice thawed when Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Tarique Rahman the newly elected Bangladesh Prime Minister from the BNP The immediate effect was the reopening of Visa offices students relay that things are getting better ldquoIf the leaders accept each other the citizens do too However while studying we are always more than our nationality we are good students and much morerdquo said DasFor many the syllabus was the key factor One of them is Uthsa Sarker who studies at Mumbai Universityrsquos sociology department and says that what he learnt during his Masterrsquos in Mumbai varies from what he studied back home ldquoThere we focused more on the social dynamics within Bangladeshi society from an international perspective Here my course also has an international aspect but I have been introduced to multiple Indian perspectives on Indian society I can relate to various aspects and have been learning about concepts such as caste genderrdquo he addsHitesh Sharma EdupeerlsquoThe world in general has been experiencing a largely political climate Itrsquos crucial that the students are comfortable with it before travelling When it comes to India we can still be attracting many more students from Africa Bangladesh Sri Lanka and even countries from the West since we already have a robust education culture and we can bring in a larger diversity and a bigger influx of international studentsrsquo