'Bahut Bada Fraud…' Netizens Mock Global Peace Index That Placed Trouble-Hit Bangladesh, Sri Lanka Ahead of India

It was in June 2024 that Bangladesh was ranked the third most peaceful country in South Asia, leaving behind India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan, according to the Global Peace Index (GPI), 2024. Cut to August and India’s neighbour is in the throes of the worst-possible uprising that has seen former prime minister Sheikh Hasina flee to India as the military takes over the country.

The rankings, surprisingly, also placed Sri Lanka ahead of India, with the former ranked at 100 versus India’s 116. It was just two years ago when decades of economic mismanagement resulted in a major crisis in Sri Lanka as a foreign currency shortage made it difficult for the government to pay for the import of basic items like oil. Prices of everyday goods and food items soared, with electricity cuts for long periods, pushing the aam aadmi to the brink and triggering an uprising that saw President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and PM Mahinda Rajapaksa being forced to resign.

The rankings of not just India’s neighbours but countries like the United Kingdom, which is facing the worst-possible riots in decades after an anti-immigrant misinformation campaign stoked outrage over a stabbing attack that left three children dead in Southport, are also much higher — an anomaly that seems to have caught the attention of social media users.

Several X users took to the social networking platform to call out the bias against India, sharing images of rioting and instability from the countries touted to be more peaceful.

“A gentle reminder of the Global Peace Index… India Rank – 116… Bangladesh – 93… How shameless can these bodies be!,” a user said, sharing a screenshot of the peace index report.

Another user, while calling out the index, said they were “just measures of how much of a USA vassal state you are”.

What More Does the Index Say?

The Institute for Economics and Peace’s annual Global Peace Index provides a comprehensive framework for evaluating the peacefulness of nations, assessing the level of peacefulness in 163 countries and territories around the world.

Western Europe is recognised as the most peaceful region globally in the 2024 GPI, with seven of the top 10 most peaceful countries located there and even ranking in the top three.

Iceland has retained its position as the most peaceful country in the world since 2008.

New Zealand is the most peaceful country in the Pacific region and is ranked 4th globally in the 2024 GPI. Singapore and Malaysia are the most peaceful countries in Asia, ranking 5th and 10th globally, respectively.

The United States, meanwhile, experienced a 5.7 per cent drop in peacefulness, primarily due to an increase in politically motivated assaults and mass shootings.

Catch the latest developments on Bangladesh Unrest with our live blog.