Bangladesh and India, two neighboring countries that share the world’s fifth-longest border, were once believed to enjoy a harmonious bilateral relationship. Today, however, they are far from close.
Following last year’s bloody uprising in Bangladesh, which resulted in the end of Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year autocratic rule — widely believed to have been supported by New Delhi — the Indian government has largely ignored the interim administration of Bangladesh led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus.
The most recent instance of this Indian disregard is Bangladesh’s exclusion from the Raisina Dialogue, India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics. The Raisina Dialogue has been held in New Delhi for the past decade, and the 10th edition this year was held on March 17-19. There were participants from 125 countries, yet none from Bangladesh, a country with which India not only shares its longest border but, until recently, referred to as its “closest neighbor and ally.”
This omission is a stark example of New Delhi’s apparent indifference to Dhaka.
While diplomatic snubs and omissions are one thing, there is also a noticeable effort to portray Bangladesh in a way that distorts reality. Since Hasina’s removal, Indian media, think tanks, and politicians have relentlessly worked to depict Bangladesh as a nation oppressing its minorities, and as a state veering toward extremism, with a narrative of a “fundamentalist Islamist state” on the rise.
While the Indian government’s executive branch has generally maintained a factual and measured stance on the situation in Bangladesh, it is no secret that much of the Indian media, often referred to as “Godi media” or lapdog media for echoing the government’s favored narrative, has left no stone unturned in vilifying Bangladesh’s interim administration.
A glaring example of this bias can be seen in NDTV’s interview with U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who was visiting India as part of a multicountry trip and participating in both the Raisina Dialogue and a security and intelligence conclave held on the sidelines.
NDTV asked Gabbard a series of leading questions, including whether she was concerned about the “alarming situation” in Bangladesh and whether the country needed stability at this time.
In response, Gabbard stated that the “longtime unfortunate persecution, killing, and abuse of religious minorities like Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and others has been a major concern for the U.S. government and President Trump’s administration,” though she did not clarify what “longtime” actually refers to. She also added that Trump is determined to “identify and defeat radical Islamic terrorism,” immediately following her comments on the Bangladesh situation, in effect linking the two.
Bangladesh’s interim government swiftly rejected these claims, condemning any attempts to associate the country with an “Islamist caliphate.” It emphasized that such remarks were “misleading and damaging to the image and reputation of Bangladesh,” a country whose Islamic practices have long been inclusive and peaceful, and which has made significant progress in combating extremism and terrorism.
Several leading Indian media outlets published the interim government’s protest statement. However, Dhaka’s rejoinder was drowned out by other issues in the Indian capital.
After almost eight months of Hasina’s fall, the Bangladesh-India relationship remains clouded by mistrust and misinformation. Deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s continuing presence in India, despite Dhaka’s repeated calls for her repatriation to face trial in Bangladesh, remains the biggest elephant in the room.
The Indian media’s criticism of the interim government continues on multiple fronts. Initially, it focused on exaggerated reports about minority oppression in Bangladesh but in recent weeks has shifted focus to Bangladesh’s outreach to Pakistan and China.
Bangladesh is currently governed by a “secular” and “internationally renowned leader, who heads what is widely considered in the country to be one of the most secular-minded Cabinets. But the Indian media and think tanks are saying that the interim government is paving the way for an “Islamist state.”
While some of the optics have indeed raised concerns for Bangladesh, including incidents of attacks on minorities (which, it should be noted, were largely politically motivated rather than communal), a visible rise in protests, marches by Islamist parties, and certain violations of liberal values by the far-right, the reality is more nuanced.
During her decade-long autocratic rule, Hasina fiercely suppressed Islamist parties to score political points for ostensibly tackling “terrorism” and gain favor with both New Delhi and the West. However, since her ouster, analysts have argued that the situation has become like a shaken soda bottle — once the lid popped off, frustrations that had been building up over the years began to spill over. But this doesn’t necessarily mean Bangladesh is becoming a fundamentalist state.
The truth is India has not shown genuine interest in fully understanding the situation in Bangladesh, nor has it demonstrated a sincere effort to repair its relationship with Dhaka’s interim government. The time has come for New Delhi to realize that Dhaka will not wait indefinitely for India to repair fraying relations. It has already begun exploring other avenues to safeguard its own interests.
Increasing trade with Pakistan and Yunus’ upcoming trip to China could open doors for Bangladesh to improve economic welfare. These are pragmatic steps the interim government is taking to safeguard its economy and are not part of a larger strategy to destabilize or harm India.
The responsibility to mend this relationship now rests squarely with New Delhi. The sooner this happens, the better for both countries.
