Bangladesh has once again been gripped by violent unrest fol lowing the death of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, deepen ing political uncertainty in India’s immediate neighbourhood. Hadi’s killing has triggered widespread protests across several cities, intensifi ed anti-India sentiment, and led to targeted attacks on media outlets perceived as sympathetic to New Delhi. Hadi, a spokesperson for the “Inquilab Mancha” outfi t and a candidate in the upcoming general elections, was shot in the head by masked assailants in Dhaka last Friday while launching his election campaign. After receiving initial treatment at a local hospital, he was airlifted to Singapore for advanced medical care. After spending six days on life support, he succumbed late Thursday. His death has since become a rallying point for angry supporters and activists.
An outspoken critic of India’s role in Bangladesh’s domestic politics, Hadi had frequently accused New Delhi of meddling in the country’s internal affairs. His stance resonated strongly after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India following last year’s uprising, a development that continues to fuel public anger against India in Bangladesh. In the aftermath of Hadi’s death, conspiracy theories have proliferated online, with claims that the attackers escaped to India. Some youth leaders and politicians have echoed these allegations, further fuelling tensions. Videos circulating on social media showed mobs vandalising the offi ces of leading newspapers, including Proth om Alo and The Daily Star, both widely regarded as mainstream and, by critics, pro-India. Protesters also set fi re to the main offi ce of the left-leaning cultural organisation Udichi Shilpigoshthi in the capital shortly after Hadi’s body was brought back from Singapore. Sporadic violence was also reported from other parts of the country. In a partic ularly disturbing incident in Mymensingh, a Hindoo man was lynched and his body set on fi re over alleged blasphemy. The victim, 25 year old Dipu Chandra Das, was a factory worker. The killing has height ened fears of communal violence amid the broader political turmoil.
The developments in Bangladesh are viewed as a “greatest strategic challenge” to India since the Liberation War of 1971 according to the assessment of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, chaired by Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor. The committee has sought to analyse the turbulent India-Bangladesh relation of the past two years and said that Bangladesh is witnessing a “shift” and that New Delhi could end up losing the “strategic space” in Dhaka without necessary recalibration.
The relation between India and Bangladesh coming to such a pass is highly unfortunate since India had played a pivotal role in the cre ation of Bangladesh. But all that history has been buried deep due to mismanagement in relations between the two countries, primarily in the last decade. A major blame for this situation lies on India’s defec tive foreign policy apparatus. Indian diplomacy has failed to gauge the mood of Bangladesh’s common citizens. It supported Hasina’s regime in the last decade while she was fast losing popularity and was being seen as an autocrat in her country. Instead of promoting people-to-people engagement, New Delhi engaged exclusively with the unpopular regime in Dhaka simply because Hasina had satisfi ed the business interests of the Adani group by purchasing electricity at a higher rate and had signed a 25 year contract for power supply with that company. The result is for everyone to see how a staunch enemy has been created on the eastern frontier.
Here, India can learn a lesson or two from Malaysia and Singapore. Once a part of Malaysia for a brief period of two years, Singapore later became an independent nation and carved its own niche in the world. Despite the separation, the two countries remain engaged in all forms of diplomatic activities and have managed very diffi cult negotiations skillfully. There is strong people-to-people connection between both countries, while trade and commerce continue to flourish.
If the Bangladesh experience is anything to go by, it is highly likely that India might face a similar predicament with another neighbouring country – Myanmar (Burma). Given New Delhi’s present policy of closer ties with the military junta ruling over Myanmar, it has already risked alienating the country’s broader population. The military lead ers now in power are not permanent. Their exit, sooner or few years later, is a given event. Then, when ever a civilian democratic govern ment takes over the reins, the fi rst geographical enemy will be India. At a time when India’s ties are deteriorating with almost every single country in its immediate neighbourhood, diplomacy should focus on realpolitik, not false bravado and jingoism. This down grad ing or souring of relations had started with Nepal in 2017 and has fast spread to other neighbouring countries. India’s intelligence and diplomatic failures cannot be camoufl aged by brave talk in the home media. Immediate and drastic revamping of these wings should be the fi rst priority for New Delhi.