New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS) What is transpiring in Bangladesh at present should not astonish anyone, as those who have been monitoring the steady yet persistent radicalisation taking place there were aware that this was inevitable.
The violence, the rhetoric, and the animosity aimed at India and Hindus are not mere spontaneous outbursts of anger. They are the predictable outcome of a long-brewing ideological churn — one that was never meant to reform Bangladesh but to build an anti-India and anti-Hindu wave.
The savage killing of Dipu Das by radical Islamist mobs, followed by the macabre public display and celebration of his death, exposed the depth of this rot. It was not merely an act of violence; it was a message. A message of intimidation to minorities and a declaration of ideological dominance by forces that have long rejected Bangladesh’s plural foundations.
The killing drew condemnation in India, and several leaders across party lines, including Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra — who is otherwise vocal primarily on international Muslim causes like Gaza — underlined how brutal and indefensible the act was. Yet outrage, both domestic and international, has done little to put pressure on the current dispensation there to act.
It is distressing to find most of India’s neighbourhoods seething in anti-India diatribe. Bangladesh has fallen so quickly and has forgotten what India has done for it. It was India that gave it life in 1971 and saved it from the evil clutches of Pakistan, but today, Bangladesh wants a Pakistan in itself. Shocking as it may seem, that is the truth with India’s eastern neighbour.
Bangladesh was never entirely secular in this sense, but leaders like Sheikh Hasina made sustained efforts to preserve social cohesion and resist extremist pressures. Her government, despite its flaws, stood against radical Islamist groups that sought to dominate public life and politics. That fragile balance collapsed when extremist elements, masquerading as a student movement, seized the streets and eventually the narrative. What followed was not reform but regression.
Since then, anti-India sentiment and overt Hindu hatred have grown sharper and more menacing. Radical groups no longer whisper their intentions; they announce them openly. Calls to destabilise India’s northeastern states are now made without fear. This is no longer just Bangladesh’s internal problem — it is a direct threat to regional stability and India’s territorial integrity.
Bangladesh’s descent must also be viewed within the larger pattern of turbulence across India’s neighbourhood. From Pakistan’s perpetual hostility to Nepal’s periodic flirtation with anti-India nationalism, from Sri Lanka’s oscillations to the Maldives’ recent antagonism, India finds itself encircled by volatile politics.
Managing this environment requires not emotional or knee-jerk reactions but strategic patience — a quality India has mastered over the decades.
The Maldives offers a telling example. The “India Out” campaign, fuelled by Islamist groups and amplified by political opportunism, pushed bilateral relations to the brink. President Mohamed Muizzu, upon returning from China in early 2024, went so far as to accuse India of acting like a bully.
But geopolitics has a way of confronting rhetoric with reality. When promised economic lifelines from Beijing and Gulf nations failed to materialise, Male was forced to reassess. Quiet course correction followed. Muizzu attended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oath-taking ceremony in June 2025, signalling a thaw. PM Modi’s later participation as the chief guest at the Maldives’ 60th Independence Day celebrations marked a clear reset.
Sri Lanka’s trajectory has been similar. After a phase of anti-India posturing, Colombo rediscovered strategic logic and situation. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s decision to make India his first foreign destination reaffirmed a truth Sri Lanka learns repeatedly: geography and history make India indispensable. Relations have steadily improved since.
Nepal, too, oscillates between suspicion and pragmatism. While certain factions continue to stoke anti-India sentiment, Kathmandu understands that its deepest economic, cultural, and political ties remain with New Delhi.
Bangladesh, however, represents a different and far more dangerous challenge. Here, radical Islamist forces are not merely expressing resentment; they are positioning themselves as instruments in Pakistan’s long-standing strategy of encircling and destabilising India. These elements are attempting to turn Bangladesh into an eastern pressure point against India.
New Delhi, for its part, is clear-eyed as it has always been. Its subtle duck-policy — cool on the surface and wading hard underneath — has always given it success. Sentimentality has no place in foreign policy, but neither does panic. Engagement must continue where possible; deterrence must be employed where necessary, and vigilance must always prevail. The region’s stability depends on it.
Bangladesh may have forgotten its past, but India cannot afford to ignore the lessons of history — especially when the costs of neglect are written in blood.
The tragedy is that Bangladesh’s own future is being sacrificed at the altar of ideological extremism. A nation that once symbolised resistance to religious authoritarianism is now flirting with the very forces of Pakistan. If this trajectory continues, Bangladesh risks internal implosion and hostility with its most reliable neighbour.
(Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ians.in)
–IANS
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