Published: 12:20 AM, 26 August 2026
Indo-BD Relations Since August 2024
Dr. Shantanu Mukharji
According to Prothom Alo, a leading Bangla newspaper published from Dhaka, fresh tensions have emerged in Bangladesh–India relations after ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was given an opportunity to speak directly to journalists in Delhi. Possibly against this backdrop, it has become almost certain that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will not attend the outreach session of the BRICS summit, scheduled in Delhi (September 12-13). The newspaper authenticates its input quoting several high-level sources of the Bangladesh government that following the recent developments, the possibility of the Prime Minister attending the BRICS outreach session has effectively evaporated.
It may also be recalled that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited Tarique Rahman in his capacity as the current chair of BIMSTEC to attend the session. The invitation was conveyed in a diplomatic letter sent to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Indian High Commission in Dhaka as early as on 14 July. Here, the first courtesy call by India’s newly appointed High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka is being viewed as significant. Later, Trivedi called on the Indian Prime Minister on August 11 apprising him about his meeting with the Bangladesh Prime Minister and taking guidance for further course of action.
In view of the prevailing strain in the Indo-BD ties, it is pertinent to put things in perspective. Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s virtual press conference carried at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia (FCC) at New Delhi on August 5 has not augured very well with the Bangladesh government who have categorically stated that this development is likely to dent the existing Info-BD bilateral relations. While the government of India has officially denied any involvement in this press conference calling the entity (FCC) a private organization, Bangladesh media has sharply reacted to the press conference questioning the credibility of an entity of such a huge number of journalists where a fugitive political leader of other country appeared without the knowledge or clearance of the government. They have also blamed the Indian media who had advertised the said conference well in advance confirming that it was a preplanned move.
The Bangladesh press and a large segment of people are also critical of the press conference for Hasina having made political statements. The media in Dhaka generally reckon that Sheikh Hasina’s press conference proves two things. She is not retiring from politics anytime soon, and she intends to retain the leadership of her party. The reality is that the anger and outrage against her 16-year rule which led to her ouster is still prevalent in the country. However defiant she may sound when she declares that she will return to the country to challenge her conviction, she will also have to accept the ire of the public. Her statement in the press conference that she will return to Bangladesh sounds like an empty rhetoric given that her own party is unable to rally around her now as per the Dhaka Tribune – a widely read English Daily.
The Daily Star another prominent daily on the other hand, observed that the August 5 event assumed additional significance because India’s new High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, had, during a courtesy call on Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humayun Kabir on August 3, received an unusually strong and advance warning against allowing the deposed Awami League Chief Hasina any platform to make political statements. The paper further states that Dhaka’s response to the decision to allow Hasina to speak remotely at the FCC-hosted event was both expected and justified, although some Bangladesh watchers argue that an even stronger protest could have been lodged through a more carefully calibrated choice of words. India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the event was a private media interaction, that the Indian government had no role in it, and that it did not endorse what was said there. He also added that the Indian government “does not endorse anything said at the forum, especially with regard to the duly constituted government of Bangladesh.”
Dhaka, meanwhile, has viewed positively the above remarks made by Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson at the ministry’s regular briefing on August 8. Responding to a question, Jaiswal also said that the Indian government did not endorse anything said at the forum, especially with regard to the duly constituted Government of Bangladesh. According to members of Bangladesh’s diplomatic community, India’s position indicates that, despite the recent tensions, neither country is interested in allowing relations to deteriorate further. There is still an opportunity to take the relationship forward on the basis of mutual respect, dignity, shared interests and sensitivity towards each other’s concerns. Although it is a huge challenge to make the Info-BD ties normal yet it is not impossible due to the wisdom of the political leadership on both the sides as well as committed diplomats working hard to do their best.
Dr. Shantanu Mukharji is a retired IPS
officer and former National Security
Adviser in Mauritius.
