NEW DELHI: With elections done and dusted in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (Feb 13) took the lead in congratulating Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Tarique Rahman after he led his party to a decisive victory and said he looks forward to strengthening relations between the two neighbouring nations.
Though it was a routine social media post on ‘X’ by the Indian leader, its significance was not lost because his message to the new leader in Bangladesh came much before China or Pakistan reacted in the rapidly-changing regional dynamics of South Asia.
Hours after the social media post, the PM spoke to the Bangladesh leader on the phone and later wrote on ‘X’: ‘’Delighted to speak with Mr Tarique Rahman. I congratulated him on the remarkable victory in the Bangladesh elections. I conveyed my best wishes and support in his endeavour to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Bangladesh. As two close neighbours with deep-rooted historical and cultural ties, I reaffirmed India’s continued commitment to the peace, progress, and prosperity of both our peoples.’’
Though it is too early to say what kind of policy the new leadership in Bangladesh would pursue vis-à-vis New Delhi, Indian officials are quite hopeful that the turmoil witnessed in bilateral ties during the last 18 months after Sheikh Hasina was dislodged in August 2024 will steadily be over in the larger interest of both nations and their peoples.
The relationship in the last one and a half years plummeted to an unprecedented low as fringe elements vehemently opposed to India took charge of all major institutions in the neighbouring country. India’s refusal to extradite Sheikh Hasina became a bone of contention between the two neighbours, even as New Delhi continued to express its serious concern over the increasing violence and killings of innocent people from the minority communities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh.
On top of it, Bangladesh’s rapid warming of ties with Pakistan under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration added to New Delhi’s woes. It was obviously difficult for New Delhi to digest the fact that Bangladesh, which won its freedom from Pakistan with India’s solid support, was steadily getting closer to Pakistan, posing a significant challenge to India on the security front. Meanwhile, India’s other major adversary, China, also cultivated the interim administration and increased its influence in Bangladesh by making massive investments. China is now Bangladesh’s largest trade partner and is also a major source of military hardware, causing deep concern in strategic circles in India.
However, India is quite hopeful that the two nations can put the past 18 months behind them and establish a stable working relationship. In recent months, New Delhi has made all the right noises to put the relationship back on track. In December last year, PM Modi expressed concern over the deteriorating health of Tarique Rehman’s mother and former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia and offered all possible support for her recovery. When she died, Modi dispatched his External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to Dhaka to represent India at her funeral.
During his four-hour visit, Jaishankar met her son Rehman, delivering a condolence letter from PM Modi, marking a strategic diplomatic effort to engage the BNP amid strained bilateral ties.
In its election manifesto, the BNP had framed its external relations around ‘’equality and self-dignity’’ and the slogan ‘’Friend Yes, Master No.’’ - The Statesman/ANN
