New Delhi-Dhaka relations were hailed as the time-tested partnership and as an emblem of good bilateral relations. However, since August 2024, this rhetoric has been toppled. New Delhi-Dhaka ties are in its most chilling phase and the actions of Bangladesh are indeed emerging as a national security threat to India. The day the Students’ movement ousted the Sheikh Hasina government and an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus took over the administration of Bangladesh, comprehensive strategic relations with India began to derail as an impact of Dhaka’s repeated anti-India statements, actions and atrocities committed on the minority Hindu community of Bangladesh.
The added peril is the spiking bonhomie between Dhaka and Islamabad, which is being encapsulated as a major security threat to India. The strong footprint of Pakistan in Dhaka, i.e. in India’s backyard, has the potential of Bangladesh being a breeding ground for anti-India, illegal terror infiltrations and other actions. The latest episode emanating from Dhaka is posing such a security conundrum to New Delhi and challenges for protecting India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are multiplying with every passing day.
Artwork presented to Pakistan picturizes annexation of Indian territories
The Chief Advisor of the Bangladesh government Muhammad Yunus has recently presented an artwork to Pakistan’s Joint Chief of Staff Committee Chairman General Sahir Shamshad Mirza. The artwork is titled as “Art of Triumph”, that depicts an altered map of Bangladesh which has categorically annexed parts of the Northeastern India.
Decoding the meaning behind this gesture between Bangladesh and Pakistan stimulates serious questions pertaining to India’s security and territorial integrity. The artwork is entitled as “Triumph”, shows regions of Northeast India and is being gifted from Dhaka to Islamabad. Does that mean both Islamic nations aspire to attack and annex regions of India in the vicinity of Bangladesh.
The previous actions and statements uttered by Muhammad Yunus further embolden this apprehension that are detrimental to India’s national security paradigm. For example, during his visit to China in March, Muhammad Yunus had expressed his aspirations and exclaimed that China’s infrastructure projects and economic activities can be extended to the Northeastern parts of India as the landscape is “landlocked” and Bangladesh is the “only guardian of the oceans for all this region”.
India hits back at irrational assertions of Yunus administration towards Siliguri Corridor
These provocative statements from Yunus drew sharp criticism and ire in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a sharp warning and asserted that Northeast India is not landlocked but is the first frontier of India and is a gateway to unleash the opportunities in India. Apart from this repeated evil eye of the interim government in Bangladesh towards the Northeast and to the narrow strategic Siliguri Corridor(popularly called as the Chicken’s Neck) that connects rest of India to the Northeast, Yunus administration has also exhibited a hostile stance towards the Hindu community in Bangladesh with calibrated attacks, imprisonment etc.
The escalating anti-India trend in Bangladesh thus raises strategic concerns for India as extreme vigilance and precautionary measures are pivotal especially in the territorial borders that are imperative to espouse India’s sovereignty, national security, strategic autonomy and territorial integrity against illegal infiltarion intended to blow out the social fabric of the country. In this backdrop, as an act of strategic deterrence India has sharply curtailed trade relations with Bangladesh. For example, India’s land ports are currently not accessible for the variety of Bangladeshi goods such as jute-based products, ready-made garments, processed foods and other finished goods. This stringent action, severely hits the economy of Bangladesh which is hitherto reeling under pressure since the takeover of the country by the Yunus administration.
Earlier Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Chief Minister of Assam had also sent a stern warning to Bangladesh over its comments on the Chicken’s Neck. “They(Bangladesh) have two Chicken Necks. India has one. If they attack ours, we will attack their two chicken necks”, said Himanta Biswa Sarma. As per the statements of the Assam Chief Minister, Bangladesh has two strategic chokepoints that are vulnerable and can be used to the strategic advantage of India if any unforeseen security threats emerge. First is the narrow North Bangladesh Corridor connecting Dakhin Dinajpur to Garo Hills. Second is the narrow 28 km Chittagong corridor from South of Tripura to the Bay of Bengal, which is crucial to sustain Bangladesh’s trade activities and economy.
India is also seeking to counter the security conundrum sprouting from Bangladesh by internally strengthening the Northeastern landscape through swift infrastructure projects, solid connectivity credentials and consolidating the security or military apparatus in the region. Despite India’s diversified and drastic efforts, threats and strategic insecurity from Bangladesh is said to remain atleast under the current regime. Delhi-Dhaka relations have undergone a fundamental shift which is hard to rectify in the foreseen future.
Spiralling political reorientation between Dhaka and Islamabad especially in the military and security domain, awakens the security architecture of India to be in a heightened state, specifically in the border regions. The interim government of Bangladesh and Islamabad have inked high-stake defence agreements and there have been high-level military exchanges. Both nations have agreed to accelerate joint military exercises, personnel training programmes and ofcourse cooperation on the intelligence sharing mechanisms. There is also an understanding for the trade of military weapons and ammunition.
The latest presentation of “Triumph” artwork to the Pakistani General is indeed a clear sign of provocation and sends a strong signal to New Delhi. India is prepared to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity in all forms and horizons and the Northeastern landscape is well integrated into India, politically, socially and economically, thus there is no scope for security suspicion for India from Bangladesh. In case of any unforeseen circumstances, India is well-equipped to defend its sovereignty & security and the world has witnessed India’s overarching military and diplomatic capabilities during the recent Operation Sindoor.
However, given the history of Pakistan and Bangladesh’s boundless inclination towards the former, India’s security and diplomatic efforts have to be rigorous in countering this geopolitical ramification for defending the eastern borders of India from West Bengal to Tripura.
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