The recent resignation of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina marks a significant turning point in South Asian politics, particularly in the context of India-Bangladesh relations. Hasina, who fled Dhaka on August 5 following weeks of violent protests, has sought refuge in India, a country where she spent many years in exile after the assassination of almost her entire family in 1975. Her departure from Bangladesh is not only a personal tragedy but also a major diplomatic blow to India, which had long relied on Hasina as a strategic ally in the region.
However, the manner in which India has responded to the crisis in Bangladesh reveals a troubling pattern of interference and a misguided attempt to deflect responsibility for the unfolding chaos. India’s negative role in the events leading up to Hasina’s resignation has exacerbated tensions in the region and raised serious questions about New Delhi’s commitment to respecting the sovereignty of its neighbors.
For years, India has viewed Sheikh Hasina as a crucial partner in maintaining stability in South Asia. Under her leadership, Bangladesh and India enjoyed close diplomatic and economic ties, with Hasina going out of her way to accommodate India’s strategic interests. From re-establishing transportation links severed after the partition of 1947 to cracking down on insurgents in India’s northeastern states, Hasina was instrumental in fostering cooperation between the two countries.
However, this close relationship also came at a cost. Hasina’s willingness to align Bangladesh’s policies with India’s strategic objectives often placed her at odds with the domestic political landscape in Bangladesh. Her government’s close ties with India fueled accusations of subservience to New Delhi, particularly from the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and other nationalist groups. This perception of Hasina as an Indian puppet became a potent political weapon, exploited by her opponents to galvanize public sentiment against her administration. The final years of Hasina’s rule were marked by increasing authoritarianism, as she sought to suppress dissent and consolidate her hold on power. India, rather than encouraging democratic reforms, continued to support Hasina’s government, even as her regime became more repressive. This support was not just diplomatic but extended to allegations of Indian interference in Bangladesh’s internal affairs, particularly during the controversial 2018 elections, which were widely criticized as being neither free nor fair.
India’s involvement in Bangladesh’s internal politics reached a peak during the 2023 protests against Hasina’s government. As public anger grew over corruption, economic mismanagement, and the erosion of democratic norms, the Indian security establishment reportedly worked behind the scenes to shore up Hasina’s position. This interference, however, only served to deepen the crisis, as it reinforced the perception that Hasina was more accountable to New Delhi than to the Bangladeshi people.
One of the most glaring examples of India’s overreach was the controversy surrounding the Adani Group’s $1.7 billion power plant deal in Jharkhand, India. The agreement, which would have seen Bangladesh import coal-based power from India at higher tariffs than other sources, was widely viewed as a move to curry favor with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The deal sparked outrage in Bangladesh, with critics accusing Hasina of sacrificing national interests to benefit a politically connected Indian conglomerate. This controversy further eroded Hasina’s domestic support and fueled the protests that eventually led to her resignation.
India’s attempts to maintain influence in Bangladesh also extended to its response to the student-led demonstrations that erupted in 2024. When the protests against Hasina’s job quota system turned into a broader movement calling for her resignation, the Indian government remained conspicuously silent on the human rights abuses committed by Hasina’s security forces. Instead, Indian officials reportedly advised Hasina to use her control over the military to crush the dissent, believing that her hold on power could still be salvaged.
In the aftermath of Hasina’s resignation, India’s response took an even more troubling turn with the baseless accusations that the United States had intervened in Bangladesh’s internal affairs. Indian media and political figures pushed the narrative that the US was behind the protests that ousted Hasina, despite a lack of concrete evidence to support such claims. This unfounded accusation appears to be a calculated attempt by India to deflect blame for the crisis in Bangladesh and to distract from its own role in propping up an increasingly unpopular and authoritarian regime.
India’s negative role in Bangladesh’s political crisis also sends a worrying signal to other neighboring countries. As New Delhi continues to pursue a foreign policy that increasingly aligns with its domestic political agenda, there is a growing perception that India is willing to interfere in the internal affairs of its neighbors to secure its interests. This approach risks creating further instability in the region and could lead to a loss of influence for India as neighboring countries seek to assert their independence and resist external interference.
The resignation of Sheikh Hasina marks the end of an era in Bangladesh, but it also highlights the detrimental impact of India’s overreach and interference in the country’s internal affairs. By supporting an increasingly authoritarian regime and ignoring the legitimate concerns of the Bangladeshi people, India has played a significant role in the crisis that led to Hasina’s downfall. As the dust settles in Dhaka, India must now contend with the consequences of its actions and the potential loss of influence in a region where it once held significant sway.
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