{"id":79837,"date":"2025-12-27T12:08:30","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T06:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=79837"},"modified":"2025-12-27T12:08:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T06:38:30","slug":"bangladesh-political-turmoil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/bangladesh-political-turmoil\/","title":{"rendered":"Bangladesh in Flux: Jamaat\u2019s Rising Influence and India\u2019s Strategic Choices"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Bangladesh Political Turmoil Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amid widespread violence and political unrest in Bangladesh, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman returned to the country after 17 years in exile.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The turmoil has also been marked by intensifying anti-India rhetoric, raising regional and diplomatic concerns.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Forces Driving the Current Turmoil in Bangladesh<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>A Planned Regime-Change Operation (July\u2013August 2024)<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The unrest that began in July\u2013August 2024 has often been described as a spontaneous uprising, but evidence points to a planned operation aimed at regime change.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bangladesh\u2019s chief adviser Muhammad Yunus publicly acknowledged this in September, identifying a close aide as the strategist behind it.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Jamaat-e-Islami<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, long aligned with Pakistan, emerged as a key driving force\u2014and now exerts significant influence over the administration.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Dismantling the Post-1971 Political Order<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A central objective has been to erase the post-1971 legacy.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From August 5, 2024, symbols and institutions linked to the Liberation War and the Awami League have been targeted, signalling an attempt to rewrite national memory and politics.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Minority Repression and Visible Islamisation<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another major strand is a crackdown on minorities and a push toward more overt Islamisation.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and Ahmadiyyas have faced attacks, including allegations of killings, sexual violence, property destruction, and land grabs.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The lynching of Dipu Chandra Das drew international condemnation, underscoring the severity of abuses.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b style=\"font-size: inherit;\">Mobocracy and Media Control as Tools<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jamaat-e-Islami\u2019s consolidation of power has been accompanied by violence and unrest as methods of control.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Mobocracy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Crowds surround offices, officials, and judges until demands are met.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Institutional Capture<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Jamaat-aligned appointees are replacing incumbents across bureaucracy and academia.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Media Suppression<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Attacks on journalists and outlets have surged; offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star were recently attacked, and some journalists detained without trial.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Economic Unravelling and India Ties<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The turmoil has disrupted long-standing economic cooperation with India, built over decades under Sheikh Hasina.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An economy that grew 6.5\u20137% annually for 15 years has slowed sharply: growth has halved, factories are closing, unemployment is rising, private investment has stalled, and inflation is high.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Tarique Rahman\u2019s Return: Political Impact After 17 Years<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has returned after 17 years in exile and is widely seen as a frontrunner if elections are held soon.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, with the Awami League barred from contesting, any poll in the current climate would likely fall short of being free or fair.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rahman\u2019s return is expected to trigger a surge of public support, partly driven by sympathy for his ailing mother.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Still, an electoral victory is not assured, given shifting alliances and internal party dynamics.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rahman\u2019s homecoming does not materially alter the fundamentals: a constrained electoral field, a fragmented BNP, and an emboldened Jamaat.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Popular enthusiasm may be high, but structural realities limit Rahman\u2019s room to reshape outcomes in the near term.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Rising Anti-India Rhetoric in Bangladesh<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh is not new. Even during 1971, around 20% of the population opposed the Liberation War and India\u2019s role.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This strand has endured over decades alongside mainstream politics.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parallel to this undercurrent, India\u2013Bangladesh relations have been anchored by deep economic cooperation and people-to-people links\u2014including tourism, medical travel, education, and trade\u2014creating mutual stakes beyond politics.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>India\u2019s First Priority: Reassure the Bangladeshi People<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India should signal goodwill toward the people of Bangladesh, not regimes alone.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New Delhi has already demonstrated this by continuing aid and trade, keeping communication channels open, and recently agreeing to export 50,000 metric tonnes of rice.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maintaining strategic restraint while engaging all principal actors remains key.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>India\u2019s Second Priority: Push for Inclusive Elections<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New Delhi should insist on free, fair, and inclusive elections that allow participation by all parties, including the Awami League.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only an inclusive process can restore legitimacy and stability; exclusion risks prolonging violence and volatility.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Why the India\u2013Bangladesh Relationship Matters Deeply<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Bangladesh, cooperation with India was central to its <\/span><b>economic success<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under Sheikh Hasina.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has consistently been the first responder in times of need and a reliable partner due to geographic proximity, competitive pricing, shared history, and strong people-to-people ties.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the current regime is engaging Pakistan, China, and Turkey, none can replicate the scale, speed, or depth of support India provides.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Vital for India\u2019s Security Interests<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For India, Bangladesh is pivotal primarily due to security considerations.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The two share a 4,000+ km porous land border and a maritime boundary, making cooperation essential.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the past, Pakistan-backed terror networks and Northeast insurgent groups used Bangladeshi territory as a haven\u2014an issue the Hasina government actively helped address.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Growing Strategic Risks Since August 2024<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since August 2024, Pakistan\u2019s state and military have reportedly re-established pre-1971 command-and-control linkages with Bangladesh, seeking deeper military embedding, including near the India\u2013Bangladesh border.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This raises concerns about regional security spillovers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-global\/bangladesh-turmoil-jamaat-e-islami-what-india-needs-to-do-10439606\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bangladesh faces political turmoil with Jamaat-e-Islami\u2019s growing influence, anti-India rhetoric, economic decline, and security risks\u2014posing major strategic challenges for India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":79864,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[4440,60,22,1888],"class_list":{"0":"post-79837","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-bangladesh-political-turmoil","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affair","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}