To reset ties with Dhaka, India must send back ex-PM Hasina to Bangladesh

The current refuge of former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi, following her ouster on August 5 amid a student-led mass uprising, is difficult for many Bangladeshis to accept.

However, India was a natural choice for Hasina, given the historical rapport between her and her party, the Awami League, and successive governments in New Delhi.

However, India’s misplaced determination to protect Hasina despite her diminished political capital and the near-collapse of the Awami League from the political landscape appears to be counterproductive.

Rather than alleviating the strong anti-India sentiments, this line of thinking has only exacerbated anger among the Bangladeshi populace.

To make matters worse, a section of the Indian media has been portraying a doomsday scenario of Bangladesh turning into a Hindu-bashing Islamist state based on potentially misleading information from Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy.

This Dhaka-bashing is not helping New Delhi in mending relations with Bangladesh’s interim government, which is led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus.

Revolution road

The Narendra Modi administration may not fully grasp that Hasina’s departure was not merely the result of a mass uprising but a revolution driven by ordinary students and citizens.

In Bangladesh, discussions among intellectuals are now focusing on forming a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution, while the general public is advocating for a complete overhaul of the political system to prevent any future fascist regime, like Hasina's, from ruling the country ever again.

In this context, shielding Hasina from the consequences of her government's alleged crimes, ranging from financial misconduct to human rights abuses, puts India in a compromising position.

This is particularly true given the existing extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh, which allows Dhaka to request Hasina's return to face nearly a hundred legal charges, including numerous counts of murder.

India’s security-focused strategy has long viewed Hasina and her party as the sole stabilising allies in the region against perceived threats, though some of New Delhi’s security concerns regarding its extensive and porous border with Bangladesh are valid.

New Delhi's worries about human trafficking, infiltration, and terrorism along this border – particularly given the neighbouring Indian states' vulnerability to insurgencies – are understandable.

Therefore, India relied on Hasina's administration to effectively manage these security risks in the past decade-and-a-half. Hasina fulfilled this role by trying to eliminate any security threat to India's northeastern states, known as the Seven Sisters.

However, under the Modi administration, New Delhi has failed to recognise that this approach of seeing everything through the lens of security towards its eastern neighbour increasingly conflicts with the democratic aspirations of the Bangladeshi people, especially its youth.

Just a month ago, Hasina was seen as the iron lady in the entire region. But her hand is now red with the blood of over 800 individuals, mostly students and ordinary people, whose sacrifice ultimately led to her ouster.

The country’s new generation, which does not share the historical memories of the 1971 Independence War – which, of course, Bangladesh achieved with the help of India – views India and Pakistan as just two other regional neighbours.

Despite this significant shift in Bangladesh's political landscape, which is clear to Indian diplomatic and intelligence circles, New Delhi's foreign policy hawks remain anchored to a faulty and unitary viewpoint, which is unfortunately shaped by years of disinformation and historical distortion under Hasina's regime.

India’s persistent reliance on this outdated perspective reveals a troubling disconnect from the current realities in Bangladesh.

Growing public anger

The widespread anger among the Bangladeshi populace, fueled by the deaths during the 20-day violent protests, is pretty palpable.

New videos, photos, and stories revealing the complete indifference of Hasina’s police forces toward the deaths of ordinary people are intensifying this anger daily.

As Yunus' administration works to overhaul the entire system—from the judiciary and bureaucracy to the police—public outrage continues to focus on Hasina, with increasing demands for her return to Bangladesh for trial.

At every press conference held by the new foreign advisor, Touhid Hossain, a recurring question is about the steps the Bangladeshi government is taking to bring Hasina back.

Hossain, a seasoned diplomat and former foreign secretary, is now struggling to provide a satisfactory response. He initially claimed that Hasina’s presence in India would not affect Bangladesh-India relations but later indicated that he had lodged strong protests with his Indian counterparts regarding her stay.

Last week, Hossain stated that Bangladesh would attempt to bring back ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from India if the court issues such an order.

New Delhi needs to understand that PM Modi's policies, which have targeted Muslims and included episodes of mob violence, have long been fueling anti-India sentiment among Bangladeshis.

The demolition of the Babri Masjid and the controversial court ruling that enabled the construction of the Ram Temple have only reinforced Modi's reputation as an adversary of Islam and Muslims in the eyes of many Bangladeshis.

Providing refuge to a deposed leader like Hasina, who has essentially forfeited any chance of a political comeback by fleeing and keeping her partymen in danger, will only intensify anti-Indian sentiment among the Bangladeshi people.

Conversely, the Modi administration could significantly enhance its standing with the Bangladeshi populace by returning Hasina to face trial for her alleged crimes under the extradition treaty.

The decision now rests with New Delhi to turn a new page and foster cooperation with a "new Bangladesh" emerging from its revolution.