New Delhi, Dec 19: The current situation in Bangladesh is “complex and evolving”, a parliamentary committee on external affairs has said. The Ministry of External Affairs informed the panel that the government “remains concerned” about the attacks on minorities in Bangladesh.
The committee in its report titled ‘Future of India-Bangladesh Relationship’ has also said that with regard to the impact of recent political developments on broader bilateral relations, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has stated that India has made every effort to “insulate bilateral relation” from its impact.
The report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, led by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, was presented in Parliament on Thursday.
“The committee has been informed that the current situation in Bangladesh is complex and evolving. There is uncertainty regarding the schedule of democratic elections. The political events of August 2024 have created significant instability and uncertainty with incidents of violence, attacks and intimidation of minorities, tribal communities, media groups, intellectuals, journalists, academicians, etc., becoming the norm,” it said.
“Concerns have been raised about human rights issues, including restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly,” the panel said.
The “political instability” has led to social unrest and protests in various parts of Bangladesh. Rising inflation and economic slowdown have also led to increased economic hardship. The economy has been experiencing a slowdown due to various factors, including the global economic downturn, it added.
The MEA also told the panel that India has continued interactions with the interim government and is also supportive of the aspirations of the people of Bangladesh.
“While communicating our support, the government of India has underlined that our policies are people-oriented and not aimed at any particular political dispensation,” it has said.
The report also quotes India’s foreign secretary’s comments made during the sitting of the committee on August 4 this year.
“I want to begin by saying that there is no change in our overall approach in relations with Bangladesh following the events of August, 2024 and that policy can be summed up by saying that we remain interested in a constructive, pragmatic, mutually-beneficial, and forward-looking relationship with Bangladesh.
“Having said that, we have engaged with the interim government on several issues of strategic interest to us as well as issues related to the regional security. We, of course, have concerns arising from increased extremism, attacks on minorities, and the overall bilateral environment,” the foreign secretary was quoted as saying.
The panel said the MEA has also informed about the major challenges in the India-Bangladesh relationship today, and how is the Indian government addressing them.
The ministry has stated that the major challenges in India-Bangladesh relationship revolve around areas like “illegal immigration, radicalisation and extremism, regional security and extremist rhetoric against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India,” the report said.
“These are sought to be addressed through cooperation with the Bangladesh government and dissemination of facts. The government of India also remains concerned about the attacks on minorities in Bangladesh. This has been taken up at different levels,” it said.
The panel selected the subject, ‘Future of India-Bangladesh Relationship’, for a detailed examination during 2024-25 and 2025-26. Briefing by the representatives of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on the subject was held on December 11, 2024, the report said.
Thereafter, the panel took evidence of the MEA representatives on March 26 and August 4 this year, it said.
During their testimony before the committee on June 26, 2025, two of the non- official witnesses characterised the current situation as India’s “greatest strategic challenge in Bangladesh since 1971”.
One of the non-official witnesses described the recent developments in India-Bangladesh ties as under: “India faces its greatest strategic challenge in Bangladesh since the Liberation war of 1971. While the challenge in 1971 was existential, a humanitarian and a birth of a new nation, the latter was of a graver, a generational discontinuity, a shift of political order, and a potential strategic realignment away from India.
“The event was marked by collapse of Awami League dominance, the surge of youth-led nationalism, the re-entry of Islamists and intensifying Chinese and Pakistani influence collectively…if India fails to recalibrate at this moment, it risks losing strategic space in Dhaka not to war, but to irrelevance.”
During his testimony before the committee on August 4, 2025, the foreign secretary reiterated the importance of the 1971 legacy as stated in report: “Even as the relationship is becoming more multidimensional and there is a new generation that is growing up in Bangladesh, we have no doubt that the legacy of 1971 will continue to foster goodwill and reinforce the sense of historical brotherhood between our two countries.”
“We do have to tackle the vested interests that would like to pursue a counter-narrative to the spirit of 1971, but we continue to do our part, especially through annual celebrations and commemorations of Victory Day, 16th December, where India’s involvement is acknowledged by the government of Bangladesh,” the foreign secretary added. (PTI)
