India Bangladesh Relations: Sustaining Initial Positivity to Mutual Advantage

Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman

India Bangladesh relations were placed on an even keel after Bangladesh Nationalist Party [BNP] government was elected to power and party leader and heir Mr Tarique Rahman adopted an enlightened approach after taking over as the Prime Minister.

Mr Rahman espoused a pragmatic foreign policy shedding blinkered view of the Interim Administration led by Professor Mohammad Yunus who attempted to skew relations with India foraying in some very contested areas including expansion of intelligence and defence relations with Pakistan.

Allowing Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officials access to border areas, claiming that the North East India had a natural geographic linkage with Bangladesh and encouraging China in this sphere were the oddballs swung by Yunus that led to considerable concerns in Delhi.

The BNP despite a long history of difficult relations with New Delhi particularly when Awami League was in power in Dhaka appears to have adopted the practical view that for progress of Bangladesh a partnership with India was mutually beneficial.

Thus, apart from high level exchange of greetings between the top leadership, visits of ministers and senior officials, a forward-looking road map for expansion of economy and trade, transit and people to people relations with visa liberalization are some of the initiatives in the offing.

To sustain momentum however, governments in Dhaka and Delhi need to patiently nurture ties and stay the course, overcome the burden of legacy as well as spoilers who will seek every opportunity to muddy the waters.

This assumes particularly importance as the Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] is now in power not only in the Centre but also in states bordering Bangladesh from West Bengal – a critical transition after the State elections to Assam and Tripura.

This is expected to raise anxieties in some of the conservative extremist organisations in Bangladesh who are likely to attempt to portray the same from a religious communal angle exploiting social media, mis and disinformation.

The media environment in both countries is highly sensitive to grab such news and without essentially confirming the veracity is likely to give the same an adverse spin.

Governments not only in Dhaka and Delhi but also in Kolkata, Guwahati and Agartala will have to ensure that harmony is not disturbed with a mix of policing as well as effective information control.

A related contentious issue is border management with allegations of “killings,’ and “Push In,” by Bangladesh likely to create tensions beyond the boundary.

"Push-ins" (or pushbacks) emerged as a significant flashpoint in India-Bangladesh relations as of May 2026, with Bangladesh protesting the forced removal of individuals across the border by Indian security forces after the Chief Minister of Assam in an interview claimed that this was the procedure that had to be adopted to evict the illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

Delhi has clarified and linked the issue to verification of nationality by Bangladesh. “Over 2860 cases of nationality verification are pending with Bangladesh, a lot of it for over five years. Our policy as you very well understand is that any foreign national who is illegal in the country, he or she must be repatriated as per laws, procedures, and established bilateral mechanisms and arrangements. We expect that Bangladesh will expedite nationality verification, so that repatriation of illegal immigrants can take place in a smooth manner,” as per Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has also confirmed that the deportation of migrants will be done based on accepted norms in an interaction with the Bangladesh media.

Allegations of border killings will also remain a hot button issue. "We want friendly relations, but good ties cannot be maintained if the border is repeatedly turned bloody," PM's political adviser and senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said on May 10 after reports of killing of two suspected smugglers at the Brahmanbaria border.

Coordination between the border management authorities, joint patrolling and surveys and observation of areas where there are gaps in the fencing exploited by smugglers and people running criminals on both sides of the border needs priority. Use of non-lethal means also needs encouragement.

The BNP has also prioritized Teesta water sharing and has pledged to secure a "fair share" of water from this and other transboundary rivers, treating it as a matter of national survival.

While India and Bangladesh agreed on allocating 37.5% of Teesta's waters to Bangladesh and 42.5% to India, in September 2011, the Trinamool Congress Government in Kolkata then led by Ms Mamata Banerjee staunchly opposed the agreement under successive central governments. Now with the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari at the helm in West Bengal, Dhaka hopes the Central Government desire to finalise the treaty will fructify.

Most pointedly before departing on a visit to China, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman said while he hoped that the agreement reached in the past can be considered again under the current circumstances but warned that Dhaka may have other options stating, “But we cannot just sit and wait for that. We have our own work to do.”

Thus, Dhaka is not relying on the political turnover in West Bengal leading to a favourable decision by Delhi and is also working on restoration of the waters of the River having formally sought China’s involvement and support in the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project (TRCMRP).

This was stated during a bilateral meeting between Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing, according to a joint press release issued after the meeting on May 10.

China is willing to assist Bangladesh in enhancing the water flow in the Teesta thus India should be keen to finalise a treaty under the new administration in Dhaka at the soonest.

Meanwhile India hopes that Dhaka in expanding relations with Pakistan and China will consider Delhi’s concerns particularly the criticality of security in the North East states and the Siliguri Corridor.

In the past, when BNP was in power, multiple militant groups were provided shelter on Bangladesh soil who were evicted during the tenure of Sheikh Hasina resulting in peace and stability in the front line North East States from Assam to Tripura. Sustaining this policy will be called for while ensuring the meddlesome arms of Pakistan’s ISI ever willing to foment trouble internally for India are kept away.

Overall, the BNP  has pledged to move away from the personalized ties of the Hasina era toward a formal state-to-state relationship, balancing ties with India while addressing domestic anti-India sentiments among the youth.

 “Based on the Bangladesh First policy, the government will follow a foreign policy that is multi-dimensional, flexible, and not centred on any single country,” Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humaiun Kobir said while speaking as the chief guest at an event held by Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) titled “Bangladesh First: Vision of Foreign Policy for a New Bangladesh,” in the national capital on May 10. 

Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has sent the right signals choosing to visit India as the first country after taking over.

Despite the goodwill there is much work ahead to ensure that the Delhi Dhaka relations are sustained on a positive trajectory working through the recognized challenges and adverse interjections of nay sayers in the neighbourhood.