Pride and prejudice

September 10, 2024

ISLAMABAD – FOR 15 years India put all its Bangladeshi eggs in a Hasina Wajid-shaped basket and, by extension, in her autocratically-led Awami League. No matter how rigged the elections held under the ousted ruler of Bangladesh were and no matter how repressive her rule became, the Modi government was always the first to offer support and succour. India has always been keen to assert its influence over smaller states in South Asia (hegemony is heady) and with a seemingly secure and strong Hasina firmly in their camp, strategic planners in New Delhi could be forgiven for thinking that Bangladesh would remain a firm ally for many years to come. After all, a friendly or subservient Bangladesh is critical to keeping India’s perpetually restive north-eastern states in control, not to mention securing a decent return on Indian investments and lines of credit to Dhaka itself.

And then, in the space of just a few weeks, a prized asset turned into something of a liability when massive student-led protests forced Hasina to flee Dhaka and seek refuge in India.

Now the former prime minister has become a sticking point in relations between India and Bangladesh, where the protesters quite rightly accuse India of propping up Hasina’s autocratic rule and harbour suspicions that she may attempt to stage a comeback with the help of New Delhi or will, at the very least, try and destabilise the interim setup.

This suspicion is not eased by the fact that Hasina also refuses to stay silent: from her shelter in India, she has called for “justice,” demanding that those involved in “ter­­ror acts” be “investigated and punis­h­­ed.” It was quite a stunning display of chutzpah from a woman whose security forces reportedly