What does Sheikh Hasina’s resignation mean for India-Bangladesh relations?

India views the events in Bangladesh as a setback for security, trade and connectivity and a possible loss of influence.

When the deposed Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Dhaka by military helicopter on August 5, following weeks-long deadly protests against her government, there was little doubt about where she was headed.

India has supported Hasina and it is where she spent many years in exile after almost her entire family was assassinated in 1975.

When Hasina landed at an air force base near New Delhi, she was received by none other than Ajit Doval, the head of the Indian security establishment who oversees the external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), which has been accused of meddling in the internal affairs of Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries.

Hasina resigned after weeks-long protests that killed nearly 300 people. She is reportedly seeking asylum in the West and will likely stay in India for “a while”, according to local Indian media.

Bangladesh is currently being led by an interim government under Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus.

There are already signs of frostiness between the two neighbours in the wake of Hasina’s resignation. Following her departure, non-essential staff from India’s high commission have been withdrawn from Bangladesh, according to local Indian media.

The events that led to Hasina’s overthrow are perceived as a major setback for India, which shared strong diplomatic and trade relations with Dhaka under Hasina, and in whom India had invested a lot in recent years.

Hasina had been a valuable ally that helped undo – to some extent – the security, logistical and political nightmare created by the 1947 partition of India and