"If Jamaat Wins.." I Taslima Nasreen X Barkha on Bangladesh, Rise of Islamists & Pakistan Link

Описание: #bangladesh #india #pakistan

Taslima Nasrin in an exclusive conversation with Barkha Dutt!

As Bangladesh votes today, India is watching with heightened concern and strategic caution.

Sharing its longest land border with any neighbour, Bangladesh has always been central to India’s neighbourhood policy. But this election is unfolding under extraordinary circumstances. After 18 turbulent months under interim chief Muhammad Yunus — following the bloody student-led uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina — India-Bangladesh ties have hit a historic low. In the strategic space that followed, both China and Pakistan have deepened their engagement with Dhaka.

The stakes go far beyond domestic politics. This vote could reshape South Asia’s balance of power.

On the ground, the optics tell a dramatic story. The ‘boat’ symbol of Hasina’s Awami League — long considered India’s most reliable partner in Dhaka — is missing after the party was barred from contesting. In its place, the sheaf of paddy symbol of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the ‘scales’ of Jamaat-e-Islami dominate campaign banners across cities and towns.

For the first time in nearly three decades, neither of Bangladesh’s two political matriarchs — Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia — is on the ballot. Hasina remains in India, while Zia’s death last December has paved the way for her son, Tarique Rahman, to lead the BNP after 17 years in exile. He is widely seen as the frontrunner to become the next prime minister.

But for India, an added layer of concern is the resurgence of Jamaat-e-Islami. The party, rooted in Islamist ideology and historically opposed to Bangladesh’s secular foundations, has long been viewed in New Delhi through a security lens. Its past positions on India, its stance during the 1971 Liberation War, and its ideological alignment have made Indian policymakers wary. Even if not leading the race, Jamaat’s growing visibility and potential influence in a coalition government could significantly alter Dhaka’s political direction.

Under Yunus, anti-India rhetoric has sharpened. Dhaka has criticised New Delhi for sheltering Hasina despite extradition demands. Among sections of Bangladesh’s youth and Gen Z, a narrative has taken hold that India has interfered in the country’s politics. Lingering issues — border killings, water-sharing disputes, and trade imbalances — have further fuelled resentment.

From India’s standpoint, New Delhi maintains it has not meddled in Bangladesh’s internal affairs. Yet it cannot ignore the strategic implications of a weakened secular political space and the possibility of Islamist forces gaining greater influence — particularly in a region where stability directly impacts India’s Northeast.

As ballots are cast today, the core question is whether Bangladesh will recalibrate its relationship with India and restore regional stability — or whether a new political alignment, shaped by nationalist and Islamist currents, will redefine the geopolitics of the subcontinent.