India alarmed by Turkey-backed Greater Bangladesh propaganda

The Indian government has taken note of reports that an Islamist group in Dhaka called the “Saltanat-e-Bangla,” backed by Turkey, has put out a map of the so-called “Greater Bangladesh” that includes parts of India.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar made the statement during the question-and-answer session at the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

The question was put forward by Randeep Singh Surjewala, a politician from Haryana and a member of the Indian National Congress party.

Jaishankar said the Saltanat-e-Bangla is backed by a Turkish NGO called the “Turkish Youth Federation.”

He said that the Bangladesh government-backed fact-checker platform BanglaFact had claimed that there was no such Islamist group operating in Bangladesh and that the map was displayed at an exhibition about the so-called earlier Bengal Sultanate at Dhaka University on April 14.

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Jaishankar said India remains focused in regard to Bangladesh on matters of national interest.

“The Indian government is closely monitoring all developments that have implications for India’s national security and continues to take all necessary measures to safeguard it.”

Earlier, a similar map was shared on Facebook by an adviser to the Yunus-led government, Mahfuj Alam, calling for jihad. He, however, deleted the post soon after.

Meanwhile, several top radical Islamists of Bangladesh, including Jasimuddin Rahmani, Mamunul Haque, Asif Adnan, Abu Twaha Adnan, and Harun Izhar, have been calling for jihad in India since the August changeover last year.

US puppet Yunus had described the July movement against the Awami League government as “meticulously designed” last September, saying it was not spontaneous.

That day, he introduced Mahfuj, a former Shibir activist and follower of hardline leftist Farhad Mazhar, as the mastermind of this conspiracy.

Yunus also said his recruiters—the students—had pushed the reset button to rewrite the history, implying that the narratives of the Liberation War and the contribution of Bangabandhu would change.

After that, many people, starting from coordinators Hasib Al Islam and Arif Sohel, said that they killed the police and set fire to various places, including the Metrorail, Setu Bhaban and BTV Headquarters. Moreover, BNP and Hefazat leaders said that they killed the police in Sirajganj.

Moreover, some leaders of Islami Chhatra Shibir and the banned militant group Hizb ut-Tahrir admitted their role as planners and coordinators during the movement.

Later, the interim government declared impunity for the killings, looting, and arson attacks committed by the protesters.

In early July, Mahfuj admitted that they had conspired to overthrow the government. He brought students to the streets and committed murder and anarchy in a militant style, hiding their identities.

He also compared the conspiracy and terrorism of 2024 with the mass uprising of 1969 and the non-cooperation movement of 1971, which were aimed at independence from Pakistan.

Who is Mahfuj?

Mahfuj is the son of a BNP leader from Lakshmipur. His father-in-law is the Ahle Hadith leader, Prof. Musleh Uddin, while his relatives include a former Shibir president and Jamaat leaders.

In September 2024, Bangladeshi newspapers published a claim by the Jamaat-controlled interim government’s information ministry adviser, Mahfuj Alam, who initially advised chief adviser Yunus on politics and diplomacy.

The rebuttal came after some Indian media claimed that Mahfuj was a member of the banned militant group Hizb ut-Tahrir and Jamaat’s student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir.

A key leader of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM) liaison committee, which shaped the interim government, Mahfuj said on September 14 that he was never involved with the two radical Islamist groups.

However, since February, the former and current Shibir leaders, especially Khomenee Ehsan and Mohammad Ishrak, have exposed Mahfuj.

He drew attention after removing a portrait of the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, from Bangabhaban soon after taking oath as an adviser under the Constitution and by sharing a map of Bangladesh with parts of India as her territory, implying the jihadists’ long-term plan of Gazwatul Hind.