In a pointed critique of Bangladesh’s interim leadership, former Prime Minister and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina has accused Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus of pursuing a misguided foreign policy that risks isolating the country from its key ally, India.
Speaking exclusively to Firstpost via email, Hasina emphasised that India remains “Bangladesh’s steadfast oldest friend,” warning that any drift from this partnership could prove catastrophic.
Hasina, who led Bangladesh for five terms, stressed the importance of inclusive democracy in the nation’s political future. “As Bangladesh’s longest-standing ally and the world’s biggest democracy in our neighbourhood, India recognises that elections lacking input from all major parties simply aren’t credible,” she stated.
She went on to argue that sidelining the Awami League’s vast supporter base—numbering in the tens of millions—would render any vote a sham. “India seeks a stable counterpart in Dhaka, not a regime propped up without the people’s mandate,” Hasina asserted.
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Reflecting on her own administration’s diplomatic successes, Hasina highlighted a pragmatic equilibrium in relations with both India and China. Yet, she expressed deep alarm over Yunus’s apparent pivot away from New Delhi. “Our guiding principle has long been ‘friendship with all, enmity with none.’ In my years in power, we nurtured robust ties with India and China alike. What’s troubling about Yunus’s strategy isn’t the outreach to China per se—it’s the backdrop of what looks like a reckless push to distance ourselves from India,” she explained.
With over 4,000 kilometres of shared borders, intertwined cultures, and overlapping security priorities, Hasina underscored that no external partnership could supplant the India-Bangladesh bond. “The present government’s diplomacy seems fueled by a frantic bid for global validation rather than true national priorities,” she remarked.
The conversation also turned to the escalating violence against religious minorities, particularly Hindus, in the wake of the August 2024 unrest. Hasina described these incidents not as isolated flare-ups but as orchestrated assaults by radical groups empowered under the current regime. “These targeted strikes on Hindu neighbourhoods and other minority groups aren’t spontaneous—they’re a calculated effort, fueled and facilitated by elements within the interim setup,” she charged.
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During her tenure, Hasina noted, her government worked tirelessly to safeguard every citizen’s rights, irrespective of religion, honouring Bangladesh’s roots in secularism and pluralism. Today, however, she painted a grim picture: “Minorities cower in terror as temples burn, shops are ransacked, and loved ones face dire threats. This betrays the very ethos that birthed our nation.”
Hasina didn’t mince words on the interim government’s role, labelling its inaction as outright collusion. “Overlooking these atrocities isn’t mere oversight—it’s active enabling. When you court extremists to seize control, you can’t feign shock as they unleash hatred and chaos. The world must speak out against the torment inflicted on Bangladesh’s Hindus and fellow minorities,” she urged Firstpost.
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