The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs led by Shashi Tharoor on Thursday warned that the evolving political situation in Bangladesh poses ‘greatest strategic challenge’ for India since the Liberation war of 1971 and added that even as the situation "will not descend into chaos and anarchy", India needs to be careful in handling it.
The committee said, "While the challenge in 1971 was existential, a humanitarian and a birth of a new nation, the latter was of a graver, a generational discontinuity, a shift of political order, and a potential strategic realignment away from India." The committee also added that if India fails to recalibrate at this moment, it risks losing strategic space in Dhaka not to war, but to irrelevance.
Committee tables report in Parliament
The committee tabled the report in Parliament and drew testimony from non-governmental experts and government officials, noting that the challenge for India is no longer existential but deeper and long-term in nature.
Ongoing transition in Dhaka poses enduring challenge for India
The committee also noted that unlike 1971, the current situation in Bangladesh does not pose an immediate existential threat to India. However, it warned that the ongoing political transition and strategic realignment in Dhaka present enduring challenges that could reshape India’s security and foreign policy.
Apart from this, the committee also expressed concern about a recalibration of Bangladesh's relation with Pakistan and the expanding footprint of China -- especially in terms of infrastructure, port development, and defence-related cooperation. The panel also cited projects like the expansion of Mongla Port, Lalmonirhat Airbase, and the submarine base at Pekua that is capable of accommodating eight submarines when Bangladesh has only two.
Panel highlights influence of China and Pakistan in Bangladesh
The panel also identified the expanding footprint of China and Pakistan in Bangladesh as a key strategic concern for India and stated that the shifting regional alignments could dilute India’s traditional influence in Dhaka and complicate its neighbourhood security calculus.
The panel said China is also engaging all sections in Bangladesh including the Jammat-i-Islami. The Islamic group has even visited China. Moreover, the panel recommended that the government strictly monitor to keep any foreign powers from setting up military foothold in Bangladesh and offer Dhaka a comparative advantage in development, connectivity and port access.
Highlighting about the growing control of Islamists, the panel said that Jamat-e-Islami, which was previously banned, has had its electoral registration reinstated, which will enable it to participate in the upcoming elections.
