In the turbulent theatre of South Asian geopolitics, shifting alliances and pragmatic diplomacy are not uncommon. But every so often, a shift occurs that transcends the realm of politics and enters the territory of moral treachery.
The recent remarks made by Major
General (Retd) A.L.M. Fazlur Rahman, chair of Bangladesh’s National Independent
Commission of Inquiry, represent such a shift.
His provocative suggestion that
Bangladesh should occupy India’s seven northeastern states if India attacks
Pakistan has not only inflamed tensions but revealed a deeply troubling trend:
Bangladesh’s current interim leadership is turning its back on its history, its
benefactors, and its founding principles.
This is not a mere rhetorical
lapse by a rogue former general. It reflects a larger, deliberate strategic
reorientation by the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, installed after the
ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.
Rahman’s remarks were not only
endorsed by members of the commission but followed a series of moves by Dhaka
that signal a broad realignment away from India and toward powers historically
antagonistic to Bangladesh’s very creation.
To truly grasp the gravity of
this betrayal, we must revisit the events of 1971. In March of that year, the
Pakistani military unleashed "Operation Searchlight" a ruthless
campaign aimed at crushing the Bengali nationalist movement in what was then
East Pakistan.
Under this operation, the army
targeted students, intellectuals, and civilians with mass killings, arbitrary
arrests, and widespread sexual violence, triggering one of the worst
humanitarian crises of the 20th century.
In one of the bloodiest campaigns
of the 20th century, the Pakistan Army is estimated to have killed between
300,000 to 3 million people. Rape was used as a weapon of war, with tens of
thousands of Bengali women victimized.
The entire campaign was designed
to silence the Bengali independence movement and preserve the unity of a state
that had long marginalized its eastern half.
It was in this context that
India, under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, opened its borders to nearly 10
million refugees, took on immense humanitarian and economic burdens, and
ultimately intervened militarily to end the genocide.
The war lasted just 13 days but
resulted in the complete surrender of Pakistani forces in Dhaka on December 16,
1971. It was a moment of moral clarity in international politics, where India
chose to act not only out of strategic interest but to halt a human tragedy.
And yet today, Bangladesh’s new
leadership seems determined to erase this history. The warming of diplomatic
ties with Pakistan while India faces a chill in relations with Dhaka has
stunned many.
From easing visa policies and
hosting foreign secretary-level talks after a 15-year gap, to expecting the
arrival of Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister, the rapprochement is clear and
deliberate.
Even more disturbing is the
parallel embrace of China. In a recent meeting with Chinese officials, interim
leader Muhammad Yunus argued that “Bangladesh, not India, is the gateway to
South Asia” and proposed that Bangladesh serve as “an extension of the Chinese
economy.”
Such statements are not harmless
economic overtures. They are a challenge to India’s central role in the region
and part of a broader effort to reframe the regional order, potentially as part
of a China-Pakistan-Bangladesh axis.
This alignment is not only
strategically risky but morally indefensible. Pakistan, whose military once
referred to Bengalis as "lowly Hindus" and "traitors," is
now being welcomed back into the diplomatic fold with open arms by the very
state it tried to crush.
Meanwhile, India the state that
helped midwife Bangladesh into existence is being pushed away, vilified, and
targeted in conspiratorial rhetoric.
The creation of the National
Independent Commission of Inquiry into the 2009 Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) mutiny
is another tool in this troubling transformation. Though ostensibly formed to
reinvestigate the mutiny, the commission has veered into murky territory by
reviving unsubstantiated claims that Indian intelligence orchestrated the
massacre.
Local media, especially outlets
like Amar Desh Patrika, have begun peddling these narratives once again,
claiming that RAW-trained assassins infiltrated Dhaka disguised as athletes and
escaped on delayed flights, with hotel safehouses and destroyed CCTV evidence
as part of the story.
Such claims were long debunked,
yet they resurface now conveniently in a political climate where India-bashing
serves the new administration’s interests.
This is no accident. It is a
calculated move to shift blame away from internal failures and redirect public
anger toward external scapegoats India in particular.
By doing so, the current
government not only absolves key domestic actors but also stokes nationalist fervour
that can justify future alliances, however morally incoherent.
India has every reason to
reassess its approach to Bangladesh, but it must do so with clarity and
resolve. While maintaining diplomatic composure, New Delhi should not ignore
the warning signs.
A neighbour once seen as a friend
is now entertaining hostile rhetoric, embracing revisionist histories, and
flirting with adversaries. This is not just a betrayal of alliances it is a
betrayal of memory, of the very foundations of Bangladeshi sovereignty.
It is also a betrayal of the
countless families in Bangladesh who still carry the trauma of 1971. For them,
the horrors of that year are not footnotes in history they are scars that shape
identities. To see their government now shaking hands with Islamabad, while
accusing Delhi of conspiracy, is nothing short of an insult.
The people of Bangladesh deserve
better than this. They deserve a leadership that honours the past, not one that
rewrites it for convenience. They deserve policies that secure their future,
not gamble it on dubious partnerships.
As the geopolitical map of South
Asia continues to shift, one truth remains unaltered: without India, there
would be no Bangladesh. That truth deserves to be remembered not erased.
Kuala Lumpur.
03.05.2025
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