Parliamentary Panel Flags How China, Pakistan Is Making Bangladesh A Challenge For India

The panel said that the evolving political and security situation in Bangladesh and the resurgence of Islamist forces not only weakens domestic political structures but also affirms the growing influence of China and Pakistan in Dhaka.

Bangladesh Political Turmoil: Since Sheikh Hasina's ouster, Bangladesh has rapidly turned into an anti-India hub, with student leaders to army officials openly threatening New Delhi and raising the Chicken's Neck corridor issue. Now, a parliamentary standing committee on external affairs has highlighted that the situation in Bangladesh is posing the most significant strategic challenge for India Since 1971. The panel said that the evolving political and security situation in Bangladesh and the resurgence of Islamist forces not only weakens domestic political structures but also affirms the growing influence of China and Pakistan in Dhaka, reported The Times of India.

“India faces its greatest strategic challenge in Bangladesh since the Liberation War of 1971. 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,” said an expert quoted in the report.

On Thursday, the committee presented its ninth report, titled “Future of India–Bangladesh Relationship,” in the Lok Sabha. Headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, the panel observed that although the current situation does not amount to an immediate threat to India’s security, it constitutes a significant long-term strategic challenge with potential consequences for regional stability and India’s neighbourhood policy.

The committee also highlighted the rise of youth-driven nationalist movements alongside the re-emergence of Islamist organisations, cautioning that this convergence could prove destabilising, affecting not only Bangladesh’s internal security but also the broader regional environment.

Additionally, the panel expressed concern over the growing influence of China and Pakistan in Bangladesh, noting that this trend could erode India’s traditional leverage in Dhaka and further complicate New Delhi’s strategic considerations in the region.

The committee urged the Government of India to continue advocating a democratic, stable, peaceful, forward-looking, inclusive Bangladesh. The Committee also recommend that the Government should maintain diplomatic engagement with all political, social, and civil society stakeholders in Bangladesh to foster an environment of trust and dialogue.