Confused or directed: Yunus gifts Pak General map showing India’s Northeast part of Bangladesh
Ever since taking charge in Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus has had a strained relation with its neighbour India. While at times he has made attempts to reach out, often much has not come out in a positive manner.
New Delhi: According to reports Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairperson, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, visited Dhaka over the weekend and met Muhammad Yunus, the country’s interim head. While at the meeting, Yunus was seen presenting the Pakistani general with a controversial map which depicted Assam and other northeastern states as part of Bangladesh.
The image of Yunus giving a book titled ‘Art of Triumph’ whose cover carried the distorted map of Bangladesh has triggered massive outrage. Social media was seen to be rife with criticism of Yunus over encroaching upon India’s sovereign territory.
Hot and cold approach
The meeting between Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairperson General Sahir Shamshad Mirza and Yunus comes at a pivotal time. Bangladesh and Pakistan have been working to improve their historically strained relations since the 1971 Liberation War and this is worrisome for India.
Yunus, ever since he took charge of Bangladesh has had a strained relation with India. While at times he has made attempts to reach out, often much has not come out in a positive manner. Yunus, a world-renowned Bangladeshi economist came to prominence in the Bangladeshi political life after 2024 mass protests by students rocked the country. In August 2024, after the Bangladeshi army chief announced that an interim government would be formed after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left for India, Yunus was chosen to be the interim head.
Since then, relations between Bangladesh and India have been in tandem, sometimes cooperation and at other times tension. Yunus has repeatedly stated that he wants friendly and balanced ties with India, emphasizing that the relationship must be based on "fairness and equality.” Diplomatic channels have remained active, and Yunus has even spoken of reviving regional cooperation initiatives like SAARC, highlighting India’s importance in South Asia.
While these positive sentiments have pervaded, all has not been smooth sailing. The presence of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in India after her resignation remains a major point of contention. The Yunus administration has requested her extradition, which India is yet to agree to.
Then for India, reports of repeated attacks on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh only aggravate the issue. Compounding this is Bangladesh engaging more actively with China and Pakistan. This move has only made India anxious as it sees Chinese influence in the region increase. Some of his remarks during visits abroad, such as calling Bangladesh "the guardian of the ocean” for India’s northeastern states, have unsettled India.
Thus, while his rhetoric has been positive his actions have been not. While he has made clear that India is an essential partner, welcoming Indian diplomats to Dhaka and even meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2025, the actions have to match the rhetoric if further engagement is to be made possible between the two countries. Unless that is done, signs such as the gifting of a distorted map to a Pakistani official by Yunus cannot be taken in a positive light by India, despite rhetoric, will only strain relationships further.