India’s official policy towards Bangladesh “completely failed” as it was dominated by an “ecosystem” consisting of powerful civil servants, “plugged-in” retired diplomats, ideologues and journalists who prioritised security without feeling the political pulse on the ground, said one of the top decision-makers of the main Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Speaking to The Hindu in Dhaka this week, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, head of the foreign affairs cell of the BNP, urged India to appreciate the prevailing popular sentiments in Bangladesh, arguing that all the three elections in the last decade in Bangladesh were “fraudulent,” where India played the role of an “enabler”.“In the case of Bangladesh, this ecosystem created the narrative that without Ms. Hasina, Bangladesh would go to the fundamentalists. If not for Hasina, the security of India would be in danger. India has to come out of this ecosystem and mindset. South Block should wake up and smell the coffee,” said Mr. Chowdhury, warning that the India-Bangladesh relationship would take years to recover if this trend continues.

He said the bloodshed that Bangladesh witnessed in the last days of Sheikh Hasina’s government could have been “absolutely” avoided if a free and fair election were held in January this year. He expressed dismay at the speed at which India recognised the outcome of the January election, which he described as “totally fraudulent”.

Political stalemate

Over the past decade, the BNP, which was defeated by Ms. Hasina in the 2009 election, has been demanding polls under a caretaker government. This demand, on multiple occasions, created a political stalemate in Bangladesh.

In 2014, the BNP boycotted the election as it demanded it be held under a caretaker Government. It repeated this position in 2018 and 2024 and ultimately boycotted both elections.

Mr. Chowdhury alleged that to deal with the political stalemate of 2014, the then-Foreign Secretary of India, Sujatha Singh, had flown to Dhaka in December 2013 and held meetings with PM Hasina and BNP leader Khaleda Zia. He also lobbied with the former President and leader of the Jatiyo Party — the late Hossein Mohammed Ershad, and urged him to contest the election.

“What else can we call it if not enabling in a situation when Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh tried to force Mr. Ershad to participate in the election that everybody knew was going to be fabricated and stolen? She tried to give credibility to the 2014 election by forcing Ershad – who was reluctant – to contest. People of Bangladesh did not like it,” said Mr. Chowdhury giving out his version.

“India recognised the Awami League governments time and again in 2014, 2018, 2024, and in fact, played the role of an enabler for all the three elections. I am not mincing my words,” said Mr. Chowdhury, explaining that his frank remarks about the three polls is the “hard reality” of India-Bangladesh relation.

He further clarified that the ecosystem that he blamed for dominating India’s relation with Bangladesh “consisted of a group of powerful civil servants, retired bureaucrats plugged in to the policy circle, journalists and ideologues who possibly also personally benefitted” and said, “They completely failed to understand the psyche of Bangladesh.”

He appreciated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her concern for the protesters in Bangladesh and expressed satisfaction saying that after the fall of Sheikh Hasina on August 5, he is hearing that there has been some introspection about the Indian policy towards Bangladesh.

“I have tried. I have been to India, given many talks but they would keep going on and on about the same narrative of how Hasina alone could take on fundamentalism. But after the latest disaster, I see some change which is being led by the Indian civil society. Mamata Banerjee has also taken a reasonable position,” said Mr. Chowdhury.