Why Jaishankar’s Visit Bangladesh 

By The Globalized News
Date: January 2, 2026

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s brief but highly symbolic visit to Dhaka. Officially, the trip was to pay respects after the death of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. Unofficially, it was a clear signal that New Delhi has decided to reset its approach to Bangladesh’s fast-changing political reality. timing is everything. And this timing was deliberate.

For years, India’s Bangladesh policy was built almost entirely around Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League. That relationship delivered stability, security cooperation, and a predictable neighbour on India’s eastern border. The BNP, led by Khaleda Zia and later her son Tarique Rahman, was viewed in Delhi with suspicion and, at times, outright distrust.

 With Hasina no longer in power since 2024 and the BNP regaining momentum ahead of the February elections, India faced a choice it could no longer postpone. Hold on to old assumptions or adjust to a new balance of power.

India chose adjustment over nostalgia.

The real headline moment of the visit was not the condolence meeting. It was Jaishankar’s interaction with Tarique Rahman. After spending 17 years in exile, Rahman has returned to Bangladesh as a central political figure and a likely future prime minister. By meeting him and delivering a personal message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India effectively acknowledged a political reality that many in Delhi had been reluctant to accept.

That single gesture carried weight. It suggested that India is ready to deal with whoever forms the next government in Dhaka, rather than waiting on the sidelines and reacting later.

Of course, the visit was not without its uncomfortable moments. The photograph of Jaishankar greeting the Speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly quickly went viral, triggering predictable reactions back home. The image was released by the Bangladeshi interim leadership, and it felt less like an accident and more like a calculated move designed to stir political sensitivities in India.

But that episode misses the larger point. Jaishankar went ahead with the visit knowing full well how such optics could be used. That, in itself, underlines how important Bangladesh has become in India’s current strategic thinking.

For New Delhi, the stakes are high. Bangladesh shares a long, sensitive border with India. Any prolonged hostility or political drift in Dhaka would have direct consequences for security, migration, and regional influence. If India distances itself from the BNP, it risks creating space for other powers, particularly China and Pakistan, to deepen their footprint in Bangladesh.

That is a risk India cannot afford.

This visit sends a clear message: India’s foreign policy in South Asia is becoming more planing and less sentmant. Past disagreements will not stand in the way of present interests. Stability, security, and influence matter more than old political labels.

Khaleda Zia’s death has closed one chapter in Bangladesh’s political history. Jaishankar’s visit has quietly opened another, one marked by caution, realism, and a willingness to engage across political lines.

The era of personal loyalties in India–Bangladesh relations may be ending. What comes next is a tougher, more transactional phase of diplomacy. And for New Delhi, that may be exactly what the moment demands.

What do you think? Was India right to engage early with the BNP, or should it have waited until the election dust settled?

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