From Strategic Bonhomie to Uncertainty: Bangladesh’s Post-Hasina Realignment and Implications for India’s Geopolitical Interests
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The article critically examines the reorientation of Bangladesh's foreign policy under the postHasina government and its effects on the Indian strategic environment in the east. It argues that the dramatic fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime following the July revolution and the formation of an interim government under Muhammad Yunus were not merely a political shift within the country but a structural shift in Bangladesh’s foreign policy focus. Given the historical trajectory of India-Bangladesh relations, this study sheds light on three critical objectives: first, it strives to elucidate the recent shift and rewriting of Bangladesh's foreign policy and its worsening impact on India-Bangladesh relations. Second, it assesses how Bangladesh's contemporary drift towards the new axis of China and Pakistan poses a new threat to India’s national and regional interests on the eastern front. Third, it proposes India's policy alternatives with respect to Bangladesh through improved connectivity, calibrated diplomacy, and reinvigorated sub-regional cooperation. Methodologically, this study follows a qualitative, process-tracing research approach, relying on primary sources like joint statements and declarations, government-linked media briefings, and other official documents, supplemented by a range of secondary literature.
Author: Dr Suvasish Chakraborty
Institution: Adamas University
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W7127064812