India has not declined a meeting with Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, Chief adviser of Bangladesh Interim Government and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

South Block in New Delhi did not respond to a request for Yunus-Modi state-level bilateral meeting in New Delhi. Through diplomatic channels Yunus administration requested for a bilateral visit in December 2024.

Nor did Delhi respond to a meeting on the sidelines of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) on 3-4 April in Bangkok, Thailand.

“Bangladesh’s request for a meeting between its interim government’s Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the upcoming BIMSTEC Summit is under consideration.”

Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar remained non-committal saying “Bangladesh’s request for a meeting between its interim government’s Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the upcoming BIMSTEC Summit is under consideration.”

BIMSTEC is a regional organization of seven countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand) focused on promoting economic and technical cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region, with its secretariat located in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The platform dropped Pakistan and Maldives giving a flimsy excuse that the countries do not share the Bay of Bengal. Whereas, Nepal and Bhutan do not have shores with the Bay of Bengal but are said to be beneficiaries of the sea.

Meanwhile, the independent Indian newspaper The Hindu reported on 25 March that Yunus wanted to visit India before China, but did not receive a positive response, quoting Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam to Prof Yunus’s administration.

Yunus seeks bilateral ties with India before visiting China, pitching Bangladesh as a business-friendly destination

Yunus seeks bilateral ties with India before visiting China, pitching Bangladesh as a business-friendly destination, writes Kallol Bhattacherjee in the Hindu.

Bangladesh is still waiting for a response from India for a meeting between Yunus and Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit.

Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh desired to travel to India before visiting China but Dhaka’s request for the visit did not elicit a “positive” Indian response, said Alam.

Yunus is the second leader from South Asia to be hosted in China in four months. Nepal’s Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli travelled to China in December 2024 on an official visit.

Like the formal request to extradite ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in December last year, the meeting between two heads of government, Delhi remains absolutely silent. Indian government remains conspicuously tight lipped over the possible bilateral meeting.

Sources in the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs who is privy to the exchange of diplomatic messages said there could be multiple reasons, why India continues to be silent over the requests from Bangladesh.

First, India-Bangladesh ties should not be ‘regime-specific’, says Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Adviser Mohmmad Touhid Hossain. Second, India is officially not prepared to make any commitment to the extradition of Hasina.Third, how will Modi respond to Yunus when he asks him when India will extradite her to stand trial for crimes against humanity responsible for the deaths of over 1400 students and protesters?

“The brutal response was a calculated and well-coordinated strategy by the former Government [of Awami League] to hold onto power in the face of mass opposition,”

The United National High Commission for Human Rights in their 114-page investigation report says “The brutal response was a calculated and well-coordinated strategy by the former Government [of Awami League] to hold onto power in the face of mass opposition,” UN Human Rights (OHCHR), Chief Volker Türk, said.

“There are reasonable grounds to believe hundreds of extrajudicial killings, extensive arbitrary arrests and detentions, and torture, were carried out with the knowledge, coordination and direction of the political leadership and senior security officials as part of a strategy to suppress the protests.”

The UN fact-finding mission report directly blames Hasina for ordering law enforcement agencies to shoot at protesters with live bullets to neutralize the anti-government street uprising.

Indian media has raised storms on news broadcasts and talk shows that India cannot invite a “stooge” of the United States and China,

an unelected leader

Indian media has raised storms on news broadcasts and talk shows that India cannot invite a “stooge” of the United States and China, an unelected leader, etcetera, etcetera. Most importantly, he does not represent the people of Bangladesh which was the first reason for India not responding to Bangladesh’s request for an official meet up.

Bilateral political history of Bangladesh says it differently. At least three military dictators made official visits to Delhi. Like, General Zia ur Rahman (1977-1981), General Hussain Muhammad Ershad (1982-1990) and Lt. Gen Moeen U Ahmed (2006-2008) despite not having people’s mandate.

Indian ruling and opposition parties never objected to the bilateral meetings with three military dictators. The Indian media was not vociferous against their official visits.

The Indian media also joined by Indian ruling party Bharitya Janata Party (BJP) failed to reconcile with the forcible departure of their all-weather friend Sheikh Hasina who has taken refuge in the outskirts of Delhi. Jaishankar last week told the Consultative Committee on External Affairs in Delhi that India was aware of the mounting discontent against Hasina leading up to the ouster of her government on 5 August 2024, but could not intervene as it lacked the necessary leverage over the former prime minister.

Admitting tensions between Delhi and Dhaka, especially after India granted refuge to Hasina, the Interim Government in Bangladesh has begun engaging with India, Jaishankar told the Indian lawmakers.

Commenting on the influence of “external actors” in Bangladesh, Jaishankar said he viewed China as a regional “competitor” rather than an “adversary”, writes the Hindu

Commenting on the influence of “external actors” in Bangladesh, Jaishankar said he viewed China as a regional “competitor” rather than an “adversary”, writes the Hindu.

Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar also told the meeting that SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) was inactive because of Pakistan’s approach and thus India is trying to strengthen BIMSTEC. In the worst case scenario, Narendra Modi is expected to drop attending BIMSTEC at the last moment and instead send an emissary on his behalf to attend the summit. Thus the Modi-Yunus sideline meeting will not happen.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.