India Must Seek Stable Ties with Bangladesh, But Radicalism Remains the Core Challenge: Tharoor’s Remarks Revisited
Reiterating India’s long-standing commitment to its eastern neighbour, Congress MP and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, on Friday expressed deep disappointment over the recent developments in Bangladesh, stressing that New Delhi must continue working towards stabilising bilateral relations.
Referring to a recently released report of the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs, Tharoor said the panel had strongly urged the Centre to engage constructively with Dhaka and make every effort to bring relations to a stable and predictable level.
He underlined that India has an enormous stake in Bangladesh, not just diplomatically but historically and emotionally as well.
India, Tharoor pointed out, played a decisive and commendable role in the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, when Indian military forces, alongside the Mukti Bahini, helped give birth to a new nation.
That intervention did not merely redraw borders; it gave a new life to an oppressed land and its people.
“After all these years,” Tharoor suggested, “India cannot and should not suddenly abandon the people of Bangladesh.”
At the same time, he voiced serious concern over the rising hostility being directed at India and at those perceived as being “on the Indian side.” Such sentiments, he warned, are deeply troubling and undermine the spirit of cooperation that should define relations between two nations bound by history, geography, and shared sacrifices.
Expanding on this argument, the larger and more difficult question confronting New Delhi is not whether relations with Bangladesh should be stabilised, but how.
Stabilisation becomes particularly complex when a section of society is driven by highly radical and intolerant thinking.
While governments can sign agreements and diplomats can exchange assurances, sustained stability will remain elusive unless radical elements are calmed and marginalised.
There is little doubt, analysts argue, that truly great things could still be achieved between India and Bangladesh—economically, culturally,y and strategically—if extremism and radical hostility are addressed with seriousness and resolve.
A calmer, more inclusive social climate in Bangladesh would not only benefit minorities and democratic institutions there, but would also lay the foundation for a mature, forward-looking partnership with India.
Former diplomat and Rajya Sabha MP Harsh Vardhan Shringla echoed similar concerns, warning that any government that allows or encourages anti-Indian activities must be prepared for an equal and proportionate response.
He noted that recent escalations appear linked to domestic political calculations, with certain elements exploiting minority issues and anti-India sentiment ahead of expected elections.
Shringla added that India was right to firmly convey, through diplomatic channels, that attacks on Indian consulates, diplomats, property, ty and minority communities are unacceptable.
Together, these remarks underline a hard reality: India remains committed to stable and friendly relations with Bangladesh, but stability cannot be a one-sided aspiration.
It requires restraint, responsibility,ity, and a conscious effort to rein in radical forces that thrive on division. Only then can the promise born in 1971 be meaningfully carried forward.
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