What is unfolding in Bangladesh today is not a spontaneous democratic uprising but a carefully stage-managed implosion—one that has cynically weaponised misled youth, radical street power, and diplomatic intimidation. The reported plans by provocateurs to attack the Indian Embassy in Dhaka mark a dangerous new low, exposing how lawlessness and mob coercion have replaced constitutional governance in a country that once prided itself on its liberation legacy. Let us state this unambiguously: India is under no legal, moral, or diplomatic obligation to deport former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently residing in New Delhi. There exists no extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh that mandates such action. The shrill demands emanating from Dhaka—whether in the form of official letters or orchestrated street pressure—carry no binding force. Sovereign nations do not bend to threats masquerading as diplomacy. The so-called interim government in Bangladesh, headed by Muhammad Yunus, a deeply controversial figure with questionable legitimacy, has already crossed multiple red lines. It has banned Hasina’s Awami League Party, ensuring it cannot participate in the “democratic elections” scheduled next month. An election that excludes the country’s largest and most popular political force is not democracy—it is managed theatre. The outcome is pre-scripted; the ballot merely provides cosmetic legitimacy. More troubling is the blatant misuse of institutions. A Bangladesh Supreme Court, widely perceived as coerced, has reportedly pronounced life imprisonment against Hasina, while multiple criminal cases have been hastily foisted upon her. This is not justice; it is judicial vendetta, executed in an atmosphere of fear and political cleansing. Under such circumstances, Hasina’s life would be in grave danger were she to be handed over. No responsible government—least of all India—would facilitate such an outcome.
India’s position is rooted in precedent, principle, and prudence. Hasina was the democratically elected Prime Minister of Bangladesh, removed not by the ballot but by a calculated dismantling of state authority. The fingerprints of external “deep state” actors, particularly from the United States, are hard to ignore—actors with a long record of engineering regime change under the garb of “democracy promotion.” What follows such interventions is almost always the same: chaos, radicalisation, and the empowerment of extremist coalitions. Reports that the emerging political arrangement in Bangladesh includes elements with known links to terror groups should alarm not just India, but the entire region. A destabilised Bangladesh is not a domestic matter—it directly threatens regional security, border stability, and counter-terrorism cooperation painstakingly built over decades. Against this backdrop, the provocative acts by misled Bangladeshi youth—incited to target India and its diplomatic mission—must be called out for what they are: manufactured hostility. Youth anger is being cynically channelled away from economic collapse, governance failure, and democratic betrayal, and redirected towards India as a convenient external villain. Attacking an embassy is not a protest; it is an act of international delinquency. India, for its part, has shown restraint, maturity, and strategic clarity. It has neither recognised the legitimacy of coercive demands nor succumbed to diplomatic blackmail. Nor is it obliged to respond to letters written by an interim regime whose own constitutional standing is suspect. Silence, in this case, is not weakness—it is sovereignty. History will judge this moment harshly. Bangladesh stands at a crossroads: it can reclaim its democratic soul, or it can slide further into authoritarianism disguised as revolution. India’s refusal to participate in this farce is not interference—it is a refusal to legitimise injustice. Handing over Sheikh Hasina would not serve justice or democracy. It would only embolden mobs, validate institutional sabotage, and reward the very forces pushing Bangladesh toward instability. That is a price India—wisely and resolutely—will not pay.
