Anti-India slogans move from campuses to streets and cultural spaces, highlighting rising anger over politics, elections and regional tensions.
Dhaka/New Delhi: A charged political mood has returned to Dhaka University. Walls and corridors carry graffiti filled with anger, satire and poetry. The writings echo the youth-led uprising of July 2024 that forced then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina out of power after 15 years of rule.
Many once saw her as a symbol of democratic resilience. Over time, critics began to view her leadership as increasingly authoritarian.Students gather in small circles across the campus. Political debates take place in open lawns. Red lanterns hanging overhead point to Chinese New Year celebrations. The imagery shows a subtle geopolitical reality in a country where China and India compete for influence. Many young voters will face the ballot box for the first time in the February 12 election.After stepping down, Hasina fled to India and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took over as the country’s interim leader. A Bangladeshi court has handed her a death sentence in absentia over the 2024 crackdown. United Nations estimates place the death toll from that violence near 1,400, with most casualties linked to security force action.Once backed by roughly 30 percent voters, her Awami League has been barred from contesting. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party is attempting to occupy the moderate political space. The Jamaat-e-Islami has formed an alliance with a new party born from the student movement.Slogans visible on campuses and streets no longer focus only on domestic democracy. Their direction now extends across the border.University walls and even sarees are covered with slogans like “Dhaka, Not Delhi”. Among young citizens, the word “hegemony” has entered daily conversation. It highlights a belief that India has exercised influence over Bangladesh’s politics, especially since 2014.Public anger over democratic backsliding carries a strong anti-India undertone. Once projected as a model neighbourhood partnership, bilateral ties now stand at their lowest point in decades. Bangladeshis link India’s past support for Hasina to what they see as her government becoming more authoritarian. Disputed elections in 2014, 2018 and 2024 play a big role in forming the perception. They believe that the democracy weakened with India’s alleged political support to the then Hasina government.This resentment has also been fuelled by older grievances. Border killings, water-sharing disputes, trade restrictions and inflammatory rhetoric have all added to the narrative. A growing section of society views India less as an equal neighbour and more as a dominant power expecting compliance.Social media campaigns have targeted major newspapers as alleged foreign agents. Visa services between the two countries are suspended. People became more upset when a Bangladeshi player was not allowed to play in the Indianm Premier League and Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup matches were not moved to another venue.India has tried to widen political outreach. Diplomatic engagement now includes multiple Bangladeshi factions. Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar attended the funeral of BNP leader Khaleda Zia and met senior party leaders. Contacts have also opened with Islamist groups. Dialogue invitations and diplomatic receptions show an attempt to rebuild channels.These efforts have yet to reverse the broader downturn. Veteran editors in Dhaka describe the present chill as unprecedented. Cooperation that once covered security, transit, trade and cultural exchange has slowed to a great extent. Movement of people and goodwill gestures have thinned.Public rhetoric after Hasina’s removal intensified tensions. Many Bangladeshis expected India to recalibrate policy after the political change. New Delhi instead granted Hasina refuge and tightened visa and trade restrictions. The response fuelled perceptions that Bangladeshi public opinion carried little weight in Delhi’s calculations.Cultural backlash followed. Boycott calls against Indian goods gained traction. IPL broadcasts faced suspension demands. Cultural exchange became entangled in political anger.Dhaka’s interim administration has urged caution against viewing ties only through crisis. It has described the relationship as multidimensional that is rooted in geography as much as politics. The two nations share 54 rivers, linguistic bonds, historical links and a 4,096-kilometre border marked by daily trade and movement.Public sentiment, though, has hardened. Many citizens connect years of restricted electoral freedom with Hasina’s rule and India’s alleged support for her government. Her flight to India after the 2024 violence is a sensitive issue. The perception that she received treatment befitting a state leader has intensified resentment.Media narratives form another battleground. Bangladeshi officials reject claims of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities and describe such reports as exaggerated portrayals of isolated incidents. India maintains that independent documentation records more than 2,900 violent incidents against minorities during the period of the interim leader, including killings, arson and land seizures.Scholars within the interim administration see the rupture as structural. The relationship, in their view, narrowed over time into links between India and a single political leadership rather than the Bangladeshi state.Historical disputes add weight to the strain. Water sharing is also a sensitive fault line. Control over river flows carries economic and agricultural consequences. Border killings leave emotional scars and shape public perception of how Bangladeshi lives are valued. India denies unlawful actions by its forces in several incidents.Political friction now spills into economics. Bilateral trade stands near 13.5 billion dollars, with analysts arguing that the number could rise significantly if tariffs and diplomatic barriers ease.Street sentiment, though vocal, retains nuance. Nationalist activists often distinguish between India’s government and its people. Cross-border family ties, cultural familiarity and shared neighbourhoods still influence everyday interactions.Election rhetoric has muted overt anti-India messaging. Political contenders recognise the impossibility of bypassing relations with Delhi. Repairing ties will require time and structural effort rather than symbolic gestures.Officials in Dhaka believe elections alone will not reset relations. Underlying disputes will persist. Strategic thinkers say there are still space for recovery. Geography, history and cultural interdependence bind the two nations too closely for prolonged estrangement.The future of India-Bangladesh ties now rests on political recalibration, public trust and the ability of both capitals to move beyond the accumulated weight of recent years.
Dhaka Not Delhi Protests Bangladesh Anti India Sentiment India Bangladesh Tensions 2026 Sheikh Hasina India Support Controversy Bangladesh Student Movement Politics Anti India Slogans Bangladesh Campuses India Bangladesh Relations Bangladesh Anti-India Protests Dhaka Not Delhi Slogan Sheikh Hasina Bangladesh Political Crisis
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