6 min readNew DelhiDec 21, 2025 12:03 PM IST
First published on: Dec 20, 2025 at 05:14 AM IST
With Bangladesh witnessing a fresh round of turmoil in which the Indian High Commission in Dhaka and its Assistant High Commissions across Bangladesh are facing threats, New Delhi’s concern is deepened by the imperative that its interests are linked to Bangladesh’s elections in February next year.
The spark for the latest violence is the December 12 shooting of 32-year-old Sharif Osman Hadi who had participated in the movement against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina leading to her ouster from office on August 5, 2024.
Hadi, a spokesperson for the Inquilab Mancha, or Platform for Revolution, was shot in the head by masked assailants on a bike in Dhaka last Friday while launching his campaign for the elections on February 12. He died on December 18.
Bangladesh Police claim they have identified Hadi’s two assailants and that they escaped by crossing the border to India.
This claim has fuelled anger among Hadi’s supporters and, officials here say, may have given them the free pass to target Indian missions in Bangladesh — besides the High Commission in Dhaka, India has four Assistant High Commissions in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet. The protests led to the closure of the visa application centre for Bangladesh nationals for a day.
India has summoned the Bangladesh envoy in Delhi and asked the authorities in Dhaka to ensure security for its missions.
Delhi has also taken note of the unprecedented mob attack on the two of the most prominent media houses in Dhaka, the largest English-language daily The Daily Star and its sister-concern, the largest Bengali daily, Prothom Alo. Hasina’s critics allege these were her “enablers” and “pro-India” but the fact is these two media houses fiercely defended freedom of press under the authoritarian Sheikh Hasina government. They were blacklisted by her office from attending her press interactions.
Ironically, the two news organisations had supported the anti-Hasina protests led by the students calling it a “new dawn” last year. On Friday, the Daily Star’s editorial called the incident a “dark day for independent journalism” indicating the first signs of a shift in the needle.
Clearly, the irate street in Dhaka is targeting invisible enemies even as the interim government led by Chief Advisor Prof Muhammad Yunus fumbles for control.
Delhi’s concern is more fundamental: will this lead to a law and order situation that results in the postponement of the February elections? The concern is not misplaced.
Hadi’s murder came a day after the election schedule was announced after 16 months of the interim government’s rule by diktats with no parliamentary oversight or approval.
For Delhi and much of the international community, Bangladesh elections are being watched closely as their credibility will be questioned if Hasina’s Awami League is not allowed to contest.
Importantly, Delhi has consistently maintained — including the MEA’s statement on December 14 — that it is in favour of “free, fair, inclusive and credible” elections in Bangladesh in a “peaceful atmosphere”.
“Inclusive” essentially means the inclusion of Hasina’s Awami League in the polls. Significantly, the Bangladesh government has not mentioned “inclusive” and said it wants to hold an election of the “highest standard” and create an environment where people feel encouraged to vote, something that has not existed over the past 15 years.
Bangladesh Foreign Affairs advisor Touhid Hossain made it clear: “The latest statement from India contained advice for us. I don’t think there is any need for that. We do not seek advice from neighbours on how elections in Bangladesh should be conducted.”
In fact, Daily Star has also sidestepped the issue of Awami League’s inclusion. Before it was attacked on Thursday, it said: “With the poll schedule announced, the country now enters an exciting yet delicate phase. Ensuring peaceful campaigning, providing equal opportunities to all contesting parties and candidates, and guaranteeing that citizens can exercise their rights freely and without fear are imperative for credible elections”. Its use of the word “contesting parties” steered clear of Awami League which has been banned from contesting the elections.
The newspaper cautioned that the “nation cannot afford a repeat of the last three elections—held in 2014, 2018, and 2024—or of the chaotic and violent events that had preceded them”.
With the latest violence, the BNP, led by ailing former PM Khaleda Zia’s son Tareque Rahman, has expressed doubts that the current situation may “derail” the elections.
On Friday, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed termed the arson and vandalism at the offices of The Daily Star and Prothom Alo a “planned attempt” to obstruct the upcoming national election.
For Delhi, this echoes the situation in Dhaka on August 5 and its aftermath. Instability next door doesn’t bode well as does the rise of right-wing Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, in the student body elections in major universities in Bangladesh.
“We expect that the interim Government of Bangladesh will take all necessary measures for ensuring internal law and order, including for the purpose of holding peaceful elections,” the MEA said on December 14.
New Delhi is also closely watching this since West Bengal elections are scheduled for April-May next year. “We don’t want the spillover of the violence and the situation to impact our own domestic politics,” a senior Indian official told The Indian Express.
A protest following overnight attacks and vandalism after the death of a prominent activist, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 19. (AP) 
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