Anti-India sentiment is growing in Bangladesh. From unresolved water-sharing agreements like the Teesta to a perception of unilateralism in regional diplomacy, India is often viewed not as a cooperative neighbour, but as an overbearing one. The criticism is widespread and, in many cases, justified. India’s failure to deliver on long-standing promises -- border security, trade imbalances, and non-tariff barriers -- demonstrates a lack of diplomatic empathy. Many Bangladeshis believe India treats Dhaka as a junior partner rather than a sovereign equal.
But in our justified criticism, we risk walking into a strategic miscalculation. Emotion may win applause, but it does not build ports, deliver vaccines, or supply food during price shocks. We must remember that geography does not change. Neighbours are not optional. And in this geography, India is too large and too close to ignore -- regardless of who governs either side of the border.
Across the world, the most prosperous relationships between neighbours are not driven by emotion but by discipline and long-term mutual benefit. Consider the United States and Canada. Despite differences in population, power, and global posture, they maintain one of the most integrated bilateral relationships in the world. They trade more than two billion dollars a day. Over 75% of Canada’s exports go to the US. Every year, nearly 200 million people cross the border with minimal friction. When wildfires devastated Canada in 2023, American firefighters arrived in hours. When the US faced a baby formula crisis, Canada adjusted its domestic supply to help. This is not sentiment -- it is strategy.
Germany and the Netherlands, once enemies in war, now operate with shared infrastructure, linked energy grids, and coordinated military training under NATO. Their 2022 bilateral trade exceeded 200 billion euros. They even conduct joint cabinet sessions, a signal of deep institutional trust. Even in Asia, China and Vietnam, despite an unresolved border war and deep ideological differences, trade over 230 billion dollars annually. They collaborate on infrastructure, manufacturing, and railway logistics. Disagreements remain, but cooperation takes precedence.
Bangladesh must take note. These countries show that strong neighbour relations are not a matter of liking or trust. They are a matter of need and realism.
India today is no longer just Bangladesh’s neighbour. It is a rising global power with increasing leverage over financial, health, and technology systems worldwide. Indian-origin CEOs now lead Microsoft, Alphabet, Adobe, and IBM. Ajay Banga heads the World Bank, where decisions shape international aid and lending. Over 20% of doctors in the US are of Indian descent. India supplies affordable medicine to more than 150 countries and hosts the world’s largest vaccine producer. Its logistical capacity has been proven in crises from Nepal to the Maldives. This growing capability is not just international -- it is regional. And for Bangladesh, that regional power is right next door.
Consider the daily practical implications. Indian ports can supply goods to Bangladesh in one day. Similar shipments from China take over two weeks. In recent years, Bangladesh experimented with rice from Pakistan and onions from Turkey -- both were rejected by local consumers on grounds of taste and quality. During price shocks, Indian supply is not a luxury, it is a necessity. The Arakan region, housing nearly 180,000 Rohingya refugees, sits adjacent to India’s northeast. Armed movements and humanitarian operations there intersect directly with Indian influence. These are not theoretical policy discussions, they are material, ongoing realities that must inform our foreign policy.
Bangladesh’s needs are basic and urgent: Food security, access to medicine, energy stability, and fast response to emergencies. While public frustration with India’s political behaviour is understandable, it cannot override the reality of these requirements. India, by virtue of its capacity and proximity, is a necessary partner in securing these needs. To act otherwise would be to compromise the well-being of our own population.
This does not mean India is beyond reproach. India must reflect on its regional diplomacy. The time has come to move beyond informal, personality-driven channels of engagement. Delhi must invest in sustainable, transparent state-to-state frameworks that respect the sovereignty and dignity of its neighbours. Its over-reliance on party-level politics has eroded trust in places like Kathmandu, Thimphu, Male, and Dhaka. India’s diplomacy, if it is to lead, must mature.
But Bangladesh must also be clear-eyed. We cannot afford to allow political transitions in Dhaka -- or dissatisfaction with Indian leadership -- to determine the direction of our foreign policy. States do not behave like individuals. Leaders change. National interests endure. And our foreign policy must be guided by consistency, not resentment.
We must also be cautious not to conflate India with the government of the day. Sheikh Hasina was not the state, and Narendra Modi is not India. Tying a long-term bilateral strategy to any political figure, whether domestic or foreign, is a mistake. India may not be our ideological ally, but it is our most consequential regional variable. If we choose to isolate ourselves from it, the costs will not be borne in Delhi -- they will be paid by our farmers, our patients, and our importers.
Diversification remains important. Bangladesh should continue strengthening ties with China, ASEAN, and other multilateral partners. But diversification is not a substitute for a functional relationship with our closest and most capable neighbour. India is the only country that can respond to our urgent needs in hours, not weeks. That responsiveness matters -- especially during climate emergencies, energy shortages, or market disruptions. We do not need to admire India. But we must understand it. Ignoring its rise does not slow it down. It only weakens our position at the table.
Bangladesh’s founding foreign policy principle -- friendship to all, malice to none -- is more relevant today than ever before. It gives us the strategic flexibility to engage, without being dependent. To partner, without being dominated. To act, without being reactive.
This is not appeasement. This is strategic maturity.
True sovereignty does not come from slogans or grandstanding. It comes from the ability to make decisions based on long-term national interest, not short-term emotional appeal. Bangladesh’s people deserve a foreign policy that protects their future, not one that satisfies fleeting sentiment.
In a volatile world, realism is patriotism. And realism begins by acknowledging the neighbour we cannot choose, but must learn to navigate -- with clarity, consistency, and confidence.
Mamun Rashid is an economic analyst, now trying to look around and learn more about geo-politics.