Almost seven months after Sheikh Hasina's ouster, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Bangladesh's Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus for the first time on Friday (Apr 4) on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Thailand. It marked a notable shift in New Delhi's attitude towards Dhaka after Hasina's exit and analysts say it is a welcoming step.

What did analysts say?

Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Bangladeshi economist and Distinguished Fellow at Center for Policy Dialogue spoke to WION and said, "The meeting between the two heads of government was a much-anticipated and welcome event. Both leaders used the opportunity to share their interests and concerns."
Bhattacharya also shed light on the personal equation between the two leaders as Yunus gifted PM Modi a picture from 2015 wherein PM Modi was presenting a gold medal to Yunus at the opening ceremony of the 102nd Indian Science Congress. "It appears that it was also a refreshing personal experience for the leaders as they recalled the mutually respectful relationship that they had enjoyed all along," he told WION.
Harsh V. Pant, Vice President,Studies and Foreign Policy, at Observer Research Foundation, spoke to WION and said that the meeting between the two heads of the government was a much-anticipated and welcome event. "The meeting was a way forward to stabilise the relationship amid a series of indications coming from Bangladesh, starting from its effort to elevate their ties with Pakistan to Yunus' recent visit to China. PM Modi's meeting has conveyed to Dhaka that they can't ignore New Delhi and its concerns." 
When asked if Yunus' recent visit to China prompted India to take the step forward for this meeting, Pant said: "I don't think there's any pressure on New Delhi regarding this. It was a long haul. At some point, New Delhi would have definitely spoken to Dhaka and the new Bangladeshi administration."
Read More | PM Modi writes to Yunus, stresses 'mutual sensitivity' in strengthening India-Bangladesh ties

Bangladesh's ties with Pakistan and the India angle

"Assuming that Bangladesh’s desire to mend ties with Pakistan is solely driven by India-centric calculations would be an oversimplification of the geopolitical realities," said Aishwaria Sonavane, Researcher for Pakistan Studies at Takshashila Institution, when asked about Bangladesh's intentions about elevating ties with Pakistan,.
"The dynamics of India-Bangladesh relations continue to shift, marked by significant points of contention, including the extradition of Sheikh Hasina from India and reports of targeted attacks on minority Hindu communities in Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh under Yunus is predominantly diversifying its partnerships," she explained while speaking to WION.
In this regard, Bhattacharya added, "The nature and scale of the relationship of Bangladesh with any other country in the region will take note of the sensitivities of other neighbours but will not be hostage to them."
Read More | ‘Better to split up Bangladesh than…’: Northeast leader’s response to Yunus remark
However, voices in Bangladeshi administration under Yunus continue to spread rumours and be anti-India at different stages. For instance, the claim by Yunus' press secretary Shafiqul Alam that "India's response to the request for Hasina's extradition was not negative" was dismissed by the unnamed government sources calling it "mischievous and politically motivated". New Delhi would want the Yunus administration to be careful with its statements and narrative.
"Stable relations with India is necessary for Bangladesh. India cannot be ignored as its leverage in the Indo-Pacific region is high. The ball is in Yunus' court," Pant said highlighting New Delhi's approach. Pavan Chaurasia, a research fellow at India Foundation, echoed the sentiments. "With this meeting, New Delhi showed that it is not averse to dealing with the new power centre in Bangladesh, provided that the neighbouring country respects India's genuine concerns," Chaurasia said.
WATCH | Sheikh Hasina Vows To Return To Bangladesh, Calls Yunus 'Unfit' To Govern Bangladesh

Can Bangladesh ignore India for China?

Analysts believe that Bangladesh cannot ignore India even as it attempts to build an ally in the Chinese. "Considering Bangladesh's economic interdependence with India, deep-rooted geographical, and linguistic ties, completely sidelining India in favour of China is not practical or strategically prudent. For Bangladesh, India remains an indispensable partner for economic and regional stability, while China serves the role of a critical development and investment partner," Sonavane elaborated.

Pant added, "Yunus and his government cannot look in one direction. Bangladesh's economy is facing challenges and given the pressure that the Chinese economy is finding itself in due to the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump's administration in the US, it will not help Bangladesh to look to the Chinese solely."

As the India-Bangladesh relationship continues to be on a rough path, the engagement between PM Modi and Yunus gives hope but the main question remains as to how it would pan out in a world that faces US President Donald Trump's 'big brother' tactics and China's 'won't give up' attitude.
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Read More | PM Modi meets Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus for the first time on BIMSTEC Summit sidelines