PM Modi 'deeply saddened' on Khaleda Zia's demise: What was her role in development of Bangladesh-India ties

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended his condolences on the death of former Bangladesh Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia. Khaleda Zia passed away at the age of 80, after a prolonged illness, her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) announced on Tuesday (Dec 30). She was admitted in Dhaka's Evercare Hospital since November 23 and was on ventilator support since December 11. In his message, PM Modi highlighted her important contributions towards the development of Bangladesh, as well as India-Bangladesh relations. Sharing pictures of his meeting with Khaleda Zia in 2015, PM Modi said that her vision and legacy will continue to guide India-Bangladesh partnership.

What was her role in development of Bangladesh-India ties?

Though Khaleda Zia is credited for expansion of India-Bangladesh ties, her successor Sheikh Hasina is seen to be the friendlier one with New Delhi. Khaleda Zia maintained an overall cautious, and balanced Indian ties with that with China and Pakistan. Khaleda Zia positioned her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) as a “protector of Bangladesh’s interests”, often at the backdrop of anti-India rhetoric.

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She opposed overland transit and connectivity links with India, both as PM and as Leader of the Opposition. As Prime Minister, she also refused India transit rights across Bangladeshi territory to the northeastern states, arguing it infringed on her country's security and sovereignty.

She also argued Indian trucks' toll-free use of Bangladeshi roads was akin to 'slavery'. She opposed renewal of the 1972 Indo-Bangladesh Friendship Treaty. During Zia's tenure, India’s Farakka Barrage became the major reason of conflict between the two countries. As per reports, the barrage helps reduce silt, improves navigability around Kolkata Port and supplies fresh water to the city, but Zia maintained that it deprived Bangladesh of its rightful share of Ganges water. In 2007, she accused India of opening sluice gates to aggravate flooding in Bangladesh.

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Khaleda Zia's foreign policy also became a reason for tensed India-Bangladesh relations. In 2002, Zia actively pursued defence cooperation with China. New Delhi, at that time, also accused the then BNP government of sheltering separatist groups operating in India’s northeastern states after

Zia described insurgent outfits such as ULFA and NSCN as “freedom fighters.”

Khaleda Zia's political fortune went downhill after Awami League won election in 2008. Zia opposed the Hasina government, calling her efforts “struggle for democracy.” She was placed under house arrest twice during movements she launched against the government. In 2018, she sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by a special court in Dhaka in corruption cases. Her jail sentence was suspended on March 25, 2020, when the then Awami League government temporarily released her through an executive order amid the COVID-19 pandemic, on the condition that she remain in her Gulshan home and not leave the country. She was finally released after 2024 uprising led to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.