At a time when relations between India and Bangladesh remain strained, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is set to attend the state funeral of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia on December 31.
Zia’s death comes at a politically sensitive moment, coinciding with the return of her son and BNP’s de facto chief, Tarique Rahman, to Bangladesh after 17 years in exile. With the country heading towards elections, Jaishankar’s presence is being viewed as a diplomatic signal from New Delhi, especially after ties between the two neighbours deteriorated following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in a student-led uprising last year.
Khaleda Zia, who served as prime minister from 1991 to 1996 and again between 2001 and 2006, was widely seen as a political counterweight to the Awami League, which maintained close relations with India. During her tenure, Dhaka strengthened ties with Beijing, a development that often caused unease in New Delhi.
Her second term, in particular, witnessed Bangladesh moving closer to China, which eventually emerged as its largest supplier of military equipment. India has since remained wary of Bangladesh drifting further towards China and Pakistan, especially under the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus.
Against this backdrop, Tarique Rahman—considered the frontrunner in the upcoming elections—has so far struck a cautious note. In May, he questioned the authority of the interim government to take long-term foreign policy decisions without an electoral mandate.
Addressing a rally in Dhaka later, Rahman underlined that Bangladesh would not tilt decisively towards either India or Pakistan. “Not Dilli, not Pindi—Bangladesh before everything,” he said, signalling a foreign policy approach rooted in national interest.
Rahman has also openly criticised radical political forces such as Jamaat-e-Islami, once a BNP ally, particularly for its anti-India stance and its support for Pakistan during the 1971 Liberation War. This marks a notable shift, given that it was during Khaleda Zia’s tenure that Dhaka sought closer engagement with Islamabad—largely influenced by the BNP’s alliance with Jamaat at the time.
With Jamaat now politically estranged from the BNP, New Delhi sees limited room to recalibrate its engagement with Dhaka, unlike in earlier phases of BNP rule.
Historically, both Khaleda Zia and her father, former President Ziaur Rahman, maintained that Bangladesh’s political and foreign policy choices should not function under India’s shadow, despite New Delhi’s pivotal role in the country’s liberation in 1971. In that sense, Tarique Rahman’s recent emphasis on “Bangladesh first” reflects a continuation of the family’s long-held political line rather than a departure from it.