Political and diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Dhaka have adversely affected cultural relations between the two countries. The razing of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s house in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi neighbourhood by hordes of college and university students on February 5 and 6 achieved two purposes. It wiped out a part of the people’s liberation struggle – many key decisions related to the fight against the Pakistani army of the day were taken there. The hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis, who otherwise enjoyed their visits to Kolkata for shopping, were left high and dry. The growth of Islamist forces, especially after the August 5, 2024, events are said to have strengthened rightist groups in India. These are not mutually exclusive phenomena. They feed off each other. The Indian political establishment can only watch in dismay towards a decidedly Islamist groups in Bangladesh. While Islamist like the Hizbut Tehreek and Jamaat-e-Islami still constitute a minority of Bangladesh’s population, they are gaining ground and gaining legitimacy.
