Historical Foundation: 1971 Liberation War

The bedrock of India-Bangladesh relations is the 1971 Liberation War. After the Pakistani military launched Operation Searchlight (25 March 1971) — a brutal crackdown on the Bengali population of East Pakistan — approximately 10 million refugees fled into India.

India recognised Bangladesh on 6 December 1971 and militarily intervened on 3 December 1971 following Pakistani air strikes on Indian airfields. The Indian Army, in alliance with the Mukti Bahini (Bangladesh Liberation Forces), achieved the surrender of Pakistani forces on 16 December 1971 — observed annually as Vijay Diwas in India and Victory Day in Bangladesh.

The relationship between the two countries began with deep goodwill and a Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Peace signed in March 1972 (valid for 25 years; not renewed in 1997).

Key Agreements and Frameworks

Ganga Waters Treaty, 1996

The Ganga Waters Treaty (1996) — also called the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty — was signed between India and Bangladesh for sharing of the Ganga waters at the Farakka Barrage during the dry season (January–May). The treaty has a duration of 30 years (1996–2026) and provides for a Joint Committee to monitor water flows. With the treaty set to expire in December 2026, renegotiation has become an urgent bilateral agenda item.

Land Boundary Agreement (LBA), 2015

For decades, 162 enclaves of Indian territory were located within Bangladesh and 92 enclaves of Bangladeshi territory were within India — remnants of the Cooch Behar princely state's complex boundaries. The Land Boundary Agreement, 1974 between India and Bangladesh could not be implemented because India's 14th Constitutional Amendment (required to ratify territory transfer) was never passed.

The resolution came with the 100th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2015, passed by Parliament in May 2015, which ratified the LBA. Under the agreement:

  • India received: 51 Bangladeshi enclaves (covering 7,110 acres) within Indian mainland
  • Bangladesh received: 111 Indian enclaves (covering 17,160 acres) within Bangladeshi mainland

The enclave exchange was completed at midnight on 31 July 2015, finally resolving decades of statelessness for enclave residents.

Teesta Water-Sharing Dispute

The Teesta River originates in Sikkim, flows through West Bengal, and enters Bangladesh — a vital source of irrigation for Bangladesh's northern districts.

The proposed Teesta Water-Sharing Agreement (drafted 2011) was to allocate 42.5% to India and 37.5% to Bangladesh (with 20% reserved for river flow maintenance). However, the agreement could not be signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's 2011 visit to Dhaka because West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee withdrew consent at the last moment, citing inadequate water allocation for West Bengal.

The dispute remains unresolved as of 2025. China's offer of a $1 billion investment in the Teesta River comprehensive management project in Bangladesh has added a strategic dimension — India is concerned that Chinese infrastructure presence on the Teesta would give Beijing influence over a critical river shared with India.

Connectivity

India and Bangladesh have significantly enhanced physical connectivity:

  • Maitree Express (Friendship Express): Train service between Kolkata and Dhaka — restarted in April 2008 after a 43-year gap; runs five times a week
  • Bandhan Express: Train service between Kolkata and Khulna, launched in November 2017
  • Mitali Express: Between New Jalpaiguri (India) and Dhaka, launched in June 2022
  • Chilahati-Haldibari rail link: Restored in December 2020 — part of the historic Bengal-Assam Railway connecting pre-Partition Bengal and Assam
  • Akhaura-Agartala rail link: Completed and inaugurated in November 2023, boosting connectivity to India's Northeast
  • Maitri Setu (Friendship Bridge): 1.9 km bridge over the Feni River connecting Sabroom (Tripura, India) to Ramgarh (Bangladesh); inaugurated by PM Modi in March 2021; gives Tripura direct access to Chittagong Port (only 73 km away), transforming northeastern connectivity
  • Road and river routes: India-Bangladesh Protocol on Inland Waterways provides for movement of goods via rivers

India's strategic interest: Bangladesh provides access to India's Northeast — the so-called "chicken's neck" corridor (Siliguri Corridor) is only 22 km wide; Bangladesh connectivity reduces logistical dependence on this narrow passage.

Economic Relations

Bangladesh has emerged as India's largest trade partner in South Asia and India is the second largest export destination for Bangladesh (after the US). Key economic dimensions:

  • Trade: Bilateral trade is approximately USD 13 billion annually (FY 2023-24; India exports significantly more than it imports — a persistent Bangladeshi concern)
  • Major Indian exports to Bangladesh: Cotton, machinery, vehicles, chemicals
  • Major Bangladeshi exports to India: Ready-made garments, jute products
  • Power: India has been supplying electricity to Bangladesh; the Adani Power Godda plant (Jharkhand) supplies power under a long-term agreement
  • Remittances: Bangladesh is a significant source of remittances to Indian border states

Bangladesh's duty-free access to the Indian market (under SAFTA provisions) has been a point of bilateral progress, though non-tariff barriers remain a concern. India has extended over USD 8 billion in Lines of Credit to Bangladesh for connectivity, energy, and infrastructure projects — one of the largest LoC packages India has provided to any country.

Political Developments: August 2024 and After

Sheikh Hasina's Exit (August 2024)

Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh since 2009 (and previously 1996-2001), faced a mass uprising in mid-2024 triggered by student protests against a controversial quota system for government jobs. The movement expanded into a general anti-government uprising. Following violent crackdowns in which approximately 1,400 people were killed (UN estimate; sources vary widely, with lower official counts ~300), Hasina resigned and fled to India on 5 August 2024, where she has remained since.

Muhammad Yunus Interim Government

Three days after Hasina's exit, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus (founder of Grameen Bank) was sworn in as head of an interim government on 8 August 2024. The interim government's stated priorities included political neutralisation, elections, and accountability for the crackdown.

Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in absentia in November 2025 for crimes related to the 2024 protests, and Dhaka has formally demanded her extradition from India. India, which had closely partnered with Hasina's government on security and counter-terrorism cooperation, faces a significant diplomatic challenge.

Reset in Relations

India-Bangladesh relations deteriorated sharply after August 2024:

  • Traditional security cooperation channels — counterterrorism, intelligence-sharing — slowed dramatically
  • Trade tensions emerged, with both sides engaged in tit-for-tat retaliatory actions
  • Attacks on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh became a flashpoint — India raised these concerns in the first Modi-Yunus meeting
  • India's close historical identification with the Hasina government was seen by the new dispensation as a liability

By early 2026, tentative diplomatic normalisation began after Bangladesh's elections on February 12, 2026 brought the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) a landslide majority (212 of 299 seats, with 77 seats for the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance; voter turnout 59.88%; source: Al Jazeera, February 14, 2026). Tarique Rahman was sworn in as Prime Minister on February 17, 2026 — Bangladesh's first male PM after 36 years of female premiers. His mother and BNP founder Khaleda Zia had died on 30 December 2025 (aged 79, at Evercare Hospital, Dhaka; source: Al Jazeera). India indicated willingness to reset relations under the BNP government.

Rohingya Crisis and NRC Implications

The arrival of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar created a three-way tension: India, which hosts approximately 40,000 Rohingyas, has taken a restrictive stance; Bangladesh hosts the world's largest Rohingya refugee camp (Kutupalong, Cox's Bazar — over 1 million refugees). India's National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in Assam, and the question of alleged Bangladeshi infiltration, have periodically strained the relationship.

Cross-paper relevance

  • GS2 (primary) — India-Bangladesh bilateral ties; Teesta water sharing; Hasina exit (August 2024); Rohingya/NRC implications; connectivity agreements; BIMSTEC
  • GS3 — Cross-border infrastructure (Agartala-Akhaura rail, Feni river bridge); energy trade; trade imbalances
  • GS4 (Ethics) — Managing transitions in partner states; refugee burden-sharing ethics; diplomatic relations after a regime change
  • Essay — "India-Bangladesh: from golden era to uncertainty"; "Water diplomacy in South Asia: the Teesta challenge"

Recent Developments (2024–2026)

Sheikh Hasina's Fall and the End of the "Golden Era" (August 2024)

Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's Prime Minister since 2009 and the architect of India's most productive neighbourhood relationship, resigned on 5 August 2024 and flew to India following weeks of student-led protests that began as anti-quota agitation and escalated into a mass uprising. She was received at Hindan Air Force Base by NSA Ajit Doval. An interim government was formed on 8 August 2024 under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as Chief Adviser.

The transition ended what analysts called the "Golden Era" of India-Bangladesh relations — characterised by the 2015 Land Boundary Agreement, Maitri Setu bridge, India's USD 8 billion in Lines of Credit for connectivity and power projects, and strong security cooperation against northeast Indian insurgent groups. Hasina's government had been India's most reliable neighbourhood partner and a buffer against anti-India political forces in Bangladesh.

UPSC angle: The August 2024 Bangladesh transition is the most important single bilateral development in India's neighbourhood for the UPSC 2025–26 cycle. Questions will test: causes of the uprising, what changed in India-Bangladesh ties, and India's strategic options going forward.

India-Bangladesh Relations Under the Yunus Government (2024–2025)

Bilateral relations deteriorated through late 2024 and 2025. Key friction points:

India's refusal to extradite Hasina (who remains in India as of 2026 — Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal convicted her in absentia and sentenced her to death); attacks on Hindu minority communities in Bangladesh following Hasina's fall; and Bangladesh's tilt towards China. During Yunus's March 2025 visit to China, he characterised India's northeastern states as "landlocked" and Bangladesh as "the only guardian of the ocean" — framing Bangladesh as a potential logistics hub for Chinese economic penetration of India's northeast. India filed a formal diplomatic protest.

India-Bangladesh trade (USD 13 billion bilateral; India is Bangladesh's second largest export market) and infrastructure connectivity (electricity exports, Maitri Setu, Agartala-Akhaura rail link) continue to function, maintaining a floor of economic cooperation despite political friction. India resumed electricity supply to Bangladesh after brief interruptions.

UPSC angle: Analyse this through the framework of "structural versus conjunctural factors" in bilateral relations — the structural foundations (trade, connectivity, water) remain intact, but the conjunctural change (political transition) has disrupted the superstructure. India's leverage: economic dependence, electricity exports, landlocked northeast states' connectivity.

Teesta River Water Sharing — Unresolved After a Decade

The Teesta water sharing agreement, with a draft ready since 2011, remains unsigned in 2025. Under the Yunus government, Bangladesh has proposed that China help build the Teesta river management project — a move India views with concern given its implications for upstream-downstream water management and Chinese presence near India's Siliguri Corridor ("Chicken's Neck"). India's Internal concerns (West Bengal's opposition, led by CM Mamata Banerjee) continue to block a formal agreement.

UPSC angle: Teesta is one of the oldest unresolved bilateral disputes — a recurring Mains question theme. The new China angle (Bangladesh inviting Chinese investment in Teesta management) adds a strategic dimension to a previously domestic political problem.

Rohingya Refugee Presence and India's Concern

Bangladesh hosts approximately 1.2 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar — the world's largest such concentration. The ongoing Myanmar civil war (post-February 2021 coup) has complicated repatriation, and the Yunus government has signalled that Bangladesh cannot indefinitely bear the burden alone. India, which has its own Rohingya presence (approximately 40,000), shares Bangladesh's concern about the Myanmar situation but differs on approaches — India has maintained engagement with Myanmar's military junta while Bangladesh has been more vocal in international forums.

UPSC angle: The Rohingya situation connects India-Bangladesh relations with India's Myanmar policy, internal security concerns, and refugee law.

Modi-Yunus First Meeting — Bangkok BIMSTEC Summit (April 2025)

PM Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus held their first direct bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 6th BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok on 4 April 2025 — their first face-to-face talks since the August 2024 political transition. The meeting, lasting approximately 40 minutes, focused on: restoring bilateral trust after months of tension; India's concerns about minority attacks in Bangladesh; Bangladesh's demand for Hasina's extradition (which India did not concede); trade and connectivity continuity; and the Teesta water sharing issue. Both leaders agreed to engage constructively. The meeting was described as "a signal of potential thaw" but did not produce any joint statement or concrete deliverables.

UPSC angle: Prelims — Modi-Yunus bilateral: 6th BIMSTEC Summit, Bangkok, April 4, 2025; first meeting since August 2024 transition. Mains — analyse the significance of the Bangkok meeting in the context of India-Bangladesh relations; what structural conditions are necessary for a sustainable bilateral reset?

India-Bangladesh Relations — Continued Strain Through 2025

Despite the Bangkok meeting, India-Bangladesh relations remained under strain through the remainder of 2025. Key friction points:

  • Hasina extradition: Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in absentia (November 17, 2025) for crimes against humanity relating to the 2024 crackdown (UN estimated ~1,400 killed); separately sentenced to 21 years in a land-grab case (November 27, 2025); Dhaka formally sought her extradition but India has not responded and Hasina remains on Indian soil as of mid-2026.
  • Minority attacks: Reports of continued attacks on Hindu minorities and temples continued to arrive from Bangladesh through 2025, prompting formal Indian protests.
  • China deepening: Bangladesh-China defence and economic cooperation expanded significantly in 2025 — China became the largest source of FDI in Bangladesh during the year, and Bangladesh signed an agreement with a Chinese company for the Teesta river management project, over India's objections.
  • Ganga Waters Treaty expiry: The 1996 Ganga Waters Treaty (30-year term) is due to expire in December 2026 — a fresh round of technical talks was held in Kolkata on 22 May 2026; Bangladesh seeks a revised formula factoring upstream withdrawals across the entire Ganga basin (UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand), not just flows at Farakka; no renewal agreement signed as of May 2026. BNP leaders have publicly linked the future trajectory of bilateral ties to the treaty's renewal (Source: The Federal, GKToday, Dainik Jagran English, May 2026).

UPSC angle: Prelims — Ganga Waters Treaty 1996: 30-year term, expires December 2026; Hasina convicted in absentia November 17, 2025 (death sentence) and November 27, 2025 (21-year term); Teesta China involvement. Mains — evaluate the structural challenges in India-Bangladesh relations under the Yunus government; how should India recalibrate its Neighbourhood First strategy towards Bangladesh?

PYQ Relevance

India-Bangladesh is a perennial Mains topic. Questions have covered: significance of the 1971 war in shaping relations; the Teesta dispute and its impact; why the LBA 2015 was a landmark; implications of the August 2024 political transition for India's neighbourhood policy; and the connectivity dimension.

Exam Strategy

Chronological anchors:

  • 1971: Liberation War — India's military intervention, Bangladesh independence
  • 1996: Ganga Waters Treaty (30-year term; expires December 2026)
  • 2008: Maitree Express restarted
  • 2015: LBA — 100th Amendment; enclave exchange completed 31 July 2015
  • 2017: Bandhan Express (Kolkata-Khulna)
  • 2022: Mitali Express (NJP-Dhaka)
  • August 2024: Hasina's exit (5 Aug); Yunus interim government (8 Aug)
  • November 2025: Hasina convicted in absentia — death sentence (17 Nov) + 21-year term (27 Nov)
  • 30 December 2025: Khaleda Zia (BNP founder, former PM) dies (aged 79, Dhaka)
  • February 12, 2026: Bangladesh elections — BNP wins 212/299 seats (landslide; voter turnout 59.88%)
  • February 17, 2026: Tarique Rahman sworn in as PM (first male PM in 36 years)
  • April 7–9, 2026: Jaishankar meets Bangladesh FM Khalilur Rahman in New Delhi — first FM-level bilateral under BNP
  • May 22, 2026: Ganga Waters Treaty renewal technical talks, Kolkata — no agreement yet

Key strategic frame: Bangladesh under Hasina was India's most dependable SAARC/bilateral partner; the 2024 transition poses India's most complex neighbourhood recalibration since the 2015 Nepal earthquake crisis.

Cross-link: For current developments on India-Bangladesh relations, follow Ujiyari.com.

Key Terms

Teesta Water Dispute

  • Definition: The Teesta Water Dispute is the unresolved disagreement between India and Bangladesh over the equitable sharing of the lean-season flows of the transboundary Teesta River, which originates in the Sikkim Himalaya and joins the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh. A draft water-sharing treaty negotiated in 2011 remains unsigned, primarily because of objections from the Indian state of West Bengal.
  • Context: The Teesta rises in the Sikkim Himalaya, flows through West Bengal for roughly 305 km, and runs about 109 km inside Bangladesh before joining the Brahmaputra river system. India and Bangladesh set up a Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) in 1972, and an ad hoc sharing arrangement was reached at its 25th meeting in 1983, but no permanent treaty was ever concluded. A draft accord was ready for signing during PM Manmohan Singh's 2011 Dhaka visit but collapsed at the last moment over opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who cited the interests of the state's farmers during the dry season.
  • UPSC Relevance: This is a foundational GS2 International Relations topic that underpins questions on India's neighbourhood policy, transboundary river diplomacy, and the federal dimension of foreign policy. Because water is a State subject (Entry 17, List II) subject to Union regulation of inter-State rivers (Entry 56, List I), the dispute is a textbook example of how a state government can constrain the Centre's external commitments — a recurring Mains theme on cooperative federalism and "states as stakeholders" in foreign policy. Prelims angles include the river's geography (source, course, the Brahmaputra link) and the institutional mechanism (Joint Rivers Commission); Mains angles connect it to the India-Bangladesh relationship, the China factor, and water as a strategic resource.