ISLAMABAD: Bangladeshi activists and journalists have accused India of providing safe havens to terrorists involved in killings as Bangladesh once again erupts in protests after leader of 2024 student-led uprising Sharif Osman Bin Hadi succumbed to his injuries in Singapore.
Hadi, who was expected to contest the February elections, was shot in the head on December 12 in Dhaka.
He was evacuated to Singapore but could not survive.
Pakistan TV talked to a number of journalists and civil society activists who agreed that anti-India sentiments had risen sharply in Bangladesh.
Civil society activist and entrepreneur Fahim Mashroor told Pakistan TV that following Sheikh Hasina’s ouster and the installation of Dr Muhammad Yunus’s interim administration, relations between Dhaka and New Delhi have deteriorated sharply.
“For the last 15 months, right after Sheikh Hasina was ousted and the new administration under Dr Yunus took over, diplomatic relations have been extremely thorny. The key issue has been Sheikh Hasina being sheltered in India,” Fahim Mashroor said.
He said public anger escalated after the assassination of Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent youth and cultural activist, who was reportedly targeted for his vocal opposition to Indian influence and the Awami League.
“His cultural activism strongly opposed Indian cultural hegemony, leading many to believe he was targeted because of his views, and that Indian active support cannot be ruled out. This is why public sentiment has taken a strongly anti-Indian turn,” he said.
Fahim Mashroor further said the assassin’s known links to Sheikh Hasina’s party and subsequent flight to India, confirmed through CCTV footage, have intensified anti-India sentiment.
“People in Bangladesh remain extremely angry and firmly believe there is support for such activities through the Awami League and its operatives. There is a widespread perception that not only was the planning done on Indian soil, but that India is also providing safe haven to terrorists after such heinous acts,” the civil society activist said.
He said this perception of the Bangladeshi society is drawn from India’s history of patronage toward Sheikh Hasina during her 15-year rule, when New Delhi was seen as supporting her authoritarian governance for strategic gain.
Talking to Pakistan TV, senior journalist from Dhaka MD Kamruzzaman said protests have intensified across Dhaka following the death of Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, particularly among students and young activists.
He said Hadi had been a prominent figure in the movement that challenged nearly 16 years of authoritarian rule of Sheikh Hasina, adding that protesters claim that Hadi had been receiving multiple death threats.
“His popularity was rising rapidly, and people from all walks of life viewed Hadi as an icon of protest. Unfortunately, he had earlier warned that he had received multiple threats from different unknown numbers,” the senior journalist said.
He said a key source of public anger stems from reports that the gunman had fled to India.
Kamruzzaman said this has fuelled growing anti-India sentiment, with demonstrators accusing New Delhi of sheltering individuals responsible for political violence in Bangladesh.
“According to protesters, he [Hadi] was targeted primarily because of his stance against the ousted regime and neighbouring India,” the Bangladeshi journalist said.
He further added that the unrest highlights deepening frustration over external interference and the country’s ongoing struggle for democratic sovereignty.
Another journalist from Bangladesh Muktadir Rashid told Pakistan TV that the demonstrators accuse India of involvement in Hadi’s assassination and harbouring suspects linked to unrest in Bangladesh.
He said anti-India sentiment is not new, fuelled over the years by public anger toward Sheikh Hasina’s government, which was backed by New Delhi.
“Anti-Indian sentiment is not new in Bangladesh at all, especially due to Sheikh Hasina's misrule, which was backed by the Indian government starting from 2014,” he said.
He said Hadi, a former teacher known for his calls for justice and youth empowerment, enjoyed strong grassroots popularity and was preparing to contest the upcoming elections.
Muktadir Rashid said Hadi was shot last Friday, and reports suggest the prime suspect fled across the border into India, an area long associated with organised crime.
His death has further ignited resentment against perceived Indian interference in Bangladesh’s domestic politics, he added.
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