Aasha Khosa

The creation of Bangladesh is not a distant chapter in history; it is a living memory in the subcontinent. For Indians in particular, the birth of Bangladesh carries deep emotional, political and strategic resonance. It came barely twenty-five years after the formation of Pakistan, the world’s first modern state explicitly conceived based on religion.

India’s engagement with Bangladesh has always been shaped by geography and shared history, and civilisational commitment to coexistence and diversity. The emergence of Bangladesh in 1971 was not merely a redrawing of borders; it was an ideological reckoning. It challenged the foundational premise advanced by the All-India Muslim League—that Hindus and Muslims constituted separate nations (qaum) and, therefore, could not inhabit a single political framework.

That premise had led to the Partition of 1947 and the creation of Pakistan as a Muslim homeland. India, in contrast, rejected the two-nation theory and chose to remain a secular republic—home to multiple faiths, languages and cultures. Despite apprehensions by naysayers, India has flourished as a land of multiple faiths, religions, cultures and languages.

The events of 1971 unsettled the very logic on which Pakistan had been created. Bangladesh emerged through immense sacrifice—of millions of Bengalis and of Indian soldiers who intervened in what became the Bangladesh Liberation War. Its birth underscored a powerful truth: that language, culture and shared historical experience can prove more enduring foundations for nationhood than religious identity alone.

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, a well known journalist of Bangladesh posted a video of BNP countering the Jamaat-e-Islami's election campaign in Urdu, a language that was rejected by the then East Pakistan (Now Bangladesh) and was a major cause of rift with Pakisyan, on X:

After Jamaat-e-Islami, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) also launched the election campaign in Urdu, the state language of Pakistan! This is for the first time since independence of Bangladesh in 1971, election campaigns are running in Urdu. pic.twitter.com/TunP8EUK0q

— Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury (@salah_shoaib) January 31, 2026

In the current moment of political transition in Bangladesh, this history acquires renewed relevance.

In the age of social media amplification, optics often overpower nuance. Modern media ecosystems reward spectacle over substance. During the recent campaign, international journalists descended upon the country, and the visible mobilisation of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami—its rallies, speeches and digital outreach—began to shape the dominant narrative.

Yet perception is not always reality. The loudest constituency can eclipse the quieter majority. Electoral politics in Bangladesh, as across South Asia, is layered—shaped by local loyalties, economic aspirations, generational shifts and historical memory. By amplifying the spectacle of resurgence, sections of the media risked overlooking deeper undercurrents of public sentiment. The silent majority does not march with placards, but it often determines outcomes.

From an Indian perspective, it is therefore essential to separate narrative momentum from structural political change. The anxiety surrounding Jamaat’s perceived rise may have revealed as much about media consumption patterns as about the electorate’s ideological preferences.

When #valentines Day And Basanata/ Pohela Falgun Hits Together In Dhaka

📸 Prothom Alo pic.twitter.com/RJbKB6aZlL

— বাংলার ছেলে 🇧🇩 (@iSoumikSaheb) February 14, 2026

The verdict delivered by Bangladeshi voters—handing a decisive mandate to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party under the leadership of Tarique Rahman—signals a choice that is both political and cultural. It suggests that the ethos of a qaum is not ephemeral; it is embedded in collective memory. Voters opted for a leadership that speaks of economic revival, women's empowerment, youth aspirations and technological modernisation, and that does not frame politics in narrowly exclusionary terms.

The shift in social media mood was telling. Almost serendipitously, the electoral outcome coincided with Valentine’s Day and the vibrant celebrations of Poila Baisakh. Images from Dhaka—of colour, music and youthful exuberance—offered reassurance that Bangladesh’s social fabric remains textured and plural.

For Pakistan, the verdict in Dhaka may carry its own lessons about the limits of religion as the sole adhesive of nationhood. For India, it is a reaffirmation of civilisational principles long articulated as sarva dharma sambhava and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam—the belief that pluralism is strength, not weakness.

At a time when religious communities across the region are tempted to retreat into hardened identities, Bangladesh’s electoral message offers a reminder: the triumph of a nation lies not in isolation, but in inclusion.

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For India, which has both historical stakes and geographic proximity, the hope is that Bangladesh’s political evolution continues to strengthen democratic institutions, empower women and youth, and deepen regional stability. The subcontinent’s shared future depends on it.