Why did Bangladesh put PM Tarique Rahman’s proposed visit to India on ice? The message from Dhaka is blunt! The trip is unlikely unless New Delhi moves on extraditing former PM Sheikh Hasina. What looked like a routine bilateral engagement has turned into a test of sovereignty. The standoff comes just ahead of planned bilateral dates and swirling talk of an invitation for Rahman to attend the upcoming BRICS summit in New Delhi. Instead of photo-ops, the two capitals are staring at a diplomatic wall.To understand why, rewind 15 years. Sheikh Hasina governed Bangladesh with an iron grip, and with New Delhi’s political backing. For Dhaka’s critics, that relationship came at a cost. They argue she sacrificed core elements of Bangladesh’s autonomy to keep India’s support. On domestic matters, from security cooperation to political messaging, India’s voice carried unusual weight. To maintain that arrangement, Hasina’s government cracked down hard. Dissent was treated as sedition. The judiciary was used to jail opponents. The free press was muzzled. For millions of Bangladeshis, the bargain was clear: stability in exchange for subservience, both at home and........

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