The Pulse | Diplomacy | South Asia

New Governments in Bangladesh and Nepal Open Window for India to Recast Ties with Neighbors

In building ties with these countries, India will need to factor in China.

India’s Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar discusses bilateral relations at a meeting in New Delhi, India, with Bangladeshi High Commissioner to India, Hamidullah Riaz, on March 20, 2026.

The winds of political change sweeping through South Asia, with the installation of new governments in Nepal and Bangladesh, offer New Delhi a chance to rework ties with two key neighbors.

In Nepal, 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah took the oath as prime minister on March 27 after a landslide victory in general elections, held in the aftermath of the 2025 Gen Z protests. Shah’s swearing in as prime minister marks an important milestone in Nepal’s history—he is the youngest to hold this post.

To India’s east, in Bangladesh, a government headed by Tarique Rehman of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) took office on February 17. This followed the ouster of the long-entrenched Sheikh Hasina government in 2024, in student-led protests in July-August of that year.

Taken together, the new governments in India’s neighborhood represent significant breaks from the past and open the door for new possibilities.

Within days of the BNP government taking charge in Bangladesh, India hosted a senior Bangladeshi military intelligence official, Major General Kaiser Rashid Chowdhury. More visits to India are expected in the coming days, including that of Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rehman. And in a display of goodwill, India sent 5,000 metric tons of diesel to Bangladesh amid the energy crisis triggered by the Iran war.

On March 26, at an event to mark Bangladesh’s National Day, Bangladeshi High Commissioner to India Riaz Hamidullah drew attention to the “high importance” that Prime Minister Rahman accords to “its relationship with India, a partnership shaped by [a shared] history, culture, and geography.” As the new government in Dhaka “embarks on a robust mandate, we look forward to advancing our ties and engagements with India, premised on dignity, equality, mutual trust and respect, and shared benefits,” he said. Hamidullah also pointed to the immense potential that remains to be tapped in bilateral trade. “Our ties go far beyond the $12 billion in bilateral goods trade. Conservative estimates point to comprehensive economic transactions in the order of $28 to $30 billion, minimum,” he said.

Meanwhile, New Delhi has reached out to the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (BJI).  The BJI, which has long been perceived in Delhi as pro-Pakistan, given its collaboration with the Pakistan Army during the 1971 liberation war, is now the main opposition party in Bangladesh. It does seem that India is willing to deal with the Jamaat despite its ties with Pakistan. Delhi and Dhaka seem keen to normalize ties, which were ruptured following the ouster of the “pro-India” Hasina.

An issue that needs Delhi’s immediate attention is the renewal of the 1996 Ganga Water Sharing Treaty. Besides, India must find ways to reach out to the Bangladeshi people to tamp down on the anti-India sentiment.

Good relations with Bangladesh are important to New Delhi as they are critical for a peaceful eastern border, stability in India’s insurgency-wracked Northeast, and the success of overland connectivity projects linking mainland India, its northeast and Southeast Asia. Consequently, during Hasina’s rule (2009-2024), India strengthened its ties with Bangladesh across the spectrum – from energy and trade to people-to-people relations. Relations during this period were often referred to as the “Sonali Adhayay” or the Golden Period in India-Bangladesh ties. New Delhi was careful to refrain from interfering or commenting on Bangladesh’s internal politics; New Delhi turned a blind eye to the largely one-sided........

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