Can I respond to this question over lunch in private?

This evasive, though light-veined, response by Dinesh Trivedi, the Indian High Commissioner, represented the catch 22 situation that both India and Bangladesh are trapped in over the issue of ex-PM Sheikh Hasina.

When pressed harder by several locals on Dhaka's request for Hasina's extradition, Trivedi referenced the "well-structured legal process currently underway in New Delhi" to extricate himself from the extremely uncomfortable situation during the recent Bay of Bengal Conversations 2026.

In a typical deflective way, the Indian envoy held the Bangladesh Army responsible for flying Hasina to India with an innocent qualification; as neighbours it was our duty to accept the situation on that day (August 5, 2024).

Such postulations, nevertheless, can hardly disguise a bitter reality; Bangladesh's political spectrum remains deeply divided over the fate of Sheikh Hasina. For many Bangladeshis, she must face justice for the murder and maiming of thousands of opposition activists, students during the July 2024 uprising. For them, Hasina's 15 year rule embodied brute repression and a foreign policy beholden to India at the cost of broader national interest.

Even the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death for crimes against humanity (on 17 November 2025). This verdict came on the back of raging public sentiment over the Hasina era.

Since Sheikh Hasina's 15-year era was marked by enforced disappearances (up to 4000, though figures vary),........

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