BJP’s victory  in the West Bengal assembly elections has been widely described as a tectonic shift—only the second change in power in the state in the last 50 years. Both transitions are significant: the first ended 34 years of rule by the socialist Left Front, while the second has now replaced the centrist Trinamool Congress (TMC) with the right-wing BJP, a party rooted in Hindutva politics. Although broadly secular forces governed West Bengal after India’s independence, the state was also home to the early seeds of Hindutva-based politics. BJP’s ideological forebear, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, who was associated with the Hindu Mahasabha and Jana Sangh, hailed from West Bengal. It is, therefore, unsurprising that BJP’s state leadership marked its victory by  paying homage  to him, underscoring the symbolic significance of this political shift. According to  data  from the Election Commission of India, the BJP secured 45.84 percent of the vote, improving upon its ...

  July 16 was a special day this year. On this day, we observed July Martyars Day for the first time, marking the ultimate sacrifices made by heroes like Abu Sayeed and Md Wasim Akrum. Yet, while we remained focused on post-uprising efforts to rebuild the state through forging political consensus and reforming institutions, our border management seemingly slipped into disarray. On July 17, Bangladeshi media reported that the day before, India had pushed 55 individuals across the border at four locations in Sylhet and Sunamganj. Citing Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) sources, the report noted that these push-ins took place between 4am and 1pm. The cumulative number of individuals forcibly pushed into Bangladesh may have already exceeded 2,000. Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain acknowledged that such incidents persist despite the existence of formal mechanisms between the two countries for verifying and returning nationals. “There is a prescribed process between the two countries ...

  The violent protests in Bangladesh over a visit by the leader of the county’s most favoured neighbour India, which resulted in the deaths of   at least 14 supporters ,   was an outcome which neither the host nor the guest wanted.  The occasion of the visit was a particularly auspicious one for Bangladesh which rightly prides itself on its independence gained through a nine-month long armed struggle. It was also not unexpected for there to be anything other than high level participation from India in not only the launching of the Golden Jubilee of independence but also the conclusion of a year-long celebration of the birth centenary of the founding leader of the nation, Sheikh Mujibar Rahman. India’s moral, political and military support in Bangladesh’s liberation war meant that any deviation from such participation would have definitely raised eyebrows about the state of the relationship between the two countries. This goodwill visit will inevitably be remembered f...