India’s Mixed Message on Victory Day: Modi Silent on Bangladesh as Jaishankar Greets Dhaka

DHAKA, Bangladesh: The celebration of Victory Day (Bijoy Dibosh) this year saw a divergence in public messaging from India’s top leadership, reflecting the currently strained diplomatic relations with Bangladesh’s interim government.

While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to commemorate the day by paying tribute exclusively to the courage and sacrifice of Indian soldiers in the 1971 war, completely omitting mention of Bangladesh, Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar extended formal greetings.

Modi’s posts on the social media platform X, both today and last year, focused on “India’s historic victory” and the “unmatched spirit” of its soldiers, without acknowledging the core event: the liberation of Bangladesh.

In contrast, S. Jaishankar posted greetings to Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain, the Interim Government, and the people of Bangladesh on the occasion of Bijoy Dibosh, maintaining a customary diplomatic exchange.

The diplomatic cooling between the two historically close allies is largely attributed to the political upheaval following the August 5 mass uprising and the subsequent presence of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in India.

The relationship has been further stressed by repeated, official requests from the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry to New Delhi, seeking the extradition of Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal following their death sentences handed down by the International Crimes Tribunal.

Jaishankar has previously characterized the situation as Hasina being in India “under certain circumstances,” suggesting that the decision on her return lies primarily with the former Prime Minister herself, a position that contrasts sharply with Dhaka’s demands for bilateral cooperation on the matter.