India–Bangladesh Bilateral Relations
Foundations and Recent Strains
India and Bangladesh share one of South Asia's most consequential bilateral relationships, rooted in India's decisive role in Bangladesh's Liberation War of 1971. The relationship encompasses the longest land border India shares with any neighbour (approximately 4,156 km), deep economic ties (India is Bangladesh's second-largest trading partner after China), and shared rivers (54 trans-boundary rivers, including the Ganga/Padma and Brahmaputra/Jamuna). Under Sheikh Hasina's government (2009–2024), ties were at a historic high — characterised as the "Golden Era" — with cooperation on counterterrorism, transit, connectivity, and power trade. Hasina's fall in August 2024 and her asylum in India created acute bilateral tensions.
- Bangladesh Liberation War: March–December 1971; India's military intervention decisive in creation of Bangladesh
- Land border: approximately 4,156 km (India–Bangladesh is the fifth-longest land border in the world)
- Teesta River water-sharing: long-pending since 2011 (blocked by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's opposition)
- Bangladesh turned to China for Teesta river management ($1 billion MoU for the Teesta Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project)
- Hasina fled to India: August 5, 2024; Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal sentenced her to death in absentia (November 2025)
- Bangladesh has demanded Hasina's extradition from India — a major bilateral irritant
● Tracked since February 21, 2026 · last seen April 19, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes