인도·남아시아

The sudden collapse of the Awami League government in Dhaka and the flight of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India highlighted the fragilities of our neighbourhood and the illusions of permanence that its governments often invoke. A suddenly altered political reality in Bangladesh also underlines just how tenuous are our links with our neighbours. The suddenness of Bangladesh’s “Monsoon Revolution” notwithstanding, the signs indicating turbulence in South Asia have been accumulating for some time. Afghanistan witnessed a similar radical change in August 2021 amid a chaotic United States (US) military withdrawal. Myanmar in February 2021, Sri Lanka in July 2022, the Maldives in November 2023, and Nepal in July 2024 have each witnessed changes in governmental architectures through coups, popular agitations, elections or domestic political realignment, respectively. In each case, the impact of such domestic changes on relations with India has been significant and adjusting to emergent new realities requires flexibility on India’s part.