NEW DELHI – India appointed seasoned politician Dinesh Trivedi as its next high commissioner to Bangladesh on Monday, an uncommon choice of a non-diplomat as New Delhi aims to revive relations with its eastern neighbor amid Chinese rivalry.
Bilateral warmth chilled after a 2024 uprising ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India and stays there. At 75, ex-railways and health minister Trivedi switched to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party in 2021 from a West Bengal outfit; the border state is pivotal in India-Bangladesh links and Modi’s local election push. “He is expected to take up the assignment shortly,” the Ministry of External Affairs stated.
Ties thawed post-February elections installing Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s Tarique Rahman, sidelining a China-leaning interim regime. Historically, Bangladesh formed as East Pakistan in 1947 after colonial partition from India, gaining independence from Pakistan in 1971 with New Delhi’s aid.
Bangladesh’s foreign minister visited Delhi this month pressing for more fuel, fertilizers, energy ties, and visa relief, though India’s stance on extraditing Hasina persists as a major hurdle.