Bangladesh’s National Citizen Party (NCP) leader Hasnat Abdullah on Monday warned that Dhaka could provide shelter to forces hostile to India, including separatist groups, and cut off India’s “seven sisters,” a term used to describe the country’s northeastern states.
The “seven sisters” comprise Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. Of these, four states — Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram — share land borders with Bangladesh, highlighting the strategic sensitivity of the region.
While addressing a gathering at Dhaka’s Central Shaheed Minar, Hasnat Abdullah said, “We will shelter separatist and anti-India forces and then we will sever the seven sisters from India.”
India has long accused militant and separatist groups operating in the Northeast of using Bangladesh as a sanctuary, transit route and logistics base, particularly during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Several insurgent outfits from Assam and Tripura maintained camps, safe houses, or support networks across the border during this period.
India has long accused militant and separatist groups operating in its northeastern region of using Bangladesh as a sanctuary, transit route and logistical base, particularly during the late 1990s and early 2000s. During this period, several insurgent outfits from Assam and Tripura were reported to have maintained camps, safe houses and support networks across the border.
In Tripura’s case, separatist groups such as the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) were repeatedly linked by Indian security agencies to camps and handlers based in Bangladesh. Officials said cadres often crossed into Bangladesh after carrying out attacks to evade security forces, while training and arms procurement also took place there.
Beyond the Northeast, Bangladesh was also said to have hosted Islamist extremist networks with links to India. Groups such as Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) and, later, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were flagged by Indian agencies for their cross-border presence and for facilitating radicalisation and logistical networks affecting eastern India.
This situation changed markedly after Sheikh Hasina returned to power in 2009, when Dhaka launched a sustained crackdown on insurgent groups targeting India.
Hasnat also appeared to exert pressure on the Bangladesh Election Commission, calling it “spineless.” He criticised the poll body for describing the attack on electoral candidate Osman Hadi as an “isolated” incident.
Meanwhile, as Bangladesh marks Victory Day on Tuesday, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed concern over the re-emergence of defeated forces in the country’s 1971 Liberation War against Pakistan.
Hasina recalled that after nine months of struggle under the leadership of the Awami League, on December 16, 1971, the nation achieved victory with immense sacrifice, forcing the occupying Pakistani forces to surrender.
“Alongside the pride of victory, it must be said with sorrow today that the defeated forces of 1971 have once again risen. Under the guise of an anti-discrimination movement, they laid a trap of deception, spread planned terror, and illegally seized power,” the former prime minister said in a statement posted on the Awami League’s social media platform X.
Hasina said that during the 2024 protests in Bangladesh, which eventually led to her ouster, Bangabandhu’s residence at Dhanmondi 32 was the first to be attacked, followed by a series of assaults on Liberation War memorials.
“On 5 August, the first attack was directed at Bangabandhu himself. The historic house at Dhanmondi 32, deeply intertwined with the memories of the Bengali struggle for freedom and the Liberation War, was set on fire; it was from there that Bangabandhu had declared independence. Across the country, statues and memorials of Bangabandhu and the Liberation War were demolished, the Liberation War Museum was looted, and even killing fields and memorials were not spared,” she said.
Criticising the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, Hasina alleged that anarchy had prevailed nationwide for nearly the past 17 months, with the Liberation War itself becoming the main target.
“Freedom fighters are being physically attacked, slander is being spread against the Father of the Nation, and fabricated narratives are being presented to diminish the glory of the Liberation War. The generation of the Liberation War is being labelled as the ‘worst generation’. Convicted war criminals have been released,” she said.
Extending greetings to the people of Bangladesh on Victory Day and paying tribute to freedom fighters, Hasina urged citizens to remain steadfast in upholding the spirit and values of the Liberation War during what she described as challenging times.
“We will defeat the defeated forces once again. Just as on December 16, 1971, Bangladesh’s victory will come again under the leadership of the Awami League. This Bangladesh, born of the achievements of the Liberation War, will not be allowed to be lost to the conspiracies of a handful of deceivers,” the former prime minister said.
