India and Bangladesh have further deteriorated their relations following a series of diplomatic and public flashpoints. After Bangladesh cited “unavoidable circumstances,” it suspended visa services for Indian nationals, responding to India’s similar restrictions imposed a day earlier. Tensions also spilled onto the streets when protesters in Kolkata reacted to the alleged lynching of a Hindu man in Bangladesh. Leaders of various Hindu organisations, led by Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari, demonstrated near the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata on December 22 to condemn the killing.
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India Visa Suspensions Mark Sharp Escalation in Strained Ties
Bilateral ties have remained strained since India removed former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024, but recent developments have further intensified the discord. On December 22, Bangladesh suspended visa and consular services at its High Commission in New Delhi and its mission in Tripura, and a private operator in Siliguri also halted visa processing. The authorities took this step amid renewed unrest in Bangladesh following the death of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in the protests that toppled the Awami League government last year. Protesters have escalated demonstrations on both sides of the border since Hadi’s death.
In Bangladesh, violence turned darker when a mob allegedly lynched garment factory worker Dipu Chandra Das in Bhaluka, Mymensingh district. Authorities initially claimed the attack stemmed from alleged derogatory remarks on social media, but police later confirmed that no evidence linked the victim to any such post. Demonstrations have intensified on both sides of the border since Hadi’s death.
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