India is irritated by Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus gifting a book with an enlarged map of Bangladesh to a Pakistani general during a recent visit. The book’s cover reportedly showed India’s northeastern states as part of Bangladesh, triggering outrage in India.
On October 25, 2025, Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, presented a coffee table book titled “Art of Triumph, Graffiti of Bangladesh’s New Dawn” to Pakistan’s Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza.
The book’s cover appears to show an enlarged map of Bangladesh that includes parts of India’s northeastern region.
The map referred to as the Sultanat-e-Bangla includes a version that shows West Bengal and the northeastern states, along with parts of Odisha, Bihar, and Jharkhand, as part of Bangladesh.
This action prompted intense criticism and outrage in India, as it appeared to promote the “Greater Bangladesh” concept, a provocative idea long rejected by India.
Context of growing tensions
The incident is the latest in a series of developments that have strained relations between India and Bangladesh since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.
Pro-Indian former Bangladeshi dictator Sheikh Hasina fled to India on August 5, 2024, after resigning amid massive anti-government protests. She and her sister, Sheikh Rehana, were flown by a military helicopter to New Delhi, via Agartala.
In May 2025, a retired Bangladeshi Army officer and Yunus aide, Maj. Gen. (retd) A.L.M. Fazlur Rahman, sparked anger in India when he suggested that Bangladesh should occupy India’s northeastern states if India attacked Pakistan.
As per a social media post by Yunus’ office, “they discussed a wide range of issues concerning Bangladesh–Pakistan relations, including growing importance of bilateral trade, investment, and defence cooperation”.
“Emphasising the shared historical, cultural, and people-to-people ties between the two countries, General Mirza expressed Pakistan’s desire to strengthen cooperation in multiple sectors. He noted the vast potential for expanding trade, connectivity, and investment between Bangladesh and Pakistan,” it further added.
Since coming to power, Yunus’s interim government has been strengthening ties with Pakistan and China, a geopolitical shift away from India.
In October 2025, Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed economic talks for the first time in nearly two decades, further signaling warming relations.
India’s army chief expressed concern in February 2025 over the increased presence of Pakistani military personnel and intelligence agents from the ISI in Bangladesh near the strategic “Chicken’s Neck” area.
Following the recent backlash, the Bangladeshi government has denied the controversial claims. The government called reports about the map “completely false and fabricated”.
The statement clarified that the book was a pictorial documentation of the 2024 student uprising and was released by the July Memorial Foundation.
India is irritated by Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus gifting a book with an enlarged map of Bangladesh to a Pakistani general during a recent visit. The book’s cover reportedly showed India’s northeastern states as part of Bangladesh, triggering outrage in India.
On October 25, 2025, Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, presented a coffee table book titled “Art of Triumph, Graffiti of Bangladesh’s New Dawn” to Pakistan’s Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza.
The book’s cover appears to show an enlarged map of Bangladesh that includes parts of India’s northeastern region.
The map referred to as the Sultanat-e-Bangla includes a version that shows West Bengal and the northeastern states, along with parts of Odisha, Bihar, and Jharkhand, as part of Bangladesh.
This action prompted intense criticism and outrage in India, as it appeared to promote the “Greater Bangladesh” concept, a provocative idea long rejected by India.
Context of growing tensions
The incident is the latest in a series of developments that have strained relations between India and Bangladesh since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.
Pro-Indian former Bangladeshi dictator Sheikh Hasina fled to India on August 5, 2024, after resigning amid massive anti-government protests. She and her sister, Sheikh Rehana, were flown by a military helicopter to New Delhi, via Agartala.
In May 2025, a retired Bangladeshi Army officer and Yunus aide, Maj. Gen. (retd) A.L.M. Fazlur Rahman, sparked anger in India when he suggested that Bangladesh should occupy India’s northeastern states if India attacked Pakistan.
As per a social media post by Yunus’ office, “they discussed a wide range of issues concerning Bangladesh–Pakistan relations, including growing importance of bilateral trade, investment, and defence cooperation”.
“Emphasising the shared historical, cultural, and people-to-people ties between the two countries, General Mirza expressed Pakistan’s desire to strengthen cooperation in multiple sectors. He noted the vast potential for expanding trade, connectivity, and investment between Bangladesh and Pakistan,” it further added.
Since coming to power, Yunus’s interim government has been strengthening ties with Pakistan and China, a geopolitical shift away from India.
In October 2025, Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed economic talks for the first time in nearly two decades, further signaling warming relations.
India’s army chief expressed concern in February 2025 over the increased presence of Pakistani military personnel and intelligence agents from the ISI in Bangladesh near the strategic “Chicken’s Neck” area.
Following the recent backlash, the Bangladeshi government has denied the controversial claims. The government called reports about the map “completely false and fabricated”.
The statement clarified that the book was a pictorial documentation of the 2024 student uprising and was released by the July Memorial Foundation.
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