New Delhi: Even as diplomatic tensions with Bangladesh remain elevated, a parliamentary panel has flagged a sharp deterioration in bilateral ties following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, with the Indian government pointing to “increased extremist rhetoric” and the “peddling of an anti-India narrative” as major challenges in the relationship.The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, chaired by Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor, presented its ninth report Thursday (December 18) examining the “Future of India-Bangladesh Relationship”.This report includes extensive testimony from foreign secretary Vikram Misri between December 2024 and August 2025 on the deteriorating situation across the border and its implications for India’s security and diplomatic interests.The report includes 33 recommendations covering border security, minority protection, development cooperation, cultural diplomacy, water sharing and regional engagement.Among other things, the committee called for the creation of a dedicated bilateral mechanism or joint working group between India and Bangladesh to monitor nationality verification and the repatriation of undocumented immigrants.It urged that “humane treatment and due legal process be ensured for all detained individuals” in line with India’s constitutional safeguards and international obligations, even as authorities maintain robust national security measures to prevent undocumented migration.The parliament panel also stressed “that continued diligence is essential to ensure that Indian nationals are not deported to Bangladesh in error”, a concern raised amid reports of Indians allegedly ‘pushed’ into Bangladesh.The report’s release coincides with a fresh spike in diplomatic friction. On December 17, India summoned Bangladesh high commissioner Riaz Hamidullah after groups in Dhaka announced plans for a “March to Indian High Commission”, prompting New Delhi to flag what it described as a deteriorating security environment. The Indian Visa Application Centre in Dhaka was temporarily closed due to what officials termed an “on-going security situation”.While police blocked the march before it reached the diplomatic zone, a similar protest was later held in Rajshahi against the assistant Indian high commission.Earlier in the week, Bangladesh had summoned the Indian envoy in Dhaka over Hasina’s continued presence on Indian territory and sought cooperation in the arrest and return of the suspected attackers of Bangladeshi youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi.Tensions have also been fuelled by increasingly hostile rhetoric in Bangladesh, including remarks by a National Citizen Party leader warning that India’s northeastern states would be isolated if Bangladesh is destabilised.Experts who testified before the committee – including former national security adviser Shivshankar Menon and former ambassador to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das – described the situation as India’s “greatest strategic challenge in Bangladesh since the Liberation War of 1971”, characterised by “a generational discontinuity, a shift of political order and a potential strategic realignment away from India”.The committee questioned why India had not foreseen the political crisis despite multiple media reports. In its reply, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) noted that the Awami League had won 224 out of 300 elected seats in the January 2024 general elections. However, it pointed out that “the turnout was only about 40%.”“Both with regard to the popularity of the party and developments thereafter, there is no mistaking facts/trends which speak for themselves,” the ministry said, adding that it remains engaged with “all stakeholders, including the opposition parties in Bangladesh to secure our national interests”.“However, as a matter of policy, the Government does not interfere in the internal political process or with the will and choices of the Bangladesh people,” it added.With Bangladesh having raised concerns about statements made by Hasina, the committee sought clarification from Misri, who claimed India does not provide the former Bangladeshi premier with a political platform or space to undertake political activity from Indian territory.“Should she be making the statements that she is making? She is making these statements by accessing her private communication devices that she has access to. Government of India does not provide her with a political platform or any political space to undertake political activity from Indian territory aimed against a third country. That is a basic cardinal principle that we have exercised with regard to other people who are in similar situations in India,” the foreign secretary told the committee in December 2024.In response to the committee’s query on areas of tension, the ministry’s submission highlighted that “increased extremist rhetoric including distortion and peddling of anti-India narrative continue to be addressed through sustained diplomatic engagement”.It noted that “the tendency to address bilateral issues through media rather than through official mechanisms provides vested interests in Bangladesh an opportunity to distort facts that feeds into a wrong narrative”.The committee expressed concern over increasing Chinese influence in Bangladesh, including a $370 million expansion of the Mongla Port signed in March 2025.Misri noted that China has “had presence in Bangladesh for quite some time”, adding: “These are not an outcome of the 5th August events. The Chinese are engaging all sections of opinion in Bangladesh.”India has countered by completing the Khulna-Mongla railway line and securing transit access rights to the port. Regarding the Lalmonirhat airbase being developed with Chinese assistance, just 15 kilometres from the Indian border, the ministry stated that the Bangladesh Army’s director of military operations clarified in May 2025 that “there are currently no plans to upgrade the airstrip for military use”.Another China-related concern raised by the committee’s members was that Bangladesh’s purported interest in joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership could become a backdoor for Chinese goods into India.Misri agreed, warning that such a move could prompt India to reconsider market access for Bangladeshi exports.“It is because essentially that will imply a free trade area between China and India. Given that Bangladesh has more or less free access to the Indian market, 98.50% of their goods enter duty-free, tariff-free into India. So, that will come under a cloud. We have made that position quite clear to them,” he told the committee.Despite political tensions and trade restrictions, bilateral trade reached $13.46 billion in 2024-25, with India’s exports totalling $11.45 billion and Bangladesh’s exports totalling $2 billion.Misri argued that although the trade balance favoured India, a significant share of Indian exports consisted of inputs used in finished goods that eventually contributed to Bangladesh’s export earnings, along with essential commodities required for inflation management.Following the August 2024 toppling of the Awami League government, India significantly scaled down visa services and withdrew consular personnel from Bangladesh due to security concerns.Currently, approximately 1,500 visas are processed daily, with medical visas accounting for around 80% of the total – a substantial reduction from the 1.6 million visas issued in 2023.“Visas continue to be issued to Bangladesh nationals. Currently we are issuing somewhere between 1,250 and 1,500 visas per day. The bulk of these visas, the vast bulk of these visas is aimed at students and medical categories, patients needing medical care in India,” Misri told the committee in August 2025, adding that the reduction was “on account of prevailing circumstances and our continuing concerns with regard to the security of our visa facilities”.The committee warned that countries such as China were increasingly entering the healthcare space in Bangladesh and urged India to adopt a strategy to retain its status “as a preferred partner in healthcare and medical treatment without compromising our security concerns”.India has committed nearly $10 billion in lines of credit and grants for Bangladesh’s infrastructure projects, but implementation has suffered.A senior MEA official told the committee that “many of our personnel working on development projects were forced to return to India” after August 5, 2024, though most have since returned. India is “seeking assurances from Bangladesh authorities for the provision of security at project sites and for Indian project personnel working on these projects”.Misri revealed in December that India was already reviewing its loan portfolio before the political crisis. “There were many instances where lines of credit had been extended some time back, but contracts had not been taken up,” he said.On water sharing, particularly the Teesta river, the ministry noted that while India and Bangladesh share 54 transboundary rivers and have an existing Ganga Water Treaty expiring in 2026, discussions on other rivers remain unresolved.“Bilateral discussions on the renewal of the Ganga Water Treaty are yet to commence. Inter-ministerial discussions to formulate Government of India’s views have been held with participation of all relevant stakeholders from the Government of India and concerned State governments, including West Bengal and Bihar,” the ministry said.Responding to interim chief adviser Muhammad Yunus’s repeated calls to revive the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, Misri dismissed the prospect, saying “we cannot have dialogue and terrorism go on at the same time” until Pakistan changes its policies.He expressed greater optimism about BIMSTEC, headquartered in Dhaka, noting that “there was no pushback” from Bangladesh.