After Pakistan, Yunus gifts ‘Greater Bangladesh’ artwork to Turkey: Why India sees a troubling pattern

Unnamed intelligence sources told News18 that the book contained “battle plans” and “post-victory management frameworks,” with references to transforming Assam into a “productive and viable region” under Dhaka’s control. The source added that the move appeared to be a “deliberate ideological signal” rather than an “accidental provocation.”

“This was not an art display but a message: one directed at specific transnational Islamist networks that see Bangladesh’s interim regime as part of a wider strategic consolidation,” the source said.

The same source described the map’s inclusion as “the first clear signal of the Bangladesh interim government’s territorial ambitions.”

Why India is alarmed

India’s security establishment is reportedly monitoring the developments closely. Analysts fear that Yunus’ gesture could be an attempt to gauge reactions in the region and build ideological links between Islamist networks in Bangladesh, Turkey, and Pakistan.

The controversy has further strained India–Bangladesh relations, which have deteriorated sharply since Yunus assumed charge following Sheikh Hasina’s ouster.

Yunus has presented the same book before. In September 2024, he reportedly gave it to then–Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The following month, he gifted it to Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairperson, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, during his visit to Dhaka.

The “Greater Bangladesh” narrative

The notion of a “Greater Bangladesh” first surfaced earlier this year when reports claimed that a Turkish-backed Islamist outfit named Saltanat-e-Bangla published a map that included Indian territories within Bangladesh’s borders.

According to The Economic Times, the distorted map covered Myanmar’s Arakan State, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and the entire Northeast region of India.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) addressed the issue in July after Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala raised questions in Parliament. The MEA said that the controversial map had been displayed at Dhaka University and cited Bangladesh’s official fact-checking platform BanglaFact, which claimed there was “no proof” that Saltanat-e-Bangla operated within Bangladesh. The platform also stated that the map had been shown “at a historical exhibition in reference to the so-called earlier Bengal Sultanate,” and that organisers had denied any foreign political involvement.

A pattern of provocative remarks

This is not Yunus’ first attempt to reference India’s Northeast in controversial terms. During his April 2024 trip to China, he described India’s northeastern states as “landlocked” and said they had “no way to reach out to the ocean.”

Positioning Bangladesh as strategically indispensable, Yunus told Chinese officials that his country was the “only guardian of the ocean for all this region.” His comments were met with anger in India, particularly from leaders in Assam and other northeastern states.

Dhaka’s shifting alliances

Since Yunus took control, Bangladesh’s foreign policy has undergone a marked shift. Ties with India have cooled, while Dhaka has drawn closer to China, Pakistan, and Turkey.

Ankara’s involvement in Bangladesh has grown significantly since August 2024. According to News18, Turkish NGOs linked to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling AKP have become increasingly active in Bangladesh. Pakistan is said to have facilitated this growing closeness between Dhaka and Ankara.

Turkey has also expanded its cooperation with Bangladesh through defence training programs, industrial partnerships, and technology investments. For Turkey, Bangladesh offers a way to counter India’s influence in South Asia. For Yunus, aligning with Ankara and Islamabad provides much-needed international legitimacy amid deepening domestic instability.

A worrying trajectory

Yunus’ repeated references to India’s Northeast and his symbolic gestures toward countries like Pakistan and Turkey have raised red flags in New Delhi. What appears on the surface as “art” or “student expression” is increasingly seen as part of a calculated political message aimed at projecting Bangladesh as the center of a new ideological bloc.

With every new controversy, the interim leader seems intent on alienating India further while courting regimes that share little concern for regional stability. For India, the episode is a reminder that under Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh’s foreign policy is taking a direction that could be both confrontational and destabilising for South Asia.