‘Everyone will have axes in their hands’: Why India sees danger for its diplomats in Bangladesh

Members of "July Oikya" march to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka on December 17, 2025. (REUTERS/Stringer)

Tensions between India and Bangladesh escalated sharply on Wednesday as New Delhi summoned Bangladesh’s High Commissioner Riaz Hamidullah to lodge a strong protest over what it described as a rapidly deteriorating security environment in the neighbouring country. The move came amid a surge in open anti-India rhetoric by Bangladeshi political activists and student leaders, some of it bordering on direct threats against Indian diplomatic premises.

Even as South Block raised concerns over extremist mobilisation and hostile statements in Bangladesh, events on the ground in Dhaka took an even more alarming turn.

A group of agitators led by Mosaddeq Ali Ibn, a leader of the so-called July uprising and a student leader at Dhaka University, marched towards the Indian High Commission. The procession was halted barely a kilometre from the mission, but not before Ali delivered a fiery and threatening speech directed at India.

“If they (India) continue to act this way (summon Bangladesh HC), we will retaliate. Everyone will have axes in their hands. Not even a single brick will be spared here. We will uproot India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh from Bangladesh and banish him,” Ali said while addressing the crowd.

Moments later, another student leader, Rashid Pradhan, escalated the rhetoric further. “We stopped here this time. Next time, we will enter the Indian High Commission in Dhaka,” he announced.

The episode unfolded dangerously close to the Indian mission, despite intelligence inputs suggesting such a march was planned in advance. Citing “ongoing security concern,” the Indian Visa Application Centre in Dhaka had shut operations from 2 pm local time on Wednesday. Yet Bangladeshi law enforcement failed to stop the agitators well before they reached the sensitive diplomatic zone.

Earlier in the day, India’s Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement rejecting what it called conspiracy theories circulating in Bangladesh about attackers of Sharif Osman Hadi, a leader of Inqilab Mancha, allegedly being sheltered in India. The MEA described it as a “false narrative sought to be created by extremist elements regarding certain recent events in Bangladesh.”

That statement followed controversial remarks by National Citizen Party leader Hasnat Abdullah, who openly threatened to “sever the seven sisters,” a reference to India’s northeastern states. Despite triggering a diplomatic backlash, Abdullah refused to retreat.

“I heard Bangladesh High Commissioner was summoned by India and asked to explain why we said what we said. For giving refuge to murderer Sheikh Hasina, India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh should be kicked out (of Bangladesh),” Abdullah told supporters at a public gathering.

Commenting on the situation, Bangladeshi academician Arifa Rehman Ruma said the country appears to be sliding into chaos, with extremist voices increasingly dominating the political space.

“Hasnat Abdullah publicly said the Indian High Commissioner should be kicked out, a statement no responsible politician should ever make. Extremist and violent figures like Hasnat and his supporters are now the only real power backing Md Yunus,” she said.

For New Delhi, the combination of weak policing, inflammatory rhetoric and direct threats against its diplomatic mission has reinforced concerns that Bangladesh’s internal instability is fast spilling over into its foreign relations, with India increasingly becoming the primary target.