Jamaat-e-Islami, the most rabidly anti-India and stridently pro-Pakistan political party in Bangladesh, is back in business. Both the timing and circumstances of Jamaat’s rebound are critical for New Delhi.
It held its first public rally after ten long years earlier this month in the capital, Dhaka. A massive turnout of dedicated cadres, especially Islami Chhatra Shibir (students’ wing) members, marked its return from the political wilderness ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled to be held between mid-December and mid-January in the predominantly Muslim nation where India has a huge stake.
The Jamaat is Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party, and its comeback is hugely significant from New Delhi’s strategic perspective as it opposes India’s political and economic influence in Bangladesh, whereas India’s foreign policy prioritises clout in the neighbourhood over everything else to protect national interests.