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Published : 21 Dec 2025, 02:55 PM
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has described the recent attacks on the media in Bangladesh is an assault not just on two media houses but on the freedom of the press and the foundations of a pluralistic society.
He made the comment in a post on X on Saturday, expressing deep concern over the reports of vandalsim, including arson attacks on national dailies Prothom Alo and The Daily Star.
“[They] are an assault on the freedom of the press and the very foundation of a pluralistic society,” the former diplomat wrote in the post.
He also expressed concern for the safety of journalists in Bangladesh.
Tharoor, also the chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, also spoke to the media about Bangladesh at Patna airport ahead of his participation in the five-day Nalanda Literature Festival, according to The New Indian Express.
He expressed concern over the mob lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu man, in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district over alleged “blasphemy”.
He questioned the country’s interim government over the steps being taken to hold the perpetrators accountable and prevent such incidents in the future.
“Such mob rule should not prevail. The Parliamentary Standing Committee has also said that we want good relations with Bangladesh, and peace should be maintained there,” he told journalists.
He stressed that India’s interest is driven by a stable and democratic Bangladesh, and peace and democratic norms must be upheld.
“Elections are also going to be held there in February, and we want democracy to return there, but the way the situation is going there is very concerning,” he said, adding, “Such a situation is not good for both countries; we want peace there.”
In the post on X, Tharoor also decried “the forced suspension of visa services at the Indian Assistant High Commissions in Khulna and Rajshahi, driven by escalating security threats”.
According to him, the disruption had directly affected students, patients, and families who were beginning to see a return to normal cross-border mobility.
India Today reports that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs has warned that the unfolding situation in Bangladesh could turn into India’s biggest strategic challenge in the neighbouring country since the 1971 Liberation War.
In its report on India–Bangladesh relations presented in Parliament, the committee cited testimony recorded on Jun 26 and flagged concerns over generational disconnect, political shifts and potential strategic realignment away from India, the India Today report said.
Bangladesh has seen widespread violence and arson attacks since Thursday after Inqilab Moncho Convenor Sharif Osman bin Hadi passed away in Singapore while undergoing treatment. Hadi was shot in Dhaka on Dec 12. His shooter reportedly fled to India. Protests over Hadi’s death often questioned Indian hegemony over Bangladesh.
Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and many of her former cabinet colleagues have also fled to India after the fall of the Awami League government in the face of a student-led mass uprising last year.
