Bangladesh’s Interim Government (IG) has embarked upon the task of holding a free and fair election in February 2026, with the participation of all political parties except as of now, the recently deposed ruling Awami League whose activities have been banned due to its past criminal record. India, an ally of the deposed Awami League has gone full throttle to malign the IG which after decades-long doctored democracy and authoritarianism of which India was a part, is doing its utmost to usher in democracy and good governance in Bangladesh. It is obvious that India is yet to recover from the shock of the losing their puppet Hasina government, a government that earned mass anger due to corruption, cronyism and repression that resulted in a mass uprising and its overthrow in August 2024. It is a known fact the autocratic and kleptocratic Hasina government which was buffeted by India costed Bangladesh at multiple levels also turned Bangladesh into a virtual vassal state of India. India’s post-Hasina anti-Bangladesh crusade India’s post-Hasina anti-Bangladesh crusade which has been carefully crafted to destabilize Bangladesh and derail the democratic process has taken many shapes and forms, some overt and some covert. Spearheaded by many high-profile Indians such as Mr. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, a former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh and currently a BJP-nominated member of the Rajya Sabha—an individual known for his open hostility towards the Interim Government in Bangladesh, the post-Hasina government led by the Nobel Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus – has been particularly vicious in maligning the IG. I served as a diplomat for nearly 35 years, representing Bangladesh in 12 countries, including as Ambassador to seven countries, with concurrent accreditation to three. The foremost duty of a diplomat, particularly an ambassador, is to strengthen relations between his country and the host nation. Even after completing their tenure, former envoys often play a constructive role, using their networks as a bridge to defuse tensions and sustain goodwill. In most cases, former ambassadors are remembered fondly in the countries where they served. While most Indian diplomats who served in Bangladesh did harbour either a deep-seated resentment against Bangladesh or treated Bangladesh somewhat patronisingly, Mr. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, a former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh and currently a BJP-nominated member of the Rajya Sabha has taken his vitriol against the Interim Government to a different level. Having lived permanently in Bangladesh since my retirement in 2010, I have observed these negative attitudes of the Indian diplomats closely through personal interactions. While most of these Indian diplomats boast of a golden era of friendship between India and Bangladesh, they get quickly irritated by any mention of India’s hegemonic activities in the country, border killings of innocent Bangladeshis or their lopsided foreign policy since the toppling of Hasina, their protégé. India’s dislike of Bangladesh seems to have intensified, since. The inability of the Indians to accept the reality on the ground reflects a patron/client mindset which seems to be permanently etched, that continues to haunt and define India’s post-Hasina/post-puppet policy in Bangladesh. India and the forthcoming election in Bangladesh It is obvious that India is not comfortable with Bangladesh’s forthcoming election under the IG, now scheduled in February 2026. India has gone all out to discredit the election. There is fear that India may even be creating conditions for their cancellation. Such an outcome would provide India with the perfect pretext to intervene in Bangladesh through its local proxies. Indeed, if for one reason or the other the February 2026 elections are postponed or derailed, a rising spectre of unrest, even civil conflict, is a likely scenario which may lead to India’s intervention and installation of yet another puppet government in Bangladesh. Many suspect and not without reasons that India may have a hand in the current rising politically motivated mob violence in Bangladesh that are often perpetrated by the thugs of one political party whose activities have since been officially banned in the country. In recent times, India has used seminars and public dialogues to vent their anger against the IG, the post-Hasina regime. For example, recently, the New Delhi based India International Centre (IIC) hosted a seminar on Bangladesh’s upcoming elections and their implications for India. Participants included Ms. Sreeradha Datta, a professor of international affairs at the OP Jindal Global University,   Mr. Jawhar Sarkar (former senior civil servant and MP), and Mr. Harsh Vardhan Shringla. I listened to the full proceedings. While Professor Datta and Mr. Sarkar offered balanced and made realistic assessments of the situation, Shringla’s remarks crossed the limits of diplomatic etiquette and sounded like direct threats to the sovereignty of Bangladesh. Dispensing with diplomatic restraint, Mr. Shringla bluntly asserted that India could not “ignore” if Bangladesh elected a "wrong” government which India would deem inimical to India’s interests. This effectively means vetoing an election outcome that would not satisfy India, a blatant interference in Bangladesh’s internal political process—akin to a South Asian Monroe Doctrine. Mr. Shringla further insisted that any election which they would deem not “inclusive” would not be acceptable to India — a thinly veiled but not so subtle a demand to ensure participation of the discredited Awami League. I would be interested to know that in the event Bangladesh elects a government that appears “wrong “ in his perception, what action, if any, India would apply to alter the situation? Would India invade Bangladesh? While it is true that Mr. Shringla is only a Rajya Sabha Member of the Indian parliament and thus is not the official spokesperson of Indian foreign policy vis-à-vis Bangladesh but the fact that he once served as High Commissioner of India in Bangladesh from 2016 to 2019, and later as India’s Foreign Secretary, his views cannot be discounted as personal. After all, during his time as Foreign Secretary Mr. Shringla did play a central role in engineering what is widely regarded as Bangladesh’s rigged, voter-less elections, in 2018 and 2024that systematically deprived the people of their democratic rights and yet India not only looked the other way, promptly endorsed both elections that put their protégé Hasina back in power. So, I have a question for Shringla, in the event Bangladesh elects a government that appears “wrong” before his eyes, what is he going to do about it? Invade Bangladesh? Let the dogs bark! Thus, it is somewhat hypocritical though consistent which is that as far as India’s political stakes in Bangladesh are concerned, Mr. Shringla and many in India who are demanding “inclusive” elections in February 2026 elections basically mean inclusion of the Bangladesh Awami League, the deposed ruling party whose current activities have been banned by the IG due to its past criminal activities. Indeed, this duplicity exposes the hollowness of India’s self-proclaimed status as the world’s largest democracy. India under BJP would do well to reflect on its own policy vis-à-vis the Muslims that are discriminatory and marginalising, an anathema in democracy. After all, democracy is not merely about free and fair elections but also about inclusion - irrespective of religion, caste and colour equal treatment of all citizens. India under the BJP government is anything but inclusive meaning that while it offers equal opportunities to vote but not equal rights to all its citizens. India’s democracy is no more about a popular verdict for equal treatment but a verdict to legitimise majoritarian exclusion and discrimination of the minority. In other words, the shadow of India looms large, and they are not hiding their intent either. Rather, India is viciously open about their intents vis-à-vis post Hasina Bangladesh. They want the same or another puppet in the Gonobhavan or wherever! The IG must take every measure to tackle India’s predatory activities and remain committed to holding free and fair elections early next year and deal with India in a measured and mature and indeed, in a firm manner. Let the dogs bark, the caravan would march on!