Months after "only guardian of the ocean" remarks ..... Bangladesh's Yunus now offers a book with 'distorted map of north east India' to Pakistani army general

Probably on his last days as elections are nearing, Bangaldesh's interim government head Muhammad Yunus has tried to 'appease' radicals in his country and in the process sought to disturb delicate and hyper sensitive diplomatic equilibrium with India.

This is not the first time that Yunus has invoked India's northeast. Over the past few months, he has made repeated references to India's "landlocked" northeastern states in foreign engagements. During his visit to China in April 2025, Yunus rankled New Delhi after claiming that Bangladesh was the "only guardian of the ocean" for the region.

His argument was that northeast India is/was "landlocked". Through it, he encouraged China to expand its influence in the region and bolster its economy. "The seven states of India, the eastern part of India... they are a landlocked country. They have no way to reach out to the ocean," Yunus told Chinese officials.

"We are the only guardian of the ocean for all this region. So this opens up a huge possibility," he had said.

This time ....  

Yunus tweeted images of his meeting with the Pakistani general (on Sunday). However, an image of Yunus gifting a book, titled 'Art of Triumph', had a cover that had a distorted map of Bangladesh and of north east India. 

Yunus was seen presenting a Pakistani general with a controversial map depicting Assam and other northeastern states as part of Bangladesh.

It happened as Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairperson, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, visited Dhaka over the weekend and met Yunus.

This came amid a warming of ties between the countries, whose relationship has been historically strained since the 1971 Liberation War.  

The map in the book shows India's seven northeastern states as part of Bangladesh territory - aligning with calls by radical Islamist groups for a "Greater Bangladesh".  

Following the post, the interim Bangladesh chief was called out on social media for treading uninvited into India's sovereign domain. India's Ministry of External Affairs has not reacted to the controversy yet.

The development comes amid a thaw in Bangladesh-Pakistan ties since Yunus took charge in August 2024, following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime in the face of a violent student-led protest.  

Yunus's remarks on Indian Ocean and northeast of India has in April triggered outrage in India, with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar reaffirming the strategic importance of India's northeast region. 

Jaishankar called it a key connectivity hub for the Bimstec — a grouping that includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

India also cancelled a transhipment agreement that allowed Bangladeshi goods to move through Indian territory en route to Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar.

Tensions flared again in May after a close aide of Yunus suggested that Bangladesh should collaborate with China to occupy India's northeastern states if it attacked Pakistan. The remark by Major General (retd) Fazlur Rahman came following the Pahalgam attack by Pakistani terrorists that left 26 dead.

In 2024, another close aide of Yunus, Nahidul Islam, floated the idea of "Greater Bangladesh" by sharing a map showing parts of West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam as part of Bangladesh. The post, which triggered widespread backlash, was subsequently deleted.

Despite such provocative posts and remarks from Bangladeshi leaders, Yunus has maintained a stoic silence. It has prompted experts and analysts to suggest that Yunus's repeated invocation of India's northeast may represent a veiled attempt to manipulate regional dynamics amid growing ties with China and Pakistan. He is also seeking to ensure a longer stint for himself by appeasing the radical and the pro-Pak elements in Bangladesh -- which also enormous rise in anti-Hindu violence under his regime.

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