India deems Sheikh Hasina ‘former PM’, not ‘PM-in-exile’

"We have repeatedly said that [Sheikh Hasina] is a former prime minister. That is where it stands," ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told the weekly media briefing in New Delhi on Thursday, 7 November.

He made the remark after an Indian journalist pointed out that the Awami League had in a statement on its official Facebook page yesterday claimed that Sheikh Hasina congratulated Donald Trump on his US presidential election win and described her as the 'Bangladesh PM'. The journalist wanted to know if India considers Hasina a 'former PM' or a 'PM in exile'.

The statement, signed by Awami League office secretary Biplab Barua read, 'The President of the Bangladesh Awami League, (Prime Minister) Sheikh Hasina, has congratulated Donald J. Trump on his election as the 47th President of the United States of America.'

Sheikh Hasina, believed to be in exile in India, is reported to have hailed the victory of Donals Trump in a letter to the president-elect, in which she recalled fondly her meetings with Trump when he was president in his first term.

Bangladesh’s interim government, under the leadership of Prof Muhammad Yunus, has also extended its congratulations to Donald Trump on his election as the new president of the United States, expressing optimism for strengthened bilateral ties and future cooperation.

However, in 2016, Yunus had said that Trump’s victory shattered him so much that he could barely speak or move around. He called the victory “a solar eclipse” and dubbed Trump’s first term “black days”.

Following Trump’s victory on Tuesday, 5 November, however, Yunus wrote him a letter to say that his second victory “reflects that your leadership and vision have resonated with the people of the United States of America”.

Yunus further said, “I am confident that under your stewardship, the United States will thrive and continue to inspire others around the world… I look forward to working together to further strengthen our partnership and foster sustainable development.”

Yunus is known to have enjoyed a warm relationship with Bill and Hillary Clinton and the Democrats in the US, with the Biden administration widely perceived to have engineered the ouster of Sheikh Hasina from power in August.

Yunus' discomfiture is thus inevitable.

In a Diwali message on social media platform X, Trump had condemned the “barbaric violence” taking place against Hindus, Christians and other minorities in Bangladesh. He also accused Kamala and Joe Biden of ignoring the Hindus across the world and in America.

The Bangladesh government and the business community are, however, hopeful that Bangladesh would benefit from Trump’s proposed punitive tariff on imports from China.

This may lead to diversion of orders for apparel and garments from China to Bangladesh, pointed out Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a Dhaka-based think tank.

During his first term, Trump increased tariffs on imports from China from 3 per cent to 25 percent in January 2018. During his campaign this time, Trump announced he would impose higher tariffs of up to 60 per cent on Chinese goods if re-elected.

With a 15.62 per cent tariff in the US on imports from Bangladesh, garment exports from Bangladesh to the US stood at close to $8.27 billion in 2023.