Islamic radicalisation of Bangladesh : A warning for NE India

Brigadier (Retired) L Ibotombi Singh
After ouster of the Sheikh Hasina regime in August 2024, Bangladesh faces a significant rise in Islamic radicalization and extremism fueled by political instability, security vacuums, and weakened counterterrorism infrastructure. The political violence and instability have worsened the situation, with extremist elements exploiting the security vacuum created by the regime change. Weakened law enforcement and intelligence agencies, along with the rise of armed groups and radical ideologies, pose a serious threat to the country’s stability. India’s close neighbour also risks long-term insecurity with broader regional implications without swift and decisive action. Unless the interim Government adopts a zero-tolerance policy and strengthens law enforcement and intelligence efforts, extremist groups may gain further ground, leading to long-term instability.
Following Hasina’s fall from power in August 2024, the political upheaval that erupted created a security breakdown. The chaos amidst the mass protests has provided extremists with opportunities to gain ground. Arms and ammunition looted from police stations have made their way into the hands of criminals and extremists. Over 5,800 weapons and 3,00,000 rounds of ammunition were stolen, and while some have been recovered, many remain unaccounted for, adding to the volatility. Prison escapes in August 2024 further destabilised the situation. More than 2,200 prisoners escaped, including 70 militants from groups like Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Although some have been recaptured, others remain at large. This, combined with unprecedented mass bailouts of militants and criminals, signals a collapse in law and order. The regime change in Dhaka has emboldened local radical groups, which are increasingly visible in the public sphere. There has been a marked rise in extremist rhetoric, including online propaganda, and violence against religious and sectarian minorities has escalated. In 2024, there were 205 reported incidents of minority persecution, including attacks on Hindus and Buddhists.
Some of the major radical groups in Bangladesh, who were under tight control during the Awami Regime, but now have become loose cannons post change of regime in 2024, having inclination to a hardline Islamic State; are Jamaat-e-Islami (BJI), Harkat-ul-Jihad in Bangladesh (HUJI-B), Jamaat-ul- Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Hizb-ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh (HTB). Ansa-rullah Bangla Team (ABT) and Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh (HeI). The main aim of most of the groups is to turn Bangladesh into a hardline Islamic State from a moderate one with ideology to replace the existing Government with an Islamic caliphate by collaborating with the Pakistani Army employing various influences such as a) Indoctrination through the party and other front organisations b) Madarsa education and c) Targeting of women for radical activities. The HUJI group has links with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohmmad. Another group which has developed a network among various universities and has growing base amongst the youngsters is HTB. The group also has reach among various ranks of the Bangladesh Border Guards and the Army. From the beginning, HTB focused on recruiting educated urban youth, particularly university students, as opposed to the uneducated masses. The ABT group, also recruits educated youth, often university students, and effectively uses online platforms to promote extremist ideology and messages to radicalize new members. It maintains links with other international terror organizations, most notably Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). HeI, is against secular bloggers and demanding stricter Islamic laws, using its control over madrasa students for massive street power, posi- tioning itself as a defender of religious conser- vatism against perceived secular threats.  Major factors leading in spurt of Islamic Radicalization in Bangladesh are:-
(a) Security Vacuum and Weakened Law Enforcement : The political upheaval led to widespread chaos, including the looting of thousands of weapons and ammunition, besides prison escapes including militants The police force is demoralized, and counter-terrorism units are understaffed and face challenges, hindering effective responses to extremist threats. At least 44 police personnel were killed during the protests. More than 450 of the country’s 664 police stations were  attacked, many of which were looted and burned. Additionally, at least 281 police vehicles were set on fire.
(b) Resurgence of Hardline Groups: Banned and radical groups, including Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT), BJI and HeI, have re-emerged publicly and are actively expanding their influence. The interim Government lifted the ban on BJI and its student wing soon after taking office. HuT, despite still being officially banned, has held large rallies demanding a caliphate and is actively recruiting educated youth online and in educational institutions.
(c) ‘Moral Policing’ and Persecution of Minorities : There has been a notable increase in incidents of ‘moral policing’ harassment of women for their attire, and attacks on religious minorities (Hindus, Ahmadiyyas, Sufis) and secular voices.
(d) Online Radica-lization : Extremist groups are increasingly using online platforms like Facebook, X, YouTube, and Telegram to spread propaganda, recruit members, and coordinate activities. This cyber radicalization targets vulnerable, often educated, youth with emotionally charged narratives.
(e) Transnational Linkages : There are concerns about increased Pakistani influence (ISI) and collaboration between Bangladeshi militant groups (ABT, HuJI-B) and transnational terrorist outfits like Al-Qaeda and Tehreek-e-- Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with reports of Bangladeshi youths joining TTP in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region.
(f) Normalisation of Extremist Narratives : Public displays of symbols associated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have become more visible in protests, risking the normalization of these ideologies within society.
The recent uprising in Bangladesh erupted in Nation-wide protests, rioting, violence and anti-India sloganeering after student-leader Sharif Osman Hadi was shot dead by three masked men on a motorbike while leaving a Mosque in Dhaka, and later declared dead in Singapore, where he succumbed to his injuries. As a fallout of this unrest to show frustration against India, the manner in which Dipu Chandra Das was tied naked to a pole, beaten mercilessly, lynched and burnt alive in broad daylight in Bangladesh is more horrendous and heinous than ISIS shooting captives in back of the head. The same was resorted to during the violent coup for regime change last year that witnessed genocidal acts against Hindus–hangings, killings, burning and mass rapes. Reports of rapes and killings of Hindu women have been coming periodically even after the regime change in Bangladesh. The same was resorted to during the violent coup for regime change last year that witnessed genocidal acts against Hindus – hangings, killings, burning and mass rapes. Reports of rapes and killings of Hindu women have been coming periodically even after the regime change in Bangladesh. Sharif Osman Hadi, and his outfit Inquilab Mancha, had emerged as key figures in the July-August 2024 uprising in the country that had eventually led to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.
The death of Hadi prompted burning of two leading media houses, “The Prothom Alo “and “Daily Star”, as well as houses of Awami League leaders’ houses in Uttara, Chatto-gram. Prothom Alo’s Exe- cutive Editor Sajjad Sharif condemned the incident as “an attack on freedom of the press, expression, dissent and diversity of opinion”. Radicals carrying sticks marched through Dhaka’s streets chanting slogans in native language that said – “Agents of India beware. Catch Awami League members one by one and slaughter them. Raise your voice simultaneously from all Mosques across the country against Indian imperialism and the fascist league.” Radicals in Dhaka surrounded the Indian Embassy, saying India has no right to have an embassy in Bangladesh, all Indian consulates must be closed immediately, including the border. In addition to the Indian Embassy in Dhaka, radicals also attempted to attack Indian Consulates in Rajshahi, Khulna, and Chittagong. Radicals are blaming India for the attack on Hadi and fueling unrest in Bangladesh. “We are at war. It is now or never”, said Sarjis Alam, Northern Region Chief Organiser of the National Citizen Party (NCP) urging the interim Government to act. The latest is that Muhammad Motaleb Shikder, another high-profile leader of student-led NCP has also been shot in the head in Khulna. The house of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Belal Hossain was locked from outside and set ablaze. Belal’s seven-year-old daughter, Ayesha Akter, was burnt to death in the arson attack.
The questions, however, remain as to why Hadi was shot, by whom, and who benefits now with the BNP and NCP also being targeted ? The answers to these should not be very difficult to arrive at, deciphering the machinations in India’s neighbourhood over the past few months. Hadi was probably shot because he had distanced himself from Yunus, wielded considerable influence among the youth and chose to contest the upcoming elections as an independent, scheduled on February 12, 2026. This was not to the liking of those who control the regional strings remotely. In Pakistan, it is the ISI who don’t want to continue paying terrorists/terrorist leaders who have outlived their utility and hinder rise of the younger crop of radicals. However, in case of the killings of Hadi and other student-youth leaders in Bangladesh, it could be the ISI, as well as engineered by the US directly, the aim being to establish the “most” radical regime in Bangladesh in the coming elections. ISI with the help of Bangladeshi military and intelligence officials have been successful in turning Cox bazaar into a base for all its activities where they have established a nexus between them, terror organisations and smugglers. This has enabled them to generate funds through smuggling activities and create a black market for weapons where extremist groups can buy sophisticated weaponry. To think that these killings in Pakistan and Bangladesh by masked/unknown gunmen were by India’s external intelligence is naïve.
The regime-change in Bangladesh to establish the Yunus regime was engineered by the CIA last year. But while the CIA functions as the covert arm of the USA for regime- change globally, these efforts are overtly augmented by USAID, National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and International Republican Institute (IRI). Leaked files have revealed that the US funded the Gen-Z shadow army of Nepalese youth in the run-up to the violent coup in Nepal, with NED spending hundreds of thousands of dollars prior to the mob violence that overthrew the Government of Nepal in September 2025. Then Washington also has its dancing girl in Pakistan – army chief Asim Munir hosted by the POTUS Donald Trump in the White House twice already. If Trump can get Munir to send his army to Gaza, where is the problem to ask the masked gunmen in Bangladesh. Of course, Dhaka’s courtesan Yusuf may well be in the picture of all this. With critically ill BNP chief Khaleda Zia being treated abroad, efforts appear on to install a Jamaat-e-Islami/BJI-headed Government in Dhaka.
A warning for North East India
Hadi was a hardcore proponent of Greater Bangladesh; for capturing India’s seven North Eastern States and merging them into Bangladesh. Addressing thousands at Hadi’s funeral Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus vowed to follow the ideals of Sharif Osman Hadi. Stressing that the gathering was not a farewell, but a pledge, Yunus said, ‘We have come to make a promise to you - that what you told us, we will fulfill. Not only us, but generation after generation of people of Bangladesh will fulfill this promise.’ Besides, Hadi’s ideals, other radical groups having close interest in Blkanisation of North East India are :- (a) JMB: The group has very close ties with Lashar-e-Taiba and time again, its cadres travel to Bangladesh for training and use JMB’s resources to infiltrate into India using the Bangladesh route. The group is active in Bangladesh and has also been active beyond borders in West Bengal with many sleeper cells.
(b) HUJI : The main aim of HUJI-B was to turn Bangladesh into a hardline Islamic state from a moderate one. Since its existence, the group has been active not only in Bangladesh but also in India, and Nepal and recently has been fighting along the Rohingyas in Myanmar against the Burmese Army. (c) BJI/JeI. The JeI has been openly spearheading the radicalisation of youth in schools and colleges in Bangladesh, training  potential suicide bombers, with Pakistan’s ISI providing support for cross-border terrorist activities. Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Sheikh Hasina’s son has warned that Bangladesh’s interim Government is pushing the country towards extremism, posing a serious threat to India’s North Eeastern States (the Seven Sisters). Wazed said in an interview that Yunus is giving free rein to radical organizations like the JeI, and that terrorist training camps are becoming active once again in Bangladesh.
The focus of the ISI is not only restricted to Islamist groups but also to insurgent groups such as the ULFA and NSCN-IM. There is a considerable amount of evidence which states that the top cadres of ULFA have been in contact with the Pakistani High Commission in Dhaka and has even travelled to Pakistan under fake names and Pakistani passports on several occasions. It attempted to establish a connection between these groups and groups like the Islamic Liberation Army of Assam, Muslim United Front of Assam (MULFA), and Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam (MULTA). These groups have established a considerable stronghold in the Barpeta, Nalbari, Dhubri and Goalpara districts of Assam. There have been occasions where terrorists linked to HUJI-B and Harkat- ul-Mujahideen (HUM) along with ISI agents have been arrested from Guwahati.
Another concern is, it has been revealed that the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), an armed Christian group, is connected to Jama’atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya, a recently established Muslim militant organisation. Such associations also bring out the fact that though the groups might be following a hardline religious ideology but for mutual benefit, they will ally with another group that doesn’t resonate with its ideologies. The fragile nature of such alliances is usually surrounded by a cloud of mistrust and suspicion. Thus, the chances of a conflict arising and it transpiring to the level of violence and killing along with turf war is quite high.
The evolving political situation in Bangladesh constitutes India’s biggest strategic challenge since 1971, citing the re-emergence of Islamist forces, a shifting domestic political landscape and the growing influence of China and Pakistan This should be viewed in backdrop of the anti-India interests of the US, China and Pakistan (and Turkey) converging in Bangladesh. India is in a ‘Catch 22’ situation. Unlike 1971, India cannot go in Bangladesh without a clear mandate and justifications. Should India entangled in the murkier situation of Bangladesh, we will be falling into the trap of Washington and Beijing, who wants India to get embroiled and bleed economically. The Government of India, both Center and the State Governments in particular States bordering Bangladesh, besides strict vigil along the border, need to emphasise on the economic development of the population  living in the border regions. Bettering the overall living standards of the population will drastically reduce their susceptibility to getting indoctrinated and radicalised. Therefore, it is imperative to address the issues faced by the border populations, mitigate the hardships, and improve living standards through education and employment.