Yunus sparks outrage with map showing India’s northeast in Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s interim chief Muhammad Yunus has ignited a fresh diplomatic storm after presenting a controversial map to Pakistani General Sahir Shamshad Mirza. The map, showing Assam and India’s northeastern states as part of Bangladesh, has shocked officials and sparked outrage across India and beyond. The Yunus map controversy is now the biggest political flashpoint between Bangladesh and India in recent months, raising serious questions about regional stability and Yunus’s growing ties with Pakistan and China.

The incident took place during General Mirza’s visit to Dhaka, where Yunus gifted him a book titled Art of Triumph. What caught everyone’s attention was the book’s cover — a distorted map showing India’s northeast integrated with Bangladesh, resembling the concept of a “Greater Bangladesh.” The Yunus map has since gone viral on social media, triggering heated debates and condemnation. Analysts described it as a dangerous political signal at a time when Bangladesh is seen warming up to Pakistan after decades of strained relations since the 1971 Liberation War.

This isn’t the first time Muhammad Yunus has courted controversy involving India’s northeast. Earlier this year, during his visit to China, Yunus called Bangladesh the “only guardian of the ocean” for the landlocked northeastern states of India, suggesting that the region could become part of China’s economic extension through Bangladesh. The repeated references have made Indian officials uneasy, interpreting Yunus’s words as a strategic attempt to undermine India’s sovereignty in the northeast.

While India’s Ministry of External Affairs has yet to issue an official statement on the Yunus map incident, sources indicate growing concern in New Delhi. Relations between the two neighbours have cooled since Yunus took over as interim head in 2024 following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government. India had maintained strong trade and transit ties with Hasina’s administration, but under Yunus, Dhaka’s tilt toward Pakistan and China has been unmistakable.

Experts warn that Muhammad Yunus’s actions could destabilize the already delicate balance in South Asia. By promoting the idea of a “Greater Bangladesh” — an idea previously floated by radical voices in Dhaka — Yunus risks alienating India and pushing Bangladesh into a dangerous diplomatic isolation. Some political observers believe this controversy is more than symbolism — it could reshape alliances in the region, bringing China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh closer together under a new geopolitical axis.

As the Yunus map row intensifies, calls for accountability are growing louder. Indian analysts are demanding an immediate explanation from Dhaka and a firm diplomatic response from New Delhi. Meanwhile, social media remains flooded with anger and disbelief, with users calling the move “provocative,” “unacceptable,” and “a serious insult” to India’s territorial integrity.

The Yunus controversy, marked by repeated provocations and symbolic gestures, reflects a shifting power play in South Asia. Whether this map episode was a diplomatic blunder or a deliberate signal, one thing is clear — Muhammad Yunus has redrawn not just lines on a map, but the boundaries of trust between Bangladesh and India.