Michael Kugelman’s Blind Spot: Misjudging India’s Role in Bangladesh

Reading Time: 4 minutes Michael Kugelman’s recent article in The Daily Star, where he attempts to present Bangladesh and India as natural partners with a steady and beneficial relationship, misses the mark rather spectacularly. While the tone is courteous and seemingly well intentioned, the conclusions drawn reflect a deeply flawed understanding of the strategic landscape. What ought to have been a candid and grounded analysis instead comes across as an exercise in optimistic abstraction. For observers familiar with South Asia, it is difficult to reconcile such a narrative with what is unfolding on the ground. The economic relationship between the two countries is increasingly defined not by cooperation but by unilateral restriction. India has taken several disruptive steps over the past year, including the abrupt withdrawal of land transhipment privileges and the imposition of non tariff barriers that have restricted hundreds of millions of dollars in Bangladeshi exports. Indian authorities