Khaleda Zia's Anti-India Stance: From Diplomacy to Distrust

• Khaleda Zia's relations with India were marked by 'friendship of necessity and enmity of ideology,' often using anti-India rhetoric for political gain.
• Despite a 2012 promise as opposition leader not to allow anti-India activities from Bangladesh, India viewed it as a strategic shift, not a change of heart.
• During her government, militants like ULFA and NSCN gained strength in Bangladesh, and she consistently denied India's reports of their camps.
• She opposed transit rights for India, called the 1972 India-Bangladesh Friendship Treaty 'shackles,' and increased proximity with China, signing a major defense deal.
• Khaleda Zia consistently used Farakka Barrage and Ganges water issues for anti-India politics, even accusing India of deliberately causing floods.

Why It Matters: Khaleda Zia's political career was largely built on anti-India policies, marked by distrust and strategic shifts.