India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, indicated on Saturday that no timeline could be provided for the return of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, noting that Dhaka's extradition request remains under review through a formal judicial process.
Addressing the Bay of Bengal Conversation 2026 gathering in Dhaka, Trivedi explained that permitting Hasina to land on Indian soil following her removal from power in August 2024 had left little room for any other course of action. He underlined that bilateral ties between the two neighbouring countries stood independently of whatever relationship Dhaka might hold with outside parties.
On the question of Bangladesh's persistent calls for Hasina's extradition, Trivedi pointed to an established legal framework, noting that governmental responses had consistently referenced a structured process in which the courts play a part. He stated that a precise timeline was not something anyone could provide.
Trivedi stated that Hasina's arrival on Indian soil following the fall of her administration had not been organised by New Delhi, with neither the air force nor the army involved in transporting her — she had made her way there under her own circumstances at a moment when she still held the office of prime minister of Bangladesh. He noted that few choices had remained on the table by that stage, and that accepting the realities of that situation was something he viewed as an obligation tied to the role of being a neighbour.
Those remarks arrived against a backdrop of diplomatic navigation, with both India and Bangladesh working to stabilise a bilateral relationship unsettled by Hasina's removal from power, even as New Delhi pursues continued engagement with the administration under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
On the wider state of relations between the two neighbours, Trivedi called for frank engagement rather than sidestepping points of contention, arguing that every unresolved matter — spanning water rights, trade, culture, sports, and transport and communication links — carried a workable path forward, and that dialogue on those fronts had not been suspended. He described the matter as still unfolding, noting that any path forward would need to be built on trust and shaped through open dialogue and consultation between the parties involved.
Trivedi also made clear that India's view of its relationship with Bangladesh does not hinge on the foreign partnerships Dhaka chooses to pursue, framing the two countries' ties as resting on their own foundation. He separately acknowledged Bangladesh's standing as a sovereign nation with the latitude to set its own diplomatic direction free from external pressure, while also stating that India held an equal standing to defend its own national concerns.
The diplomat characterised the relationship between India and Bangladesh as one rooted in shared culture and history rather than purely practical exchange, citing as illustration the fact that Rabindranath Tagore composed the national anthems of both nations. Trivedi noted that friction between neighbouring democracies was a natural feature of such relationships — describing it as something akin to family disagreements — while arguing that ongoing, direct engagement remained the only path toward resolving those differences, with dialogue and consultation forming the foundation of any workable solution.
Those words were delivered at the fifth Bay of Bengal Conversation, a three-day gathering running from 3 to 5 October that was convened by the Centre for Governance Studies, headquartered in Dhaka. Carrying the theme "Fragments, Frontiers, Futures: Navigating Power, Technology and Trust in a World Rewritten," the 2026 gathering draws diplomats, heads of government, policymakers, and academics alongside other attendees representing upwards of a hundred nations.
Appointed to lead India's diplomatic mission in Bangladesh in 2026, Trivedi took part in a panel discussion centred on balancing national power against the restraint needed to prevent great-power rivalry from tipping into open conflict.
