The controversial reward to Pakistani normal
The incident passed off through the go to of Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Workers Committee chairperson, Common Sahir Shamshad Mirza, to Dhaka. A photograph shared on Yunus' official X account confirmed him presenting a e book titled “Artwork of Triumph: Bangladesh's New Daybreak” to the Pakistani normal.
The e book, meant to have fun the 2024 scholar motion that led to the autumn of Sheikh Hasina's authorities, included a map portraying Bangladesh as encompassing Assam and different northeastern Indian states. The distorted map instantly triggered backlash on social media and amongst political observers.
Map displays ‘Larger Bangladesh' idea
The controversial map seems to characterize the concept of a “Larger Bangladesh,” an idea propagated by the Dhaka-based Islamist group Sultanat-e-Bangla. The group's model of the map extends Bangladesh's borders to incorporate all of India's Northeast, West Bengal, components of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Myanmar's Arakan area.
This map was first seen publicly in April 2025 at an exhibition held on the College of Dhaka on Pohela Baishakh, the Bengali New Yr. The difficulty was later raised in India's Rajya Sabha in August 2025 by Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala.
In 2024, Yunus' shut affiliate Nahidul Islam had additionally circulated an identical map on-line, suggesting the inclusion of West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam inside Bangladesh's territory.
Yunus' repeated remarks on India's northeast
This isn't the primary time Muhammad Yunus has made remarks relating India's northeastern area. Throughout his go to to China in April, he had stated, “The seven states of India, the japanese a part of India… they're a landlocked nation. They haven't any approach to attain out to the ocean.” Following the assertion, India's Exterior Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar underlined the importance of India's Northeast as a “connectivity hub” for the BIMSTEC grouping that features Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
India-Bangladesh relations underneath pressure
Because the ouster of Sheikh Hasina's authorities, relations between Dhaka and New Delhi have develop into tense. Yunus has been seen working in the direction of strengthening ties with China and Pakistan, strikes which have raised concern in India.
In the meantime, Hasina's exile in India has additionally develop into a delicate diplomatic challenge between the 2 nations.
India's ongoing border disputes
India continues to face related map-related disputes with its neighbours. In 2023, China's Ministry of Pure Assets launched a map exhibiting Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as Chinese language territories, prompting a powerful protest from New Delhi.
India additionally stays in dispute with Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, with Islamabad claiming sovereignty over the area, components of which stay underneath Pakistan's management as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
