Prime Minister Modi should meet Yunus. Bangladesh has completely fallen out of India’s orbit

How far Bangladesh has come out of India’s shadow to hold its own in the world is clear from Yunus’ packed agenda in New York, while Hasina has often relied on New Delhi to deal with great powers.

I think he entered the world stage as a head of government with great authority and certainly commanded more respect than an interloper like Hasina who lacked legitimacy by resorting to outright fraud in election after election – unfortunately as a result of our collusion, which tarnished India’s image and seriously weakened our position in Bangladesh.

In hindsight, the diplomatic and security establishment knows perfectly well that it botched and how difficult it will be to regain lost ground.

Modi probably did not schedule a meeting with Yunus because he feared the latter would raise two sensitive issues that New Delhi wants to avoid discussing for as long as possible: Hasina’s extradition to face trial in a string of criminal cases, and alleged gross irregularities in energy agreement signed by the Hasina regime with the Adani Group.

However, in addition to speaking before the UN General Assembly, which Modi did not do this time, Yunus held meetings with President Biden, former President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif, head of the World Bank Ajay Banga and head of the Asian Development Bank Masatsugu Asakawa.

Can there be any doubt that this amounts to a very successful maiden diplomatic trip for the eighty-year-old economist turned interim prime minister?