Yunus sparks diplomatic row with map showing India's northeast as part of Bangladesh

Bangladesh's interim head Muhammad Yunus has sparked a new diplomatic controversy after presenting a Pakistani military leader with a book carrying a distorted map that depicts India's northeastern states as part of Bangladesh.

- MPOST BUREAU

The incident has drawn sharp reactions online and added to tensions between Dhaka and New Delhi.

The controversy arose during the weekend visit of Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairperson, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, to Dhaka. As part of the engagement, Yunus met the visiting general, signalling a continued thaw in relations between the two nations, whose ties have long been fraught since the 1971 Liberation War.

On Sunday, Yunus posted photos of the meeting on social media, showing him gifting Mirza a copy of Art of Triumph. The book’ cover carried an image of a map portraying India’s seven northeastern states—including Assam—as Bangladeshi territory, mirroring the “Greater Bangladesh” vision often propagated by fringe Islamist groups.

The image quickly went viral, prompting backlash from analysts and journalists across South Asia. Several commentators accused Yunus of overstepping diplomatic boundaries by invoking India's sovereignty in an unsolicited manner. The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi has yet to issue an official statement on the matter.