From Yunus’s Outreach To Pakistan To Osman Hadi’s Death: How A ‘Greater Bangladesh’ Map Turned Explosive

A fresh political storm has erupted in Bangladesh and spilled into regional diplomacy after the death of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi and the resurfacing of a controversial “Greater Bangladesh” map that lays claim to parts of India and Myanmar. The issue has gained traction amid Bangladesh interim chief Muhammad Yunus’s recent outreach to Pakistan, drawing sharp reactions in India and raising questions about Dhaka’s evolving foreign policy posture.

The ‘Greater Bangladesh’ Controversy

Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, died on December 18 in a Singapore hospital, six days after he was shot in the head by masked attackers while launching his election campaign in Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area. News of his death triggered widespread protests across Dhaka and other cities. Demonstrators demanded swift arrests and accountability, but several protests reportedly turned violent. Media offices, including those of The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, were set on fire, while an Awami League office in Rajshahi was demolished using a bulldozer, according to local authorities.

Hadi had earlier courted controversy for allegedly circulating images of a so-called “Greater Bangladesh” map on social media. The map depicts an expanded Bangladesh incorporating India’s West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, the entire Northeast, and Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Variants of similar maps, sometimes titled “Sultanate-e-Bangla”, have appeared at exhibitions in Dhaka, including during Pohela Baishakh events at Dhaka University.

The concept, rooted in fringe nationalist narratives, draws selectively from historical entities such as the Bengal Sultanate and the Pala dynasty. Analysts say these depictions have no legal or historical basis but carry strong political symbolism, particularly in the current charged climate.

The Bangladeshi government has denied any official endorsement of the idea and stated that the investigation into Hadi’s killing has no connection to territorial claims or foreign policy matters.

Yunus’s Pakistan Gesture Fuels Anger

The controversy also intensified after interim chief Muhammad Yunus gifted an artwork titled “Art of Triumph: Bangladesh’s New Dawn” to Pakistan’s Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, during his visit to Dhaka. The artwork allegedly depicted a distorted map, showing India’s northeastern states within Bangladesh’s borders. Images shared on Yunus’s official X account triggered immediate backlash in India.

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This is not the first time Yunus’s remarks have unsettled New Delhi. During an April 2025 visit to China, he described Bangladesh as the “sole guardian of the ocean” for the region, calling India’s northeastern states “landlocked”, comments that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar firmly rebutted.

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While Dhaka maintains that there is no official backing for expansionist ideas, the repeated emergence of such imagery has ensured the controversy remains firmly in the spotlight, with regional ramifications unlikely to fade soon.