Sever the seven sisters: Bangladesh NCP leader warns of sheltering anti-India forces, targets India's northeast states

Hasnat Abdullah, a leader of Bangladesh’s National Citizen Party (NCP), issued a warning suggesting that Dhaka could offer shelter to forces hostile to India, including separatist groups, and spoke of attempts to “sever the seven sisters” — a reference to India’s northeastern states.

Addressing a gathering at Dhaka’s Central Shaheed Minar, Abdullah claimed that Bangladesh would provide sanctuary to “separatist and anti-India forces” and asserted that such support could be used to cut off the northeastern region from India. The remarks were met with loud applause from sections of the audience.

The term “seven sisters” collectively refers to Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura. Of these, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram share a land boundary with Bangladesh, underscoring the strategic sensitivity of the region in bilateral security considerations.

India has, in the past, accused militant and separatist outfits operating in the Northeast of using Bangladeshi territory as a safe haven, transit corridor, and logistical base, particularly during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Indian security agencies have linked groups such as the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) to camps and support networks across the border during that period.

According to officials, cadres of these outfits often crossed into Bangladesh to evade Indian security forces, while training and arms procurement were reportedly facilitated from across the border. Beyond the Northeast, Bangladesh was also identified as a base for Islamist extremist networks with alleged links to India. Organisations such as Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were flagged by Indian agencies for their role in radicalisation and logistical support impacting eastern India.

The security landscape, however, underwent a marked shift after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returned to power in 2009, when Bangladesh initiated a sustained crackdown on insurgent and extremist groups targeting India, leading to closer security cooperation between the two countries.

Separately, Abdullah also launched a sharp attack on the Bangladesh Election Commission, describing it as “spineless” and questioning its decision to term the attack on electoral candidate Osman Hadi as an “isolated” incident.