Shashi Tharoor Clarifies Remarks on Bangladesh Jamaat Win, Warns of Rising Regional Risks

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor pushed back against claims that he praised Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami after its recent win in Dhaka University elections. Critics accused him of supporting the group, but Tharoor said his words were misread.

“I had called it a ‘worrying sign of things to come’. If that counts as praise, then English is not what it used to be when I learned it,” he posted on X.

Tharoor explained that Jamaat’s student wing won not because young voters are extremists, but because the party is seen as untainted compared to the ruling Awami League of ex-PM Sheikh Hasina and the opposition BNP of former PM Khaleda Zia. He said the result reflects growing frustration with corruption and mismanagement linked to both major parties.

He also noted that Bangladesh is not alone. Across the region, from Sri Lanka to Nepal, disillusioned youth have taken to the streets or even toppled governments. Though he did not name Nepal directly, his remarks came soon after protests there forced out the government.

Jamaat has until now remained a fringe player in Bangladesh politics, with little student presence at Dhaka University, which has historically stood for Bengali nationalism and the 1971 liberation movement supported by India.

In an article linked to his post, Tharoor warned that a stronger Jamaat could create a “potentially hostile scenario for India.” He said the Dhaka University results are a wake-up call, showing that political currents in Bangladesh are shifting in dangerous ways.

Tharoor also voiced concern for Bangladesh’s Hindu minority, which has often faced attacks during periods of Islamist political rise. He stressed that Jamaat rejects secular democracy and follows a stricter, more radical interpretation of Islam.

“India’s official policy is non-interference,” he wrote, “but the truth is that developments in our neighborhood are never only internal matters.”