Eight months after Pahalgam terror attack, walking up to Baisaran meadow
Rema Smith
The death of Bangladesh’s first woman prime minister Khaleda Zia Tuesday marks a milestone in the nation’s fraught politics and will shape the way ahead, including how it engages with India. This comes at a time of political transition as Bangladesh heads to its first elections after four decades in which both Khaleda and her rival Sheikh Hasina — in exile in India — will not participate. Their shadows, however, will undoubtedly loom large.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his condolences and External Affairs minister S Jaishankar will travel to Dhaka to attend her funeral on Wednesday. This is a clear signal of India’s outreach to the new political establishment in Dhaka in the run-up to elections on February 12, 2026.
Khaleda is survived by her son Tarique Rahman who returned to Bangladesh on December 25 from his self-imposed UK exile of 17 years and, as acting chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is set to lead the party to the polls.
Modi posted on X, “Deeply saddened to learn about the passing away of former Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia in Dhaka. Our sincerest condolences to her family and all the people of Bangladesh. May the Almighty grant her family the fortitude to bear this tragic loss.”
“As the first woman Prime Minister of Bangladesh, her important contributions towards the development of Bangladesh, as well as India-Bangladesh relations, will always be remembered,” he said, adding that “I recall my warm meeting with her in Dhaka in 2015. We hope that her vision and legacy will continue to guide our partnership. May her soul rest in peace.”
The Ministry of External Affairs said, in a statement that Minister S. Jaishankar will represent the Government and people of India at the funeral in Dhaka on Wednesday.
How Khaleda oversaw downturn in relations with IndiaBegum Zia, as she was popularly known, served as prime minister between 1991 and 1996, and again from 2001 to 2006. She had a complex and often contentious relationship with India. Her years in office coincided with intense, polarising and ideological battles within Bangladesh and shifting equations with New Delhi as she interacted with three Indian prime ministers: P.V. Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh.
Her second term, in particular, left bitter memories in India. Between 2001 and 2006, anti-India terrorist outfits and insurgent groups targeting India’s Northeast found space in Bangladesh, after Zia joined hands with the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami. This period severely strained ties, a contrast to the warming of relations after Sheikh Hasina’s return to power in 2008, when Dhaka cracked down on such groups.
Born into Bangladesh’s founding political lineage through marriage, Zia was the wife of Ziaur Rahman, who became President in 1977 after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975. Following Ziaur Rahman’s own assassination in 1981, she entered politics and took over the leadership of the BNP in 1984.