In a significant development, the Narendra Modi government has decided to send former Union Minister and Barrackpore MP, now a BJP leader, Dinesh Trivedi, as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh. As a first political appointee in the neighbourhood after a long time, Trivedi will replace career diplomat Pranay Verma, who moves to Brussels as the Indian ambassador to the EU.
While agreement will be sought from the Tarique Rahman government in Dhaka for Trivedi, the decision to send a 75-year-old veteran politician as India’s envoy to Bangladesh is also a message of accountability to the Ministry of External Affairs’ diplomats.
Trivedi was a Union Minister for Railways and Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare during the UPA regime, as a member of the Trinamool Congress. He resigned from the TMC on February 12, 2021 and joined the BJP on March 6, 2021.
The appointment of Trivedi comes at a time when India and Bangladesh are trying to repair their relationship after the Mohammed Yunus disaster, post-removal of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a coup, with both military and police refusing to open fire on the agitators. During the tenure of US-backed Yunus, the India-Bangladesh ties deteriorated, with the chief advisor unable to contain sectarian violence against the minority community in Bangladesh.
However, the appointment of Dinesh Trivedi is a clear signal from the Modi government that it is not averse to sending political leaders as India’s envoys to key countries, and these much sought-after postings are not merely a preserve of Indian Foreign Service officers.
While former Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag served as Indian High Commissioner to Seychelles from 2019-2022, the posting of Trivedi to Dhaka also indicates that India will be sending heavyweights to the neighbourhood as envoys, and the era of an ambassador for good times is over, at least in the Indian subcontinent.
