Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and its student wing Chatra Shibpur have regained their political status, with the Supreme Court restoring their registration and allowing them to be listed with the Election Commission for fighting future elections.
This follows the Muhammad Yunus government lifting a ban on the organisation soon after taking charge last year.
The Jamaat has remained active in Bangladesh despite losing its registration in 2013 and being barred from elections. It is now trying to rebrand itself ahead of national elections after being accused of being involved in attacks on Hindus in the aftermath of Sheikh Hasina's ouster.
Mr Yunus's critics have accused him of clinging to power with the Jamaat's support, which has used the students' movement in the country as a front to gnaw its way back into politics.
Earlier, the court had overturned the conviction of ATM Azharul Islam, a key leader of the organisation who was sentenced to death in 2014 for rape, murder and genocide during the 1971 war for the liberation of Bangladesh.
Jamaat's Support For Pakistan
The Jamaat-e-Islami had supported Pakistan during the 1971 war - despite the torture and genocide that marred the erstwhile East Pakistan's history. The Pakistan Army, on the orders of the Pakistan government, had committed severe atrocities on citizens of Bangladesh during their liberation struggle, including mass rape and murder.
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had cracked down on the Jamaat-e-Islami for their involvement in terror activities. But with Jamaat clawing its way back into Bangladesh's political space, there are severe implications for the neighbourhood, especially India, which shares the longest border with Bangladesh.
With Pakistan trying to regain space in Bangladesh, the resurgence of the Jamaat gives it the necessary political space to find a way back in. The Jamaat-e-Islami's pro-Pakistan stand is in tune with Muhammad Yunus's assertion to build "stronger ties with Pakistan.
This is why political analysts in Bangladesh imply that Yunus came to power with the support of the Jamaat, which was the force behind the students' uprising, while his critics argue that he wants to extend his stay in power with the backing of the Jamaat.
There are other geo-political implications of the Jamaat's stand on various issues. For example, last month, Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami proposed the creation of an independent Rohingya state in a meeting with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) representatives in Dhaka. The delegation was led by Peng Jiubin, the Director-General of the Southeast and South Asian Affairs Bureau under the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. This comes amid a surge of Rohingyas into Bangladesh as Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) seize power along Myanmar's international borders, especially the Arakan Army, an EAO operating in the Rakhine State of Myanmar.
What If Jamaat Succeeds?
If the Jamaat is successful in convincing other countries and cobbling together some consensus, it would impact India's geo-political interest in the region.
India has invested in the Sittwe Port and the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP), India's flagship connectivity initiative in Myanmar, which aims to enhance road and maritime links with Southeast Asia. It will also provide an alternative access route to India's northeastern region, contributing to economic development there. The project connects Sittwe Port in Myanmar to the India-Myanmar border via a 225-kilometre waterway to Paletwa, where an IWT terminal is being set up, followed by a road from there to the border in Zorinpui in South Mizoram.
The Jamaat has also established a network through South Asian immigrant communities. Its stated motive of establishing an Islamic state goes against the ethos of pluralism, which seems to be receding from the ideological space in Bangladesh. A hardline Islamic state, if the Jamaat has its way, with close links to Pakistan on the eastern side, could lead to huge security worries for India.
'A Red Flag For India'
Priyadarshini Baruah, Research Associate, Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS), New Delhi, credited the political vacuum that emerged after the Awami League's fall and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)'s weakening for the Jamaat's return. The rise of such a radical outfit is a red flag, she said.
“Knowing the Jamaat's history of opposing Bangladesh's liberation and their alleged ties to Pakistan-backed terrorism, the Jamaat's growing influence in Bangladesh is a red flag for India, especially due to their anti-India sentiments. It is feared that their growing influence could destabilise the region, and this fear remains tall, especially with regard to India's North Eastern (NE) region since it shares a geographical boundary with Bangladesh,” she said.
The Jamaat's return also exacerbates the concerns of minorities in Bangladesh.
“We have seen how the minorities are being treated in Bangladesh under the influence of Jamaat. The non-Muslim population, mainly Hindus, dropped from 13.5% in 1974 to 7.95% in 2022. And their suffering is likely to exacerbate as Jamaat tentacles grip on the Yunus regime,” said Ms Baruah.
That the Jamaat has now secured the status of a political party under the Yunus regime would also reflect their stand on minorities, giving India greater traction in policy making, she added.
Jamaat, BNP Not Always On Same Page
The Jamaat-E-Islami, while holding a pro-Pakistan stance, however, so far never won a majority but has played the role of Kingmaker. It has earlier been an ally of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which was the main opposition party in Bangladesh during the Sheikh Hasina regime.
Of late, there have been issues where the BNP leadership and the Jamaat have disagreed. Among those is conducting elections by December 2025. The BNP has been firm on this demand, while the Jamaat has been comfortable with Yunus holding on for longer, as it gives the organisation more time to mobilise for elections.
The Jamaat also has a larger motive in downplaying Bangladesh's freedom struggle and India's role in the 1971 war.
The Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami that was one of the main players in the 2024 uprising against Sheikh Hasina, faced massive backlash for an article in its magazine Chhatra Sangbad for describing Muslim participation in the Liberation War as "a failure" and a "lack of foresight".
It apologised later amid pressure, but the BNP students' wing condemned this line of thought and openly took a stance diametrically opposite to the Jamaat, which has always harboured pro-Pakistan sentiments. Many saw it as the Jamaat testing the waters over its effort to create an Islamic brotherhood.
