Lack of Indian visas hurting India-Bangladesh people-to-people ties: diplomatic sources

Months after India suspended visas for Bangladesh, the total number of daily visas is nowhere near the volume that existed before the Sheikh Hasina-led government fell on August 5, 2024, diplomatic sources said in New Delhi on Thursday (March 6, 2025). The Hindu was told that before the fall of the government, India granted nearly 8,000 visas daily but the current volume of visas is around 1,000 only.

India had suspended issuance of visas in the backdrop of the violent protests that overthrew Sheikh Hasina’s government in August last year, citing a breakdown in the overall law and order situation. Subsequently, India restarted visas only for patients and medical tourists who had compelling cases for seeking treatment in Indian hospitals. “The volume of visas is an indicator of the close people-to-people relations. Bangladeshi patients are more comfortable attending hospitals in Kolkata because of cultural reasons. They can opt for medical facilities in Thailand or Singapore but the first preference is India because of proximity and ease,” said a diplomatic source arguing for more medical visas for Bangladeshi citizens.

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The official also indicated that an Indian visa is an item that has the ability to affect the lives of common people of Bangladesh and therefore should be of primary importance for both sides. India’s limited stance on visas is being interpreted as a sign of unease about the relations with Bangladesh, which nosedived after the fall of the Hasina-led government. The two sides stabilised diplomatic channels beginning with the visit of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to Dhaka in December 2024.

Sources also stated that the new High Commissioner of Bangladesh Riaz Hamidullah will shortly take over his post in the High Commission of Bangladesh here. As a sign of commitment to open diplomatic channels, Dhaka has also returned the Assistant High Commissioners who were recalled from missions in Kolkata and Agartala in the backdrop of bitterness over the arrest of Vaishnavite leader Chinmoy Das in November 2024.