A fresh spiral of violence has engulfed Bangladesh after the killing of an emerging political leader, Sharif Osman Hadi. Disturbances to law and order, anti-India rhetoric and conspiracy theories are perpetuating chaos at a time when the country needs stability and direction. One of the leaders of the protest movement that unseated the former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, Hadi had adopted a firm anti-India posture, often engaging in incendiary talk against New Delhi. In the aftermath of his death, raging supporters attacked India’s diplomatic mission in Chittagong and set the offices of two major newspapers, Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, on fire. Hadi’s supporters have called for the resignation of senior officials in the interim administration of Muhammad Yunus, accusing them of failing to catch those who shot Hadi dead. At the same time, they have peddled dangerous conspiracy theories that, for the moment, are not backed by any evidence: Hadi’s supporters, to cite one example, allege that the assailants had sneaked across the border into India.

So far, Mr Yunus’s government has tried to douse the current anger on Bangladesh’s streets by honouring Hadi’s life without joining the latest India-bashing campaign of his supporters. It appears that the repeated attacks on Bangladesh’s historical relationship with India by elements in that country have empowered hatemongers against New Delhi. If those same forces are now turning against Mr Yunus, he has no one but himself and his advisers to blame. The latest violence comes at a particularly volatile moment for Bangladesh. The country is preparing for elections in two months. It has banned Ms Hasina’s Awami League from contesting in the vote and is demanding that New Delhi hand over the former prime minister who is living in exile in India.
Ms Hasina’s long-time rival and the figurehead of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Begum Khaleda Zia, is critically ill. With the Awami League out of the electoral fray and the BNP’s future uncertain, Pakistan-leaning forces like the Jamaat-e-Islami are on the rise and anti-India mobs are leading violent campaigns. Bangladesh and the region face a worrying period ahead. There is still time for Mr Yunus’s administration to course correct. At stake are the legacy and the sacrifices of both 1971 and 2024.