When a mob attacked and set fire to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s iconic Dhanmondi 32 residence in Dhaka last week, it also burned to the ground a slice of the country’s history. But the act of vandalism — couched, as is often the case, in ‘patriotism’ — is particularly alarming as there are reports citing senior intelligence officials who say that Pakistan’s spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, was behind the arson and similar attacks at addresses linked to leaders of the Awami League. That the ISI should look to exploit the anti-India sentiments that currently dominate the political landscape in Bangladesh is no surprise. But that it should find ready takers among sections of the population that are politically aligned with the current leadership will be a cause for concern in New Delhi. It should, however, also worry all Bangladeshis. Intelligence reports suggest that radical Islamist groups like the Jamaat-e-Islami, which opposed the country’s independence from Pakistan in 1971, and the Hizb-ut Tahrir took instructions from the ISI to fuel mob anger last week. If that is true, it suggests that the leader of the interim government in Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, is losing his grip over the country.

The ISI, of course, has a long history of operating in Bangladesh and has historically found it easier to promote its agenda when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party of Begum Khaleda Zia — often in alliance with the Jamaat — has been in power. At a time when Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister, is in exile in India and her Awami League is in disarray, there are few institutional checks in place in Bangladesh to limit the spread of the ISI’s influence. The Jamaat and the BNP appear to hold significant political clout at the moment. Even as India will no doubt warn Bangladesh about adverse consequences for their bilateral relationship if the ISI is allowed to function freely in that country, New Delhi would do well to reflect on the broader risks of historical revisionism that recent events demonstrate. There is now concern that elements close to the interim government are collaborating with the very forces that perpetrated a genocidal war against their people. Dhaka must change course urgently. For as the truism goes, those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.