Islamic Extremists Now Setting the Agenda in Bangladesh, Says Activist and Lawyer Nijhum Mojumdar

By Lalit K. Jha

Washington, DC October 29, 2025: From his base in London, Bangladeshi political activist and lawyer Nijhum Mojumdar traces a dark convergence between global power games and local fanaticism.

Speaking to 5WH in an exclusive interview, he alleged that foreign agencies and Western governments are exploiting Bangladesh as a proxy front in their rivalry with India and China, while Islamist groups inside the country tighten their grip amid democratic collapse.

Sitting in a quiet Washington lounge between back-to-back meetings, Nijhum Mojumdar spoke not as a lawyer but as a man alarmed by what he calls Bangladesh’s rapid descent into chaos.

“I’m a lawyer by profession and a political activist,” he began. “I’ve written five books—three on international criminal law and two on Bangladesh’s Indemnity Act of 1975 and politics.” For the past year, he said, he has been “travelling all over the world” to draw attention to what he believes is a dangerous turn in his homeland.

“It’s now an open field where anybody can do anything,” Mojumdar said. “People stage their own abductions, even killings, and blame India. The hatred against India—you can’t imagine how much it has grown in the last one and a half years.”

He cited recent demonstrations in Bangladesh by Islamic groups calling for the banning of the Hindu organization ISKCON, allegedly over an interfaith relationship between two young people. “That’s how far things have gone,” he said. “Extremists are now setting the narrative.”

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According to Mojumdar, anti-India rhetoric and conspiracies flourish online, often tied to claims of outside manipulation. “There’s a loss of hatred against India,” he said. “Even ISI has its own office in Bangladesh. My sources from military intelligence confirmed it.”

When asked why Pakistan’s spy agency would have such reach, he framed the issue in global terms. “Their objective links with a larger design,” he claimed, pointing to what he called the “two-track theory” of U.S. power.

“On one hand, America talks about democracy; on the other, if they don’t like you, they plot to remove you,” he said, referencing declassified Cold War documents and books critical of former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

“If America wants to establish democracy,” Mojumdar said, “it means they want to take your country. Bangladesh is being used as a proxy battlefield against India and China.”

He alleged that the United States, through its Indo-Pacific strategy, has sought to weaken Chinese influence and counter India’s regional autonomy. “America didn’t try to establish democracy in Qatar or Saudi Arabia,” he said. “Why in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, or Myanmar? Because they want strategic control.”

Pressed on evidence, Mojumdar admitted that “solid proof” is hard to show but argued that patterns and policy shifts speak volumes. “When a man who once tried to bomb the U.S. embassy is released from jail and America is silent, you must ask why,” he said. “Does America want Bangladesh to be a banana republic?”

For him, the turning point was Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s defiance of Western interests. “She refused to give them the gas fields, refused to give a port, refused to allow a military base,” he said. “Bangladesh cannot be a proxy battlefield toward India or China.”

Hasina, he said, became an obstacle to foreign “hegemony” by standing up to Washington and its allies. “She was bold, outspoken. Even India and China were uncomfortable at times. But she protected Bangladesh’s sovereignty,” he argued.

Following the August 5 attacks in Bangladesh—an incident he characterized as “terrorist”—Mojumdar said extremist groups have openly targeted Hindus and threatened war with India. “They say temples should be demolished, Hindus should go to India,” he said. “The government is silent, indirectly promoting them. The army is seen holding ISIS flags. When you stay silent after seeing that, you are supporting them.”

He insisted that no legitimate government exists in Dhaka. “It’s an illegal regime,” he said flatly. “People who try to raise their voices are being arrested, killed, or tortured. Houses are being burned. There is no rule of law.”

Asked about Bangladesh’s future, Mojumdar’s reply was stark.

“If this continues,” he warned, “Bangladesh will become a Taliban republic. The country is walking toward fire. The constitution’s basic structure—democracy, socialism, justice—has been removed. This is a dystopian regime.”

Even the dead, he said, are not spared from extremism: “A dead body was exhumed and burned because they said it could become a shrine. That’s how far fanaticism has gone.”

Now based in London, Mojumdar said he is travelling across Europe, India, and the United States to build international awareness and mobilise the Bangladeshi diaspora.

“In 1971, when Pakistan attacked Bangladesh, our diaspora stood up,” he said. “We want that unity again. I’m meeting activists everywhere, giving hope that there’s still light at the end of the tunnel. Sheikh Hasina is still alive. So the hope is still there.”

He smiled briefly, then added, “Bangladesh can still turn back—if the world stops looking away.”

[5WH/VS]

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