Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus sparked a diplomatic row on October 26, 2025, by gifting a book titled “Art of Triumph: Bangladesh’s New Dawn” to Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairperson, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza. The book’s cover featured a distorted map depicting India’s northeastern states, including Assam, as part of a ‘Greater Bangladesh’. This map echoes the narrative promoted by radical Islamist groups like Sultanat-e-Bangla, who claim extensive Indian territories as Bangladeshi. The gesture has drawn sharp criticism in India, viewed as a provocative challenge to Indian sovereignty, especially amid warming Bangladesh-Pakistan ties following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in 2024. Indian political leaders and analysts condemned the act, urging a strong response, while the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has remained silent so far. This incident highlights the fragile territorial sensitivities in South Asia and signals Bangladesh’s shifting diplomatic orientation towards Pakistan, seemingly at the expense of traditional India relations, exacerbated by ongoing border disputes and India’s trade restrictions on Bangladeshi goods. The controversy has added strain to an already complex regional geopolitical landscape.