Student from Kolkata living in Bangladesh for 5 years expects peace to return now to that country

A native of Kolkata who has been studying in Bangladesh for five years and who is visiting home at the moment said that the atmosphere in that country, when he left four days ago, was festive because of the elections and that the overall situation there might improve once a new government is in place.

“I feel a bit safer in Bangladesh now because most political parties are trying to restore normalcy. When I was coming back, the situation was very festive as the people were about to take part in what they believed to be a very open and fair elections (held on Thursday (February 12, 2026)) after at least 15 years. Most of them were excited, and in many groups, I heard people talking against religious fanaticism and many of them already questioning the idea of seeking votes in the name of religion,” said Supriyo Saha (named changed on request).

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“Though the life of common people hasn’t changed a lot over the months, but they definitely seem to be having a greater freedom of speech, something they longed for. One could encounter massive political rallies where people were not just supporting the candidates but even questioning them. There have been incidents in which many candidates faced significant backlash due to their activities over the last one and a half years,” he said.

“Political parties were dreaming of a new Cabinet. And, after almost 36 years, Bangladesh is going to have a male Prime Minister, which in many ways might or might not affect the gender politics in that country,” Supriyo Saha added.

According to him, anti-India sentiments also seemed to be slowly losing its grip on the citizens, with many people beginning to talk about the good relationship that the two countries once enjoyed. While some groups still talk about the ‘Indian hegemony’, Bollywood music continues to be very much popular there irrespective of the sentiments, he said.

When asked what made him believe that things might change for the better there after the elections, Supriyo Saha said most political parties seemed to be now believing in co-existence and many independent candidates coming forward without the backing of any political outfit. “I could hear conversations about many candidates refusing corporate funding and instead collecting funds from the crowd. As a result, people believed the elections to be transparent. This might give lawmakers a chance to act more freely, without any pressure from big corporates,” he said.

The student last visited Kolkata three months ago and is likely to return to Bangladesh in March. When asked if his parents would be in favour of his going back to that country, he said they too expected stability there after the elections. His mother, who usually called him only once a day, was making WhatsApp calls on an hourly basis in the recent months to make sure he was safe.

“It is easy for an Indian to go to Bangladesh, but much harder for a Bangladeshi to come to India as they are not getting visas except for medical and business purposes. But yes, a problem did happen very recently when some of my Indian friends happened to go to Dhaka for a few days. While crossing the land border, one of them, a woman, was labelled as a Bangladeshi national by the Indian officer. She showed her Aadhaar card, passport, voter ID, but the officer demanded the birth certificates of her parents. She went through a harrowing time for over an hour before she was allowed to proceed. Fortunately, they are all back home now,” Supriyo Saha said.