The partnership between Pakistan-based terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) with extremist factions in Bangladesh poses a major security threat to South Asia, particularly India. Their coordinated move of destabilising the Bangladeshi government and promoting extremism is proving to have far-reaching effects, the key concern being the utilisation of sophisticated recruitment and operational strategies to target Indian youth.
Universities as Recruitment Hubs
LeT and JeM are focusing their recruitment on Bangladeshi universities to radicalise Indian students. Collaborating with Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir, they have established cross-border ideological networks. Their strategy includes:
- Ideological Alignment: They exploit shared grievances and religious narratives to attract vulnerable youth, portraying India as oppressive to Muslims, citing events like the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and communal violence to support jihadist ideologies
- Institutional Exploitation: They exploit the lack of oversight in universities, allowing radical groups to operate freely
- Cross-Border Impunity: Porous borders and inadequate monitoring enable the movement of operatives and resources
Madrasas near university campuses, run by HuJI-B and JMB, indoctrinate students with Wahhabi-Salafi ideologies. Recent incidents, like the 2022 arrest of JeM operative Muhammad Nadeem in Saharanpur, illustrate this trend. Nadeem was trained by Pakistani handlers through encrypted apps to radicalise Indian youth, directing them to Bangladesh for indoctrination and then to Pakistan for specialised training.
Since 2014, JMB has expanded into India, recruiting students from West Bengal and Assam, with Bangladeshi madrasas acting as training centres. In May 2025, the West Bengal STF arrested Ajmol Hossain, Saheb Ali Khan, and Abbasuddin Molla, linked to JMB and LeT, for recruiting and radicalising Indian youths, particularly Muslim adolescents in districts like Birbhum, Malda, Murshidabad, and South 24 Parganas. This group utilized encrypted messaging and religious gatherings to identify recruits, assigning handlers to spread radical ideology and organize firearms training. Ajmol Hossain kept in contact with handlers in PoK and Bangladesh, receiving instructions and funding to enhance recruitment and sleeper cell networks across Bengal, Assam, and Tripura.
How does the radicalization mechanism operate?
Radical groups employ a multi-pronged approach to attract and indoctrinate Indian students in Bangladesh:
- Financial Incentives: Scholarships, flood relief, and monetary aid are targeted at economically vulnerable students. After the 2024 floods, Jamaat distributed relief alongside radical literature.
- Social Isolation: Senior students mentor and isolate Indian youth, enforcing conservative dress codes and exclusive religious study circles to foster loyalty.
- Propaganda: LeT propaganda videos, including those from the 2025 Pahalgam attack, circulate via encrypted apps to incite anti-India sentiments. Events at the University of Dhaka glorify terrorists killed in Kashmir, legitimizing extremist narratives
Cross-Border Logistics and Operations
Bangladesh has become a key transit hub for LeT’s cross-border operations. Radicalized Indian students in cities like Dhaka and Chittagong are sent to LeT training camps in Pakistan, often travelling through Myanmar or Nepal under the guise of educational tours. This is supported by
- Sophisticated Logistics: Weak oversight of NGOs and the prevalence of Hundi remittances and money laundering enable LeT to disguise funding as charitable donations.
- International Funding: Funds flow from the Middle East and Gulf countries under the pretext of supporting campus charities and Islamic heritage projects.
Radicalized students returning to India become operatives. As per intelligence agencies, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami-Bangladesh (HuJI-B), JMB, and LeT proxies reportedly run about 40 sleeper cells in Assam and Nagaland, using Indians trained in Bangladesh for attacks. The 2025 Pahalgam incident also reportedly involved a LeT operative meeting a Bangladeshi official prior to the attack, showcasing the complexity of these networks.
Bangladeshi Regime Change and Institutional Complicity
Since 2024, Bangladesh’s political landscape has changed significantly, with the interim government lifting restrictions on Jamaat-e-Islami and appointing radicals to key positions, such as the Hizb-ut-Tahrir founder Nasimul Gani as home secretary. Similar moves included:
- Government Concessions: Approval of conservative policies of such bodies as Hefazat-e-Islami, like compulsory Islamic education and gender-segregated curricula, has mainstreamed extremist ideologies.
- Institutional Complicity: Groups like Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a LeT affiliate, now operate openly on campuses, further blurring the line between legitimate academia and extremist indoctrination
These moves emboldened extremists and normalized radical norms in educational institutions.
Spillover Effects: Communal Tensions and National Security
In light of the approximately 2,200 incidents of violence against Hindus in Bangladesh in 2024, the implications for India are profound, intensifying Hindu-Muslim tensions and aiding jihadist recruitment. LeT and similar groups leverage these tensions for propaganda to justify jihad and recruit operatives.
In response, the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) has urged Indian universities to sever ties with institutions in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Turkey, citing national security concerns and the proliferation of anti-India narratives.
Conclusion
The alliance between LeT, JeM, and Bangladeshi radical groups is facilitating the radicalization of Indian youth through university infiltration, institutional gaps, and cross-border networks, which is a growing threat to the region. Political shifts in Bangladesh and the spread of extremist ideologies in key institutions have intensified this risk. Addressing it requires coordinated intelligence, stronger institutional vigilance, and effective counter-radicalization efforts. Only sustained, collaborative action on the part of both Bangladesh and India can disrupt this trend of radicalization and ensure regional stability.
