Assam Chief Minister on Sunday claimed that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi mishandled the situation after India’s victory in the 1971 war against Pakistan, which led to the formation of Bangladesh.

“Had Mrs. Indira Gandhi been alive today, the nation would have questioned her for mishandling the decisive victory won by our armed forces,” he said in a post on X. “The creation of Bangladesh was not a bargain – it was a historic opportunity lost.”

Sarma made the statement after several Congress leaders praised Gandhi’s stance during the 1971 war in the backdrop of the current tensions between India and Pakistan and the “understanding” between the two countries to put an end to four days of .

Sarma alleged that “India's military triumph in 1971 was not matched by strategic foresight”, claiming that the possibility of creating “a new regional order was reduced to a one-sided act of generosity”.

His post on X pointed to long-standing issues in India-Bangladesh relations over the past five decades. Sarma noted that while India had backed a secular Bangladesh during its liberation, Islam was declared the country’s state religion in 1988.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader also criticised the absence of a land corridor through northern Bangladesh to connect India’s northeast with...