In an unexpected but symbolic gesture, Bangladesh’s interim government chief, chief advisor Muhammad Yunus, has launched a diplomatic charm offensive armed not with policy papers but with mangoes.
A consignment of 1,000 kilograms of premium Bangladeshi mangoes was airlifted from Dhaka on a Delhi-bound flight and is scheduled to arrive in the Indian capital today. These mangoes have been personally sent by Yunus as a goodwill gift to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in what is being dubbed the “mango strategy”, a deliberate attempt to inject sweetness into the current bitterness that marks India-Bangladesh diplomatic relations.
“The mango diplomacy doesn’t end in Delhi. Another batch, this time several hundred kilograms, is expected to arrive in Kolkata by Tuesday afternoon, to be presented to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission. The gesture is being replicated across the eastern corridor, with Chief Ministers of Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya also receiving mangoes from Yunus, reinforcing Dhaka’s desire to reconnect with regional stakeholders,” said an official of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Among the varieties being gifted is a particularly prized and rare type known as the “Hari Bhanga (pot-cracked) mango” from Rangpur district. Small in size and extraordinarily sweet, the mango has a folklore of its own. It was first cultivated by Nafal Uddin Paikar, a farmer from Tekani village in Mithapukur Upazila. After one of his two mango saplings was stolen, he hung an earthen pot above the remaining tree and watered it meticulously. One day, the pot broke and by coincidence or miracle, that year the tree bore an exceptional yield, thus earning the mango its curious name.
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Mangoes and Hilsa fish have long played a ceremonial role in Bangladesh’s diplomatic toolkit. Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was known to dispatch these gifts regularly to Indian leaders, a practice that simultaneously drew praise and ridicule, particularly from social media critics who accused her of excessive deference toward India.
Now, as bilateral ties appear to have reached their lowest ebb in recent years amid trade tensions and New Delhi’s imposition of fresh import restrictions on Bangladeshi goods through land borders, Yunus’s revival of fruit-based diplomacy has sparked a new wave of online commentary. Diplomats in Bangladesh are questioning the intent and timing, accusing the interim government of attempting to curry favour with India while the nation grapples with economic hardship and inflation.
The motivation behind this move, however, may extend beyond symbolism. Diplomats in Bangladesh suggest that recent shifts in global trade dynamics, especially US tariffs, have pressured Dhaka to mend fences in its immediate neighbourhood. US President Donald Trump had slapped a 35 per cent duty on Bangladeshi exports, shrinking the country's access to American markets. With Washington's trade walls up, Dhaka now seems to be pivoting toward regional recalibration.
As mango crates roll in, one thing is clear: Bangladesh is once again reaching for fruit to heal fractures. Whether Delhi bites into the gesture or sees through it remains to be seen.
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