Soros-Yunus Dhaka Meet: An Ominous Sign for India?

All the attempts to legitimise the “people’s revolution” in Bangladesh fell flat with official hobnobbing between Alex Soros, the successor of George Soros and Muhammad Yunus, adviser to the interim government. The liberal ecosystem defended tooth and nail the infamous coup that toppled the democratically elected Sheikh Hasina regime deeming her an authoritarian. Indeed, the prospect of India facing a similar fate wasn’t ruled out either. Moreover, the Indian political dispensation was warned of similar consequences after the successful ouster of Hasina and her exit from Dhaka.

The insidious activities of the Open Society Foundation (OSF) of Soros became more pronounced after the French agency Mediapart blew the link between the OSF and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) which has been at the forefront in the indictment of Gautam Adani. The whole episode even blew the lid off the closely guarded link between the Indian political dynasty and Soros. It is thus, no brainer to decipher the mastermind behind the blizzard of misinformation propaganda that dominated the Indian political discourse ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

George Soros openly pledged $1 billion to establish a global university to ‘fight nationalists’ at the 2020 Davos World Economic Forum (WEF). Unequivocal about his target, in his address, Soros stated, “Nationalism, far from being reversed, made further headway. The biggest and most frightening setback occurred in India where a democratically elected Narendra Modi is creating a Hindu nationalist state, imposing punitive measures on Kashmir, a semi-autonomous Muslim region, and threatening to deprive millions of Muslims of their citizenship”. Modi government has been on OSF’s radar and the intense civil society activity and its nexus with the Indian ecosystem is not a figment of imagination given the seasoned expertise of OSF in toppling regimes across the world.

Infamous as an “agent of chaos” for his alleged attempts to oust Russian President Putin, stoke unrest in the European Union through mass immigration, and support the Arab Spring protests, George Soros fashioned the Asian financial crisis as early as 1997. To insulate Hungary from the Open Society Foundation started in 1984, Viktor Orban passed the ‘Stop Soros’ law.

As Bangladesh’s interim leader, Yunus held his first official meeting with Alex Soros in October. Yunus's close links with George Soros date back to 1999 when he secured a $11 million loan from the Soros Economic Development Fund managed by the Open Society Foundation through which he acquired 35% stakes in Bangladesh’s largest telecom operator Grameen Ltd. The profits obtained from the loan were used to expand the social and welfare projects of Yunus’s Grameen Bank.

In recognition of the social inclusion programs of Grameen Bank, Yunus was conferred the Nobel Prize in 2006. Alex Soros became the chairman of the $25 billion Open Society Foundation in 2023, the organisation which has strongly supported independent Kashmir.

The current meeting between Yunus and Jr Soros at Dhaka in the wake of Trump’s executive order halting US financial assistance to Bangladesh has raised several eyebrows both in the US and India. Soros is avowedly anti-Modi. Jr Soros engaged to Huma Abedin former top aide of Hillary Clinton is deeply antagonistic to Trump and is making fervent attempts to jeopardise his regime. Yunus is equally miffed with Trump for his outright condemnation of barbaric attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh under his watch.

Making the details public, Yunus’s office posted that the meeting was held, “to discuss Bangladesh's efforts to rebuild the economy, trace siphoned-off assets, combat misinformation, and carry out vital economic reforms” on the social media. Post-meeting, Alex Soros echoed, “(this is) a crucial time of transition for Bangladesh and we explored ways to deepen collaboration on critical reforms and investment”.

With this high-profile meeting, Yunus challenged Trump’s authority and showcased his heft and deep connections with the US establishment. This has reaffirmed the popular belief in the sub-continent of a strong foreign hand in the collapse of Hasina’s regime.

Yunus one of the top donors of Hillary Clinton’s Clinton Foundation has extremely cordial relations with the Biden administration and Kamla Harris. The iconic chummy photograph of Yunus with President Biden on his visit to New York after the democratic coup in Bangladesh is a testimony to his inside connections with Democrats. His daughter Monica Yunus was part of President Biden’s Committee on Arts and the Humanities (PCAH).

Though Yunus extended his congratulatory message to Trump, his contemptuous remarks in 2016, raised doubts about his ability to deal with him. He said, “Trump's win has hit us so hard that this morning I could hardly speak. I lost all strength. Should I even come here? Of course, I should, we must not allow this lapse into depression, we will overcome these dark clouds."

Meted with great honour at Dhaka as a state guest, the strong connections between Yunus and Alex Soros confirmed India’s worst fears of Yunus as his trusted lieutenant. Keen on dismantling the left-liberal ecosystem, while Trump’s return to the White House is a welcome relief to India, the brazen chumming between Yunus and Alex Soros warrants caution.

Hasina openly disclosed threats to her regime from the US. But stopped short of naming the real actors. The coup in Bangladesh that was legitimised by the liberal ecosystem as a “student revolution” was orchestrated by students of the BRAC University in Dhaka funded by OSF¹.

At the felicitation organised by the Clinton Foundation for the “meticulously planned campaign to oust Hasina” Yunus introduced the three student leaders of the revolution². One of the leaders, in fact, was identified as Mahfuz Alam, leader of the terror outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir. Alam is currently the press advisor of Yunus. The so-called ‘revolution’ was orchestrated by the US establishment and the Islamo-left liberal ecosystem. Alex Soros’s focus on Bangladesh should alert India as OSF would always want to pursue its unfinished task in India.

Yunus always harboured strong political ambitions. In 2007 when an army-backed interim government came to power, Hillary Clinton made frantic efforts to install Yunus as the head. But it failed. Yunus who never favoured Hasina and Awami League completely fell out with her after she instituted a probe into his financial crimes. The meeting is thus a vindication of popular perception in the sub-continent of an orchestrated regime change in Bangladesh.

While Trump is taking the Ultra left-liberal ecosystem to task in the US, the Soros ecosystem with its extensive network of elements within India is awaiting an opportunity to execute its plot. Determinedly anti-India, since August, Yunus has firmed up his collaboration with radical Islamist elements in Bangladesh. The sharp departure in the Bangladesh foreign policy contours with Yunus at the helm was reflected in his destabilising actions such as the release of thousands of terror operatives including those who stoked secessionist movements in India’s North East. Taking a rabid anti-India and anti-minority stance, Yunus resurrected ties with Pakistan. Yunus met Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Cairo, restored maritime linkages with Islamabad, removed visa restrictions for Pakistanis, imported ammunition from Pakistan and commenced joint naval exercises with Pakistani forces.

Eroding mutual trust, Bangladesh deployed Turkish drones along the long Indo-Bangla border and welcomed a delegation of Pakistan’s Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) to institute an intelligence collaboration network. Above all, despite India’s concerns about the safety of Hindus and other Indic minorities, Yunus turned a blind eye to increasing religious attacks.

Bangladesh’s Home Affairs adviser has renewed calls for reviewing ‘unequal and skewed’ agreements made with India during Hasina’s regime.  At the time of writing, the tensions across Indo-Bangladesh have escalated due to increased illegal construction on the Bangladesh side of the border.

Suspension of US funds would make Yunus more reliant on the money flowing from OSF and Soros-backed groups. Expectedly, he would be more compliant to carry out Soros’s anti-India agenda. India can’t afford to disregard Yunus’s ‘muscular posturing’ and the inimical strategies of the Soros ecosystem.