Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi arrives in Dhaka

India’s newly appointed High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi arrived in Dhaka on Friday morning (June 12), marking the formal start of his diplomatic assignment in the country.

He entered Bangladesh through the Benapole–Petrapole border point by road, according to sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Trivedi succeeds career diplomat Pranay Verma, who served as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh since September 2022 before being appointed Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union.

Unlike the usual practice of appointing Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers to key diplomatic postings, Trivedi, a veteran politician, has been designated as India’s envoy to Dhaka.

The 75-year-old former union minister is known for his extensive political career in India. A member of a Gujarati business family, Trivedi is also noted for his fluency in Bengali and familiarity with Bengali culture, which officials say contributed to his selection for the post.

His appointment reflects a departure from standard diplomatic norms, as India typically assigns senior career diplomats to such positions.

Trivedi’s political journey spans several decades. He began his career with the Indian National Congress before joining the Janata Dal in the 1980s. He became a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1990 and later aligned with the Trinamool Congress, under whose banner he served again in the upper house of parliament.

He also held ministerial responsibilities in the Union government, including as Railway Minister and Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) era.

In 2019, he contested the general election from Barrackpore on a Trinamool Congress ticket but lost to BJP candidate Arjun Singh. He was later nominated to the Rajya Sabha before resigning from the Trinamool Congress in February 2021 and joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in March the same year.