Most Indian voters trust Bangladesh
Bangladesh ranks the highest among the countries Indian voters trust while Pakistan ranks the lowest, according an opinion poll jointly conducted by CNN-IBN TV channel and The Hindu newspaper.
Asked which countries should India either trust a 'great deal' or 'somewhat', 48 percent chose Bangladesh while 46 percent picked Russia, said the poll that was published yesterday.
Explaining the high trust in Dhaka, India's former high commissioner to Bangladesh Deb Mukharji told The Hindu: “I think this is largely to do with developments in the past five years where Bangladesh has addressed our security concerns very comprehensively whereas in previous regimes, trouble makers were given support.”
He said public attitudes often do not take history into account but rather go by 'immediate impression and recent past'.
“I am speculating that this could also be a result of a sense of guilt because India has not delivered what India should have delivered on and reciprocated, be it on Teesta waters or the land boundary agreement,” he added.
There is also a growing recognition that Bangladesh has performed well on social indicators.
In their recent book “An Uncertain Glory” economists Amartya Sen, winner of Nobel prize, and Jean Dreze have noted that India has a lot to learn from Bangladesh in human development index.
The poll said 54 percent of the respondents feel India should have "no trust at all" in Pakistan while only 14 percent say there should be a "great deal" of trust or some trust.
Thirty-three percent of respondents of the poll said India should have trust in China while 31 percent believes there should be "no trust at all "in Beijing.
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