Bigness doesn't necessarily accord greatness

I had said in a recent article on the eve of the Indian PM's trip that the visit was eagerly awaited in Bangladesh… by the optimists for what it might achieve and by the pessimists for what it fails to deliver for Bangladesh. No doubt the pessimists are having the last laugh with a big "did-we-not-tell-you-so" grin from ear to ear.
There was a great deal of anticipation about the visit and if it was taken to a level of hype by the media in Bangladesh it was because of what we had expected from it. And there was a concurrence of view on both sides of the border that the ball was in India's court to move the bilateral relationship to a higher notch. Sadly, that didn't come to pass.
Even the inveterate optimist in Bangladesh would not hesitate to say that the visit has failed to deliver, if not a total failure, and much as Sheikhs Hasina's advisors may go to any length to couch their disappointment in diplomatic jargons, the letdown, for them, will not be easy to hide. And to put a brave face and come out with garbled explanations only adds to our utter sense of frustration.
India's failure to deliver on its commitment only reinforces the perception in the minds of many in Bangladesh about its attitude of taking its smaller neighbours for granted and more damagingly, that India cannot be trusted to deliver on its commitment. It has not only given an opportunity to its critics in Bangladesh, the outcome of the trip may have also added to their ranks.
Are we to believe that our bilateral relations have been held hostage to the purely Indian center-state politics and that the Teesta water has been used to cook the political pie for the chief minister of Paschim Banga (PB). It beggars belief that Delhi did not keep her posted on the developments regarding Teesta; it is our understanding that the PM's advisors had met her on more than one occasion to brief her on the issue. We wonder whether Mamata Banarjee is the only factor or are there other equations that we neither know of as yet nor have bothered to explore.
One wonders whether Ms. Banarjee is aware of the potential consequences of her position; that it could well have scuttled the visit, and might yet have a negative bearing on the nature of the future relationship between PB and Bangladesh.
No wonder that the transit sank in the Teesta waters. There could have been no other position for the government of Bangladesh to take on this particular issue. However, it is our hope that it is not permanent and that the matter would be retrieved and resolved to our mutual advantage.
While legal tangles regarding handing over of Teen Bigha had been a very handy and convenient tool for India to defer action on it as well as to placate those opposed to the idea, it seems that we are in for a period of uncertainty with the Teesta, and Mamata may well be a good excuse for deferring action on sharing of Teesta waters.
The visit stumbled from the very beginning. First Ms. Banerjee sprung a surprise followed by the official announcement in New Delhi that the Teesta deal was a non-starter. And regrettably, our diplomats had no wind of the things to come.
Of the three Ts that Bangladesh was interested in, Teesta issue was perhaps the most important alongside Trade and Transit. What has Bangladesh got from the visit? That is only but natural for any Bangladeshi to ask. This visit had the potential to open a new vista of relationship, given the foundation that the leap of faith that Sheikh Hasina ventured in January 2010 helped lay.
Basically, the protocol on land issue is in effect putting the provisions of the 1974 Mujib -Indira Agreement into operation. If these can be called developments, something that should have happened long ago, so be it. Perhaps we should also feel grateful that we have been assured of 24 hour use of the Teen Bigha, at last!
Sheikh Hasina and her government and indeed the people of Bangladesh have every right and every reason to feel disappointed. The newspaper headlines in Bangladesh say all about the feelings here. We were led up the garden path only to be discarded. And that too when Bangladesh had gone more than the proverbial extra mile to address the immediate concerns of India since the signing of the January 2010 MOU between the two countries, a fact that the Indian PM has himself acknowledged. Those who talk about rising above narrow national interest for better bilateral and regional cooperation need only to look at the short shrift given by Mamata to Bangladesh.
There is a thin line between being a big country and being a great one. And that line is often inflated into a chasm by the petty minded and the upholders of so-called enlightened self interest. India missed a chance of achieving greatness.

The writer is Editor, Defence & Strategic Affairs, The Daily Star.