Indo-Bangla relations: A new perspective

THE assumption of power by the present caretaker government ushered in a fresh dimension in the foreign policy of the country. One of the main features of the policy priorities was improving relationships with neighbouring countries, particularly India.
India-Bangladesh relations suffered a lot in the last few years, due to mistrust and lack of political will. There was no improvement in the critical areas of cross-border violence, water sharing, trade deficit and cooperation in countering terrorism.
The previous government adopted a "Look East" policy, apparently to negate India's economic and political influence over Bangladesh. However, the policy failed to achieve any meaningful result in terms of boosting trade or forging strategic cooperation with eastern countries.
The only important outcome was an elevated level of cooperation with China in the area of trade and commerce, defence, and culture. There were a number of high-level visits between China and Bangladesh, whereas significant Indo-Bangla exchanges were rare.
These friendly overtures from Bangladesh towards China only contributed to alienating India further. This single-minded and myopic approach had dangerous consequences for India-locked Bangladesh.
Instead of making progress in dealing with the urgent and thorny issues between Bangladesh and India, this policy held back the development of the relations for a significant period, particularly with regard to finding solutions to issues that are important from the Bangladesh perspective.
Relations with India is a sensitive, as well as highly political, issue. Being non-partisan, the present caretaker government has certain advantages in this regard. The first step of this government was to reinitiate regular dialogue with the Indian government at various levels in important areas.
India also took the opportunity of befriending the new Bangladeshi government. The first meeting of the head of the caretaker government, Fakhruddin Ahmed, with Indian premier Manmohan Singh took place on the sidelines of the 14th Saarc Summit in Delhi in April 2007.
This was followed by several reciprocal visits by Indian and Bangladeshi foreign ministers and secretaries, which boosted mutual understanding, giving a firm footing for improved relations.
There has also been a revitalisation of military cooperation, with visits of top military officials from the two countries. Bangladeshi army chief General Moeen U. Ahmed's visit to India in February was followed by the visit of Indian army chief General Deepak Kapoor in July.
The last visit by an Indian army chief to Bangladesh was way back in 2000. Indian war veterans, who fought during Bangladesh's Liberation War in 1971, were invited to participate in the Bangladesh Independence Day celebrations in March this year. The renewed exchanges and gestures of goodwill will go a long way in forming strategic cooperation between the two armed forces.
The most tangible result of the recent cooperation was the re-establishment of the passenger train service between Kolkata and Dhaka after 43 years. Measures have been undertaken to reduce the $2 billion trade gap, which is heavily tilted towards India. India allowed duty-free import of 8 million pieces of RMGs from Bangladesh last year.
More Bangladeshi products are expected to enter the Indian market at reduced tariff rates. India also agreed to consider relaxing standardisation requirements for Bangladeshi products.
In the aftermath of devastating Cyclone Sidr that hit Bangladesh in November 2007, the Indian government showed sincere empathy, providing emergency relief as well as rehabilitation support.
The Indian government also announced that it would export 500,000 tons of rice at a reduced price to Bangladesh, in spite of a ban on rice export. However, until now, only a small part has been delivered. India also pledged to rebuild 10 affected coastal villages.
Despite the progress made in these areas, border management and water sharing, both critical from the Bangladesh perspective, remain problematic. Innocent civilians continue to be killed by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF), creating tension in the border areas.
Several incidents of BDR-BSF clashes took place in the last two years, the latest being in July, when two BDR personnel were shot dead by BSF. Smuggling, push-in, human trafficking, and illegal movements add on to the already long list of issues that border forces have to deal with.
India is also building a fence along the Indo-Bangla border, spanning over 2,500 miles. In the area of combating terrorism, the level of cooperation is far from satisfactory. Investigation in several bombings in Indian soil has led to links in Bangladesh. However, no concrete evidence in this regard has been found so far.
India recently handed over a few listed Bangladeshi criminals to our authorities. However, there is still no headway in signing the crucial extradition treaty. Bangladesh has consistently denied that Indian insurgents operate from within its territory and has vowed to cooperate in this matter, particularly in sharing information.
In August, Indian giant Tata declared withdrawal of its $3 billion investment proposal due to Bangladesh government's delay in taking a final decision and reluctance to ensure uninterrupted gas supply for a 20-year period. This does not bode well for attracting such investments from India in the future.
Connectivity is an important regional issue, and the Saarc leaders in the 14th Summit pledged to improve the air, rail and road transportation with easier visa regime. India has been pushing for a corridor to connect with its north-eastern states through Bangladesh for many years.
However, the transit issue cannot be easily dealt with in Bangladesh because of strong resistance from various quarters. There are many arguments for and against this, and the political, infrastructural and economic implications must be carefully assessed before any decisions are made. It is highly unlikely that the present caretaker government will take a position in this regard.
The issues must also be dealt in a package with the issue of granting Bangladesh transit to Nepal. India has also urged Bangladesh to allow use of the Chittagong port, particularly for its north-eastern states. However, this also cannot be decided upon without a thorough assessment.
India is rapidly emerging as an economic powerhouse, and in the next 50 years will have one of the world's biggest economies. Bangladesh remains at the threshold of this economic boom, with the opportunity to cash in on the Indian as well as Chinese economic boom.
This can only be achieved with far-sighted strategic outlook and sound policies. It is time to look beyond the narrow political views in coming up with pragmatic polices befitting the new world order.
For Bangladesh, good relations with India are crucial in terms of strategic, economic, and geopolitical perspectives. It is an undeniable fact that the sooner we realise and work towards this the better it will be for the country's future.
On the other hand, India must avoid its hegemonistic approach to Bangladesh, and accord due significance to its neighbour in the interest of regional stability, balanced growth and the shared vision of a resurgent new south Asia.

Ahmed Khaled Rashid is Research and Communication Officer in the Embassy of Switzerland in Dhaka. The opinions expressed in this article do not represent the views of the Embassy. The author can be reached at: [email protected].