India’s ties with Bangladesh must go beyond Hasina era: experts

The Indian Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs was told by experts today that Pakistan and China are making headway in Bangladesh and that India should keep a close tab on the developments in the country and not be caught on the wrong foot, Indian media reports said citing sources.

One expert said India needs to grasp the reality of the new power structure in Bangladesh and move ahead. He said India needs to think and move beyond former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina and engage with the current ruling dispensation in Bangladesh.

The experts told the panel that India should create stakes in Bangladesh and engage with that country through people-to-people contact, The Indian Express has learnt.

The agenda of the meeting was to hear experts on the "Future of India-Bangladesh Relationship".

Four experts in the field of external affairs, including former foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon, Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain, and former high commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das, briefed the parliamentary standing committee on Friday.

Former national security adviser and well-known academician of Jawaharlal Nehru University Amitabh Mattoo also appeared as an expert.

The experts "gave us very good insights and excellent ideas," Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs Chairman Shashi Tharoor said.

Members of the standing committee asked the experts about the probable reasons for the trust deficit between India and Bangladesh and what could be done to mend the relationship.

In reply to a question about infiltration from Bangladesh, he said one figure that has come up before the committee suggests that its number has gone down.

One of the experts is learnt to have told the panel that China is "making a lot of headway" in Bangladesh through infrastructure development like building ports and air bases.

An opposition lawmaker in the committee asked the experts how West Bengal could play a role in improving India's relations with Bangladesh. Sharing of common rivers water was also discussed during the meeting, including the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty which is up for renewal in 2026.Another MP asked if the SAARC can be revived to counter Chinese bid to grow its influence in the region and also floated the idea of exchange of journalists to boost people to people engagement with Bangladesh.