Khaleda's India visit

True, we have outstanding issues between us. India is practically our only neighbour with Myanmar on the eastern fringes of our territory. We have nearly four thousand kilometres of common borders with India which are porous. Her economy is many times bigger than Bangladesh's. It is therefore not unnatural to have problems, big and small, with such a country. Yet, what is of primary and far reaching importance is to approach the upsides and downsides (by way of taking the rough with the smooth) of the relationship within a continually strengthened framework of mutual respect, understanding and trust. If such basic premise is guaranteed in their dealings with each other, the most intractable of problems will eventually get resolved sooner than later.

From our side we have had reasons for dissatisfaction and disappointment over the big neighbour's lack of understanding and friendliness towards some of our pressing and legitimate grievances. Indeed, there were times when we did not find India sensitive to and farsighted enough in its handling of issues and concerns of Bangladesh.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

On the other hand, India may have found us also wanting in sensitivity to some of her concerns, especially in the security domain and also to her aspirations for a permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

If relations between Pakistan and India and China and India could be reworked to mark a visible improvement in spite of the pairs of countries having serious contentious bilateral issues why can't India and Bangladesh having contentions of lesser intensity find it difficult to forge warmer and more mutually agreeable ties. One more compelling argument in favour of breaking out of the cocoon of prejudices will be to take into account the overarching reality of the US perceived to be having some well-known global agenda drawing suspicious stares from China and India, perhaps for different reasons, and yet, both China and India are cultivating the USA and vice versa. Even India and China are having improved relations by rising above the ire over an intractable border issue. What is of overriding consideration in bilateral relationship today is the primacy of the striving for economic development through greater market inter-penetration subsuming geo-political concerns and traditions of inimical relationships. Actually, that is the model Delhi and Dhaka should follow.