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Rahul Gandhi in Bangladesh
INDO-Bangladesh relations are so pervasive and multi-dimensional that they exist independent of governments and policies. The arrival of Rahul Gandhi in Bangladesh on August 1, for a five-day visit to get first-hand knowledge of the activities of Brac in various sectors, and micro-finance projects of Grameen Bank, is a testiomony to this fact.
Brac's activities include micro-finance, women's empowerment, community health, education, legal and human rights protection, and rural programs. The 38-year-old leader will also visit some projects of Grameen Bank, whose founder, and Nobel laureate, Mohammed Yunus had met him in Delhi last year.
By visiting Brac projects, Rahul will join a long list of high-profile personalities including former US president Bill Clinton, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Rahul will be able to witness the projects of these two pioneer organisations and will form an idea how they involved grassroots poor people to address three issues of development, namely, opportunity, empowerment and personal security. Empowerment creates innovation, creativity and improvisation.
Brief profile
Rahul, a popular male name in India, has a variety of meanings. The earliest meaning found in the Upanishads is "conqueror of all miseries." Later, use of the word is attributed to the Buddha, who named his son Rahul as he felt that family ties could be an obstacle in the path to renunciation and nirvana. Rahul means "moon" in Sanskrit. Although, to informed people, he does not need any introduction, Rahul Gandhi is a 38 year old (born June 19, 1970) Indian politician and member of the parliament of India, representing the Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, constituency. Many people look up to him as a future prime minister, if the Congress Party holds power at the centre. He is the son of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. He was only 14 when his grandmother, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated in 1984. Rahul completed a four-year BA course in economics at Harvard University, but transferred due to security reasons to Rollins College in Florida where he completed a BA in 1994. He received an M. Phil in Development Economics after attending Trinity College, Cambridge. In 2004, he contested the Lok Sabha elections, standing in his father's constituency of Amethi. His uncle Sanjay had also held the seat. The seat had been held by his mother until she transferred to the neighbouring seat of Rae Bareilly. In his first interview with foreign media, he portrayed himself as a uniter of the country and condemned "divisive" politics in India, saying that he would try to reduce caste and religious tensions. His candidacy was greeted with excitement by locals, who have a long-standing affinity with the family's presence in the area. Years later, some of his remarks became controversial -- for example, Rahul Gandhi counted the 1971 break-up of Pakistan among his family's "achievements." This statement invited criticism from several political parties in India as well as from notable people in Pakistan, including the Pakistan Foreign Office. He said if anyone from the Gandhi-Nehru family had been active in politics then, the Babri Masjid would not have fallen in 1992. Possible implications of his visit for Bangladesh
Observers note that since April last year, the relationship between India and Bangladesh has been productive. Among the achievements were the start of the Maitri Express between Kolkata and Dhaka in April 2007 and the visit of the chief of army staff of Bangladesh, Lt. Gen. Moeen U. Ahmed. Furthermore, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had visited Bangladesh twice in the last year. General Dipak Kapoor, the chief of the Indian army, just completed his visit to Bangladesh from July 28 to 31. Rahul, as a politician, is mindful that the 21st century will be quite unlike the 20th century. New forces are emerging to shape the political and economic contours of global powers. The geo-political scene around South Asia is changing. Economic globalisation has made it imperative for Bangladesh and India to form a mature partnership on economic, social and political issues. India needs Bangladesh as much as Bangladesh needs India in the current regional and global environment. Rahul must be aware of the pending bilateral issues that have stood in the way in forging an ideal relationship between Bangladesh and India. It is normal that neighbouring countries will have issues between them, but what is imperative is resolving them peacefully and within a time-bound framework. There is a perception in Bangladesh that India is more conscious of its position as a regional power than of her responsibilities to her neighbours, including Bangladesh. What is missing in Indo-Bangladesh relations appears to be mutual trust and confidence on each other. Let me cite a few examples:
Observers believe that border fencing by India across 4,025 kilometres of Bangladesh border is very unhelpful to bilateral relations. It shows arrogance of India's power and its insensitiveness to the sentiments of the people of Bangladesh. Although India claims that some of the undesirable activities along the border have temporarily been halted, the human cost is incalculable. It is reported that since January until July 23 of this year, BSF killed 78 Bangladeshis including two BDR Jawans. Furthermore, the damage caused is immeasurable, and in the long run no fenced border can achieve the purpose for which it has been erected. Second, deficit of trade (about $2 billion in formal trade) is another problem between the two countries. India is not seen as amenable to Bangladesh's request. India's insistence on a large percentage of value addition to Bangladeshi products makes some of the attractive offers for export to India meaningless. For India, the economic cost is negligible if rules of origin are reduced because of its larger diversified economy. India's GDP is the second largest among 147 developing countries. It is the seventh largest exporter of food grains in the world. If the economy of Bangladesh improves, it is better for India primarily for two reasons. The Bangladesh middle class will provide a good market for India and secondly, both countries can gradually integrate their economies into each other's in these days of economic globalisation. Observers acknowledge that Bangladesh has been unusually guarded against giving facilities or concessions to India because it is highly sensitive to the possibility of yielding more to India than it perceives necessary under the existing political environment. The Bangladesh government knows that it should carry people with it in giving facilities to India provided India resolves some bilateral issues directly affecting Bangladeshis, such as water sharing and fixing riverine boundaries. Observers believe that confidence-building measures must receive top priority in putting bilateral relations on the right track, and it must first come from India, the biggest neighbour with large endowed resources. The bilateral irritants need to be resolved through meaningful dialogue. Both countries need to make the same political, bureaucratic, intellectual, educational, cultural and media effort to highlight each other's positive features. Often some media in both countries highlight negative images. Let there be fresh thinking, fresh vision and fresh agenda, similar to the freshness of Rahul in politics, to forge new relations between the two countries.
Rahul, a popular male name in India, has a variety of meanings. The earliest meaning found in the Upanishads is "conqueror of all miseries." Later, use of the word is attributed to the Buddha, who named his son Rahul as he felt that family ties could be an obstacle in the path to renunciation and nirvana. Rahul means "moon" in Sanskrit. Although, to informed people, he does not need any introduction, Rahul Gandhi is a 38 year old (born June 19, 1970) Indian politician and member of the parliament of India, representing the Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, constituency. Many people look up to him as a future prime minister, if the Congress Party holds power at the centre. He is the son of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. He was only 14 when his grandmother, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated in 1984. Rahul completed a four-year BA course in economics at Harvard University, but transferred due to security reasons to Rollins College in Florida where he completed a BA in 1994. He received an M. Phil in Development Economics after attending Trinity College, Cambridge. In 2004, he contested the Lok Sabha elections, standing in his father's constituency of Amethi. His uncle Sanjay had also held the seat. The seat had been held by his mother until she transferred to the neighbouring seat of Rae Bareilly. In his first interview with foreign media, he portrayed himself as a uniter of the country and condemned "divisive" politics in India, saying that he would try to reduce caste and religious tensions. His candidacy was greeted with excitement by locals, who have a long-standing affinity with the family's presence in the area. Years later, some of his remarks became controversial -- for example, Rahul Gandhi counted the 1971 break-up of Pakistan among his family's "achievements." This statement invited criticism from several political parties in India as well as from notable people in Pakistan, including the Pakistan Foreign Office. He said if anyone from the Gandhi-Nehru family had been active in politics then, the Babri Masjid would not have fallen in 1992. Possible implications of his visit for Bangladesh
Observers note that since April last year, the relationship between India and Bangladesh has been productive. Among the achievements were the start of the Maitri Express between Kolkata and Dhaka in April 2007 and the visit of the chief of army staff of Bangladesh, Lt. Gen. Moeen U. Ahmed. Furthermore, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had visited Bangladesh twice in the last year. General Dipak Kapoor, the chief of the Indian army, just completed his visit to Bangladesh from July 28 to 31. Rahul, as a politician, is mindful that the 21st century will be quite unlike the 20th century. New forces are emerging to shape the political and economic contours of global powers. The geo-political scene around South Asia is changing. Economic globalisation has made it imperative for Bangladesh and India to form a mature partnership on economic, social and political issues. India needs Bangladesh as much as Bangladesh needs India in the current regional and global environment. Rahul must be aware of the pending bilateral issues that have stood in the way in forging an ideal relationship between Bangladesh and India. It is normal that neighbouring countries will have issues between them, but what is imperative is resolving them peacefully and within a time-bound framework. There is a perception in Bangladesh that India is more conscious of its position as a regional power than of her responsibilities to her neighbours, including Bangladesh. What is missing in Indo-Bangladesh relations appears to be mutual trust and confidence on each other. Let me cite a few examples:
Observers believe that border fencing by India across 4,025 kilometres of Bangladesh border is very unhelpful to bilateral relations. It shows arrogance of India's power and its insensitiveness to the sentiments of the people of Bangladesh. Although India claims that some of the undesirable activities along the border have temporarily been halted, the human cost is incalculable. It is reported that since January until July 23 of this year, BSF killed 78 Bangladeshis including two BDR Jawans. Furthermore, the damage caused is immeasurable, and in the long run no fenced border can achieve the purpose for which it has been erected. Second, deficit of trade (about $2 billion in formal trade) is another problem between the two countries. India is not seen as amenable to Bangladesh's request. India's insistence on a large percentage of value addition to Bangladeshi products makes some of the attractive offers for export to India meaningless. For India, the economic cost is negligible if rules of origin are reduced because of its larger diversified economy. India's GDP is the second largest among 147 developing countries. It is the seventh largest exporter of food grains in the world. If the economy of Bangladesh improves, it is better for India primarily for two reasons. The Bangladesh middle class will provide a good market for India and secondly, both countries can gradually integrate their economies into each other's in these days of economic globalisation. Observers acknowledge that Bangladesh has been unusually guarded against giving facilities or concessions to India because it is highly sensitive to the possibility of yielding more to India than it perceives necessary under the existing political environment. The Bangladesh government knows that it should carry people with it in giving facilities to India provided India resolves some bilateral issues directly affecting Bangladeshis, such as water sharing and fixing riverine boundaries. Observers believe that confidence-building measures must receive top priority in putting bilateral relations on the right track, and it must first come from India, the biggest neighbour with large endowed resources. The bilateral irritants need to be resolved through meaningful dialogue. Both countries need to make the same political, bureaucratic, intellectual, educational, cultural and media effort to highlight each other's positive features. Often some media in both countries highlight negative images. Let there be fresh thinking, fresh vision and fresh agenda, similar to the freshness of Rahul in politics, to forge new relations between the two countries.
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