Starting over
IT is a pity that mutual mistrust and deep-seated animosity have characterised Indo-Bangladesh relations, much like Indo-Pakistan relations have come to be defined since partition in 1947. Ours should have been the friendliest, typical of two neighbours sharing so much in common.
How can we ever forget that it was our mutual love for democracy, freedom, equality and humanity that forged our relations under the extremely trying circumstances in 1971. Where is that India which sheltered our ten million refugees, and gave us all the support we needed to organise and arm ourselves to be able to fight the Pakistan occupation army and win our independence?
Where is that India whose soldiers fought and laid down their lives alongside our brave freedom fighters? It is not the same India we knew in 1971.
It is also not the same Bangladesh, which was so grateful to India for its role in 1971 that it could hardly fancy India being anything but friendly. The ground reality is that things have changed on both sides.
We no longer look towards India with the same amount of trust and dependability as we did in 1971. This, of course, has much to do with the rulers who appeared on the political scene after the tragic changeover in August 1975. First Khandaker Mushtaq and then Gen Zia ur Rahman, in a dramatic change of political ideology, began crafting a policy of moving closer towards Pakistan, meaning that we shied away from India. Unfortunately, this has remained the state policy, except during AL rule.
The decades-long propaganda, anti-liberation political elements gaining political ascendancy, and AL having been kept on the sidelines during two decades of dictatorial rule have adversely impacted the psyche of this nation. A great majority of our people have learnt to dread India as a powerful neighbour intent on treating us as nothing more than a client state.
These people decry any move to improve our relations with India. When the AL government wants simply to renew a trade agreement with India, these people quickly describe the government action as a sell-out. When India asks for transit to move its goods to and from its north-eastern states, these people cry hoarse against transit being given on the baseless plea that this would jeopardise our security and sovereignty. Anything to do with India is suspect to theses people.
India, too, has played into their hands by not doing enough to allay our fears and inspire our confidence. As a great regional power and a great democracy India our closest neighbour could and should have won us over to her side as a partner in socio-economic development. Sadly enough, it has done exactly the opposite of what it should have done.
The contentious issues between our two countries are such that they can be solved amicably in no time if only there is political goodwill on the part of India. There is no Kashmir between us, which is intractable. The problems which have soured our relations, are: Farakka, corridor to our enclaves, demarcation of unsettled land boundary, demarcation of maritime boundary, and the Talpatty issue.
These can be solved on the basis of equity and justice as per international law. If India can sign maritime boundary agreement with Myanmar, as reported in the media, there is no reason why such an agreement cannot be reached between India and Bangladesh.The present government should not waste time in initiating a dialogue with India at the highest political level to normalise our relations to our mutual benefit. With India as our friend we have a lot to gain. That we could not make much headway since we began our journey as a nation some 38 ago is partly because either we have looked away from India or India has shut the door on us.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina should take the bold step of not only normalising our relations with India but also improving them to a level worthy of two neighbours committed to the ideals of freedom, liberty, fraternity and humanity.
There is no harm whatsoever in giving India transit facilities through Bangladesh, and also the use of our port facilities. But India must also and allow our export and import to and from Bhutan and Nepal by giving us similar transit facilities.
As a good neighbour, India should not only open up its markets for our goods to enter there but also encourage its business entrepreneurs and industrialists to come forward and invest in Bangladesh. It is only through mutually beneficial trade and commerce, and through close interactions of peoples between the two countries, that India and Bangladesh can once again become close friends and good neighbours. Historically and geographically entwined as we are, it is also our destiny to be so.
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