(The author is a former High Commissioner to Pakistan.)
August 29, 2012:
The Assam problem should be viewed in the context of
India-Bangladesh ties, which have fortunately taken a turn for the better. It
would be instructive to go back in time in this regard.
After having agreed to demarcate the land boundary between India
and Bangladesh to fulfil commitments made by the then Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi in 1974, New Delhi is now being told by political parties in West Bengal
and Assam that as 35,000 people in Indian enclaves, who have no passports or
identity papers and have no great wish to leave their homes, will face problems,
any Constitutional amendments to implement the border agreement, will be
opposed.
It is important for national parties to agree to ensure that this
Constitutional amendment is passed, especially as there is a national consensus
on improving relations with Bangladesh. L.K. Advani had observed that the BJP’s
campaign against illegal immigration from Bangladesh in no way detracts from its
oft-stated desire “to see friendly and cooperative relations as befits two
countries whose shared past far outweighs certain differences created in recent
times”.
WINDS OF CHANGE
Ever since the Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina was swept to
power in December 2008, winning 230 out of 299 Parliamentary seats, the
Bangladesh leader has spared no effort to improve ties with India.
The 2008 electoral victory was all the more creditable as she had
faced persecution and trumped-up criminal charges by her political rivals.
Interestingly, the judiciary in Bangladesh showed far greater maturity than its
counterpart in Pakistan, in dealing with politically motivated charges.
Significantly, when Bangladesh was under emergency rule from January 11, 2007,
the army chose not to impose martial law and the de facto military ruler,
General Moeen U. Ahmed, presided over elections that were largely free and fair.
The minds of the present generation of Bangladeshi military officers have not
been poisoned by the venom and hate that are integral to the mindset of
Pakistani army officers. This is a factor that India will have to bear in mind.
The chasm between the ruling dispensations in Bangladesh — the
Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League and the Khaleda Zia-led Bangladesh Nationalist
Party (BNP) — is very wide. While the Awami league has an abiding commitment to
secularism, it was General Zia Ur Rehman, the founder of the BNP, who removed
the secular provisions of the country’s first constitution.
Moreover, Khaleda Zia has a known propensity for encouraging the
use of Bangladeshi territory for separatist and Islamist violence against India
and for giving the ISI a free hand to operate against India. Sheikh Hasina,
however, has been a regular target of extremist anti-Indian groups. There is
evidence confirming that the 2004 assassination attempt against her involved the
Al Qaeda and members of the BNP who were linked to the Bangladesh chapter of the
Lashkar e Taiba and the Harkat ul Jihad ul Islami (HUJI).
Sheikh Hasina has faced a virulent propaganda, because of
allegedly “selling out” to India. Pro-Pakistani elements in the country have not
been pleased by the manner in which she has firmly dealt with cadres of
separatist Indian insurgent groups such as ULFA and taken on Islamist terror
outfits such as the HUJI. India, in turn, has reciprocated, stressing cultural
affinities in language, music, art, poetry and literature.
ECONOMIC TIES
The India-Bangladesh relationship gained momentum with the visit
of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Dhaka last year.
Tariff barriers on imports from Bangladesh, including most
importantly on textiles, have been removed, border-management procedures
streamlined and a credit of $1 billion extended for development and
infrastructure projects in Bangladesh.
An important aim has been to create an environment wherein
Bangladesh becomes an active partner in promoting access to our North-Eastern
States. Like elsewhere in the world, Indian economic assistance projects in
Bangladesh are implemented more slowly than projects undertaken by China. This
needs to be addressed. India should ensure that as promised, 500 MW of
electricity is transmitted to Bangladesh by the summer of 2013.
DISPUTED AREAS
The two most sensitive issues in Bangladesh are those involving
sharing of river waters and demarcation and administration of the common land
borders.
In April 1977, Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram visited Dhaka for
finalising an interim accord for sharing of Farakka waters. Ram, who spoke
fluent Bengali, stopped en route in Kolkata to consult West Bengal Chief
Minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray, before he inked the accord in Dhaka.
This accord was later approved by the Union Cabinet, despite
objections from Charan Singh. Similarly, Prime Minister Inder Gujral held
extensive discussions and even directly involved West Bengal Chief Minister
Jyoti Basu in finalising the Farakka Accord of 1997.
But one of the most embarrassing diplomatic fiascos that India has
faced arose when the current West Bengal Chief Minister torpedoed an agreement
that New Delhi and Dhaka had finalised on the sharing of the Teesta waters last
year. It is difficult to apportion blame for this fiasco, as there are differing
versions about the extent of consultations between New Delhi and Kolkata. But
ways have to be found to address this issue.
Has anyone examined the implications of not fulfilling our
commitments on the political standing and stability of a friendly Government
headed by Sheikh Hasina that has acted courageously against terrorist groups
waging war against India?
It is imperative for the Union Government to fulfil commitments
made to Bangladesh, rather than succumb to the “compulsions of coalition
politics”. source: The Hindu businessline
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