The concept of diplomacy and role of diplomats are not properly evaluated by many political leaders in our country. Since diplomacy is a means of communicating in foreign relations, it would be fair to analyse the need and objectives of foreign policy of a state. Sir Ernest Satow defines diplomacy as the application of intelligence and tactics to the conduct of foreign relations. India is a close-door neighbour of Bangladesh and it fought with freedom fighters of East Pakistan to liberate East Pakistan from the clutches of Pakistan. Formal instrument of surrender was signed by General Niazi of Pakistan army and he surrendered to the joint command of India and Bangladesh on 16 December in 1971 when the new country emerged. It is a fact of history that Bangladesh remains grateful to India for its help in liberating the country from the clutches of Pakistan. As a matter of fact, former East Pakistan and West Pakistan were 120 miles apart: between them lies India. Geographically, the two wings of the former Pakistan were verily divergent.
Since independence of Bangladesh as of now India did not share water resources from 54 transboundary rivers. That appears to be one of the most vexed and intractable issues in the bilateral relations since 1972. As a matter of fact, Bangladesh comprises a low-lying alluvial delta with a high season of rain. As of now one agreement on sharing of water from the Ganges is expected to expire in 2026. Bangladesh, time and again, tried to receive the due share of water from the Teesta river but did not succeed in spite of Indian Prime Minister Narenndra Modi repeatedly saying "our rivers should nurture our relations, not become a source of discord".
But this has not been reflected in deeds as of now. Sharing of water from the transboundary border remains contentious. As of now, The Joint River Commission (JRC) did not hold a meeting to resolve the problem of sharing water from transboundary rivers. On 6 September, 2022 India agreed to share water from one of the transboundary border rivers, Kushiara, but not Teesta. As a matter of fact, Kushiara river belongs to Sylhet in Bangladesh. This was decided during official talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Incidentally, the four-day visit to India this time was possibly related to the ensuing parliamentary election in Bangladesh next year and how to court minority voters. This is what Voice of America (VOA) thought during the broadcast on 6 September 2022.
Trade plays a role in developing the economies of the two countries significantly. India, in fact, enjoys respect for expansion of trade. Ironically India's export to Bangladesh stands at $ 8.2 billion whereas imports from Bangladesh stand at $ 1.2 billion. It means India is much ahead of Bangladesh. The garment sector in fact in Bangladesh has succeeded beyond imagination. It has secured the third position in the world. But workers in the garment factories are not well paid in comparison with the world market.
Bangladesh in fact gave birth to SAARC on 5th December in 1980 but now SAARC is dead as a result of conflicts between Pakistan and India. As of now there is no serious effort of Bangladesh to revive the regional bloc.
Bangladesh is having an intractable problem with Myanmar since Tatmadah of Myanmar forcibly had driven out Rohingya minority citizens from their houses in Rakhaine state though they were citizens of Burma and cast votes to elect their representatives, apart from serving in the government including military, police. Burmese government in 1982 through the Citizenship Act took away citizenship of Rohingya without any reason. Since the government of Bangladesh has been maintaining good political relations with India, China and Japan, these countries should pressure Myanmar to take back their citizens. As of now Bangladesh could not succeed to pressure these countries to resolve the crisis of Rohingya. Recently tensions scaled up afresh along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border as border forces exchanged gun fires. On September 16 a Rohingya boy was killed and five others injured in mortar shell fire from Myanmar while another boy was seriously injured in a land mine explosion. It seems the situation on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border has become risky. The government of Bangladesh should persuade the United Nations to tell Myanmar that it should take back the citizens who lived in Burma for a few generations. It is not enough to say by the United Nations that Rohingya are the most persecuted minority in the world. The main purpose of the United Nations is to resolve the crisis, not to hang on with the crisis.
Mohammad Amjad Hossain, retired diplomat from Bangladesh, former Joint-Director of Central Kochi-kachar Mela and former President of Nova Toastmaster International Club of America, writes from Falls Church, Virginia.
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