Friends: Masters: Big Brothers: Elder Brothers

Many of the readers who were grown-up or were growing up like this scribe in the mid-sixties would be very familiar with the first two of the above words. While there were celebrations of the so-called 'Decade of Development', the decade we did endure through physically, but of the development, we sort of gleaned over.
'Friends, not Masters' was the fanciful title of a book written by the longest serving president of Pakistan commemorating the decade. Ask any etymologist and he would tell you that the word 'Master' is not an antonym of the expression 'Friend'. However, improper and imprudent physical application of the latter concept may result in great animosity and belligerence.  This nation of ours has witnessed much death and destruction in the immediate aftermath of that 'Decade of Development'. The heirs of late president reversed the very sense of the title of his book and sought to live by those that resulted in a bloody blunder unknown in modern history. Why draw reference to the book and the period? Well, the land boundary issue that we are going to discuss here is a legacy from 1947 - some 68 years hereinbefore. The world has heard a lot about Kashmir, about the two wars, about the sabre-rattling on the floor of the UN, but not a whimper on the enclaves.
Of recent interest are two more expressions: 'Big Brother' and 'Elder Brother'. While speaking in the Indian Lok Sabha on the amendment of the Indian Constitution for ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA), Sushama Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs, proclaimed that rather than behaving like or being a 'Big Brother' India wants to behave as an 'Elder Brother' with its small neighbours. Indeed, the expression 'Big Brother', which has an umbilical anatomy, can assume vicious connotations depending on its usage. What we understand from her speech which sounded so very honest and appealing is the fact that they would like to be a fraternal, sincere and a caring 'Dada' rather than practising and resorting to 'Dadagiri' or a bullying elder.
Oftentimes, even the umbilical strand has to stand the stress and strain of time, of situations and of conflicting claims and interests. Nations may share such intangibles as common history, common culture, common language, or even common (animate) poets and singers … but even then, it's the mundane and the worldly animates that demand careful handling and wise disposition to minimise and avert discords and disputes.  
The Bay of Bengal has plenty of water which is not measured in cusecs. The recent demarcation has mentions of thousands of square miles and fathoms … but none of these mathematics posed much of a problem. The demarcation of the maritime boundary was an issue, but luckily it was more of a technical matter rather than being a contentious one. Both India and Bangladesh realised this and thought it better to solve it through the application of international laws.  Apparently, when the final verdict came in 'favour' of Bangladesh, there were no serious protests or attempts to either block or delay the process  from the Indian side;  except for the issue serving as a food for thought for the talkers on the 24/7 . (There was no complaint against the umpiring like the 2015 WC Quarter-finals either!)    
Although the land boundary issue involved numbers and acreages, most important of it all was the issue of humans who waited for decades and longed for an identity and a sense of belongingness. Finally, it has been solved and resolved for the better.   The question of why India took long 42 years to ratify the Indira-Mujib Treaty may be a topic for the Talk Show, but the fact of the matter is, it has finally been finalised through the exercise of goodwill and statesmanship of the present leadership of both the countries. Call it an elder brotherly gesture, if you will.    
Coming back to the tangibles, the issue of 'blue gold' is a matter of current concern for many countries including Bangladesh. Considering its profound impact and importance, water is now being termed as the blue gold. More specifically,   it's the life and death question for a lower riparian country like Bangladesh, 52 of whose rivers flow from upper riparian India.
Mere arithmetic of cusecs, climatology and scientific data will not be enough to reach a permanent solution to this. Perhaps, equity is the key. The water resources must be shared on an equitable basis keeping in mind the needs of all the habitants and habitats in and around the rivers and the river basins.   Technical data and calculations do matter for such a highly technical and critical area. However, what matters most is the willingness of the stakeholders to resolve this natural issue which may soon turn into a humanitarian one for the people of lower riparian Bangladesh. Luckily, the leadership has displayed ample goodwill in the recent past to convert that stake into opportunities. The bottom line is, we need unrestricted flow of water for our agriculture, we need it for our eco-system, we need for the survival of our flora and fauna. We need the water today; we needed the water yesterday.
After years of bickering, it was indeed an elder brotherly gesture of the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Morarji Desai,   the elderly politician and statesman, who decided to open the Farakka Barrage and offer the due share of the Ganges waters to Bangladesh. By the way, we didn't have to exchange our world- renowned songstress Madam Runa Laila for the Ganges waters as was suggested rather euphemistically by the Indian journalist-writer Khushwant Singh!
Over the course of their brief history, Bangladeshis have become 'Master' of their own destiny, and have earned many a 'Friends' in the far and the near, including the SAARC countries.
While Big Brother' may take to wielding of wands, 'Elder brothers' seek to understand the passion and strive to create an atmosphere of accommodation and compassion for arriving at an amicable solution of problems. The present prime minister of   India is known to be an ardent enthusiast of twirling of the mouse on the computer pad. Likewise, the leadership in Bangladesh is also fixated on digitisation. This is all a mind game - let both the sides resort to the exercise of brain over brawl.    
The writer is a retired Air Commodore. mzaki_islam@yahoo.com