Improving Bangladesh-India ties
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Syed Mahbubur Rashid
The ninth order of the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament reads as follows: "Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbour." It is believed that the Prophet Musa (AM) received the divine message known as the Old Testament more than 13 century BC (before Christ) ago.
This message lays emphasis on good neighbourly relations. Islam also speaks of having a compassionate view about one's neighbours. According to the Hadith, a Muslim should not have his meals keeping his or her neighbour hungry. The ground reality also is that be it a case of personal or state affair, one cannot live in peace having acrimonious relations with his or her neighbour. Even a powerful state can have enough trouble from its small neighbour.
India is a big country having border on the three sides of Bangladesh. Because of the historical background, we are not neighbours like other countries. We speak in the Bangla language, which had to be recognised as the state language through the sacrifice of blood of our people. The people of the Indian state of Paschimbanga or erstwhile West Bengal, also speak in Bangla. The boundaries are not demarcated by any natural obstructions like hills or rivers. Rather, Bangladesh is a lower riparian country; as many as 57 common rivers flow through India into Bangladesh.
The British colonial rulers made a unique demarcation of the land border between the then East Pakistan and India during partition in 1947, in some places even a village has been divided. Finally, at the time of our glorious War of Liberation, the people of India generously extended their hand of co-operation. The Indian armed forces' personnel also sacrificed their lives.
The government of India under the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gave shelter to some 10 million refugees from Bangladesh, besides giving political and diplomatic support to the cause of Bangladesh's freedom and independence. Acknowledging the contribution of Indira Gandhi, Bangladesh recently has posthumously conferred the highest state honour upon her on the occasion of the 40th year of its independence.
In recent years, the peoples of both the countries have been expressing the hope for forging a new relationship, burying the past of hostilities, distrust and doubts. But things have not yet moved in the way it was expected to advance.
The proximity of Bangladesh and India is a geographical reality. It cannot be changed. Neighbours may have thorny issues, large and small. So, they may temporarily quarrel, but eventually they do need to make friends. Solution of one problem may lead to another. Negotiations will be a continuing process. We have the Farakka Barrage problem between the two countries. Apparently there exists an agreement on the issue, but it is not fully implemented yet. Regarding the Teesta river water-sharing issue, it was strongly believed that an agreement would be signed during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohon Singh to Bangladesh last year. It could not be signed because of the "opposition" of Paschimbanga Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a popular but over-ambitious politician. Now, we have to deal with the Tipaimukh Dam issue.
The solution to such bilateral problems may be procrastinated, unless we have adequate diplomatic skills and acumen. Meanwhile, we seem to be accepting the situation and waiting for negotiations. With the passage of time, the water-sharing problem may become a serious regional one, involving Bangladesh, India, China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan.
Bangladesh is having a large trade deficit with India. May be we do not have enough products to export to India. We have been assured by India several times, of taking steps for reducing the adverse trade imbalance against us. There has hardly been much of any improvement on this count.
Then there is the question of transit facilities between Bangladesh and India. This requires serious thought and examination of issues about mutual benefits. It cannot be hurriedly implemented. On the cultural front, certain activities have been visible. Our boys and girls have performed very well in some Indian TV programmes. Moreover, both the countries have jointly celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.
The most painful lingering issue in the bilateral relationship between the two countries, remains the killing of innocent citizens of Bangladesh by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF). They are also kidnapping people from time to time. Will the BSF ever dare to shoot at a civilian on India's western front? From the highest level of the government of India, it was assured that no such incident would occur in the future. That promise has not been kept by BSF. They shoot innocent people who are not always aware of the implications of crossing the border. A few days ago, this scribe visited the Belonia landport under Feni district, along with Mohiuddin Ahmed, a former Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We moved around the land port with the help of officials of the Border Guard of Bangladesh. They showed us a disputed area measuring 92.5 acres of land. We moved around the area and it was difficult to ascertain when this scribe was intruding into a foreign land. This area belongs to the constituency of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia. Those who permanently live in the area may be oblivious of existence of the international border. It is not understandable why BSF personnel shoot and kidnap such innocent people. Are they a threat to the security of India?
Notorious 'political' and economic criminals of both Bangladesh and India move according to their need and choice and none can touch their hair, which is, of course, a global phenomenon. The embassies of most western countries grill the innocent visa applicants but persons of dubious integrity never fail to get visas.
It is most humiliating and disgracing that our people are shot by the BSF without showing even a minimum extent of dignity to our nation. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has miserably and shamelessly failed to act. The moment a Bangladeshi citizen is killed, the MoFA should summon the Indian High Commissioner and take befitting action under the norms of diplomacy. But the tragic thing is that sometimes our government is not aware of such killings. An earlier killing of a Bangladeshi girl, whose dead body had been hanging in the barbed-wire fence for three days, is an example. The news, along with the photograph, was published in an Indian daily from where it was reprinted in the media of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh achieved independence at a very heavy price. So, our citizen's life is not so cheap as the BSF personnel do often consider it to be. We are not ready to withstand this humiliation any more. The government, particularly the MoFA, should report without any delay when such incidents happen in future.
Our foreign minister does hardly stay inside the country. She may create a new world record in the mileage of overseas tours by defeating former US secretaries of state Henry Kissinger or John Foster Dulles. The present US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton may be a challenger to Dipu Moni in hip-hopping across the globe.
In any other country having a parliamentary form of government, the foreign minister would have to leave her job willingly or under compulsion. Our foreign ministry has some ignominious feats. In the earlier years of our independence, the MoFA withdrew the claim over 195 Pakistani Army personnel, 'identified' as war criminals. The story of the foreign ministry goes like this that ZA Bhutto assured the relevant sides that they Pakistani authorities would try the war criminals. This sort of story befits the buffoon only.
However, the past is past. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has firmly said that she is the last person to make any compromise with the safety, security and integrity of the country. People have expressed their full confidence on her through the ballots.
We hope that in future if any such incident happens, the prime minister will take up the issue with her Indian counterpart. We have heard about many stories how Bangabandhu spoke in a straight-forward manner for safeguarding the dignity of the nation. Shooting of an innocent citizen means the shooting of a nation. That much patriotism should work in the people whom we have entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the interest of our nation.
The writer is a former civil servant and ex-secretary of Dhaka Stock Exchange Limited
The ninth order of the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament reads as follows: "Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbour." It is believed that the Prophet Musa (AM) received the divine message known as the Old Testament more than 13 century BC (before Christ) ago.
This message lays emphasis on good neighbourly relations. Islam also speaks of having a compassionate view about one's neighbours. According to the Hadith, a Muslim should not have his meals keeping his or her neighbour hungry. The ground reality also is that be it a case of personal or state affair, one cannot live in peace having acrimonious relations with his or her neighbour. Even a powerful state can have enough trouble from its small neighbour.
India is a big country having border on the three sides of Bangladesh. Because of the historical background, we are not neighbours like other countries. We speak in the Bangla language, which had to be recognised as the state language through the sacrifice of blood of our people. The people of the Indian state of Paschimbanga or erstwhile West Bengal, also speak in Bangla. The boundaries are not demarcated by any natural obstructions like hills or rivers. Rather, Bangladesh is a lower riparian country; as many as 57 common rivers flow through India into Bangladesh.
The British colonial rulers made a unique demarcation of the land border between the then East Pakistan and India during partition in 1947, in some places even a village has been divided. Finally, at the time of our glorious War of Liberation, the people of India generously extended their hand of co-operation. The Indian armed forces' personnel also sacrificed their lives.
The government of India under the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gave shelter to some 10 million refugees from Bangladesh, besides giving political and diplomatic support to the cause of Bangladesh's freedom and independence. Acknowledging the contribution of Indira Gandhi, Bangladesh recently has posthumously conferred the highest state honour upon her on the occasion of the 40th year of its independence.
In recent years, the peoples of both the countries have been expressing the hope for forging a new relationship, burying the past of hostilities, distrust and doubts. But things have not yet moved in the way it was expected to advance.
The proximity of Bangladesh and India is a geographical reality. It cannot be changed. Neighbours may have thorny issues, large and small. So, they may temporarily quarrel, but eventually they do need to make friends. Solution of one problem may lead to another. Negotiations will be a continuing process. We have the Farakka Barrage problem between the two countries. Apparently there exists an agreement on the issue, but it is not fully implemented yet. Regarding the Teesta river water-sharing issue, it was strongly believed that an agreement would be signed during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohon Singh to Bangladesh last year. It could not be signed because of the "opposition" of Paschimbanga Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a popular but over-ambitious politician. Now, we have to deal with the Tipaimukh Dam issue.
The solution to such bilateral problems may be procrastinated, unless we have adequate diplomatic skills and acumen. Meanwhile, we seem to be accepting the situation and waiting for negotiations. With the passage of time, the water-sharing problem may become a serious regional one, involving Bangladesh, India, China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan.
Bangladesh is having a large trade deficit with India. May be we do not have enough products to export to India. We have been assured by India several times, of taking steps for reducing the adverse trade imbalance against us. There has hardly been much of any improvement on this count.
Then there is the question of transit facilities between Bangladesh and India. This requires serious thought and examination of issues about mutual benefits. It cannot be hurriedly implemented. On the cultural front, certain activities have been visible. Our boys and girls have performed very well in some Indian TV programmes. Moreover, both the countries have jointly celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.
The most painful lingering issue in the bilateral relationship between the two countries, remains the killing of innocent citizens of Bangladesh by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF). They are also kidnapping people from time to time. Will the BSF ever dare to shoot at a civilian on India's western front? From the highest level of the government of India, it was assured that no such incident would occur in the future. That promise has not been kept by BSF. They shoot innocent people who are not always aware of the implications of crossing the border. A few days ago, this scribe visited the Belonia landport under Feni district, along with Mohiuddin Ahmed, a former Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We moved around the land port with the help of officials of the Border Guard of Bangladesh. They showed us a disputed area measuring 92.5 acres of land. We moved around the area and it was difficult to ascertain when this scribe was intruding into a foreign land. This area belongs to the constituency of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia. Those who permanently live in the area may be oblivious of existence of the international border. It is not understandable why BSF personnel shoot and kidnap such innocent people. Are they a threat to the security of India?
Notorious 'political' and economic criminals of both Bangladesh and India move according to their need and choice and none can touch their hair, which is, of course, a global phenomenon. The embassies of most western countries grill the innocent visa applicants but persons of dubious integrity never fail to get visas.
It is most humiliating and disgracing that our people are shot by the BSF without showing even a minimum extent of dignity to our nation. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has miserably and shamelessly failed to act. The moment a Bangladeshi citizen is killed, the MoFA should summon the Indian High Commissioner and take befitting action under the norms of diplomacy. But the tragic thing is that sometimes our government is not aware of such killings. An earlier killing of a Bangladeshi girl, whose dead body had been hanging in the barbed-wire fence for three days, is an example. The news, along with the photograph, was published in an Indian daily from where it was reprinted in the media of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh achieved independence at a very heavy price. So, our citizen's life is not so cheap as the BSF personnel do often consider it to be. We are not ready to withstand this humiliation any more. The government, particularly the MoFA, should report without any delay when such incidents happen in future.
Our foreign minister does hardly stay inside the country. She may create a new world record in the mileage of overseas tours by defeating former US secretaries of state Henry Kissinger or John Foster Dulles. The present US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton may be a challenger to Dipu Moni in hip-hopping across the globe.
In any other country having a parliamentary form of government, the foreign minister would have to leave her job willingly or under compulsion. Our foreign ministry has some ignominious feats. In the earlier years of our independence, the MoFA withdrew the claim over 195 Pakistani Army personnel, 'identified' as war criminals. The story of the foreign ministry goes like this that ZA Bhutto assured the relevant sides that they Pakistani authorities would try the war criminals. This sort of story befits the buffoon only.
However, the past is past. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has firmly said that she is the last person to make any compromise with the safety, security and integrity of the country. People have expressed their full confidence on her through the ballots.
We hope that in future if any such incident happens, the prime minister will take up the issue with her Indian counterpart. We have heard about many stories how Bangabandhu spoke in a straight-forward manner for safeguarding the dignity of the nation. Shooting of an innocent citizen means the shooting of a nation. That much patriotism should work in the people whom we have entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the interest of our nation.
The writer is a former civil servant and ex-secretary of Dhaka Stock Exchange Limited