Overview of India-Bangladesh Relations 50 years after liberation
India, the quintessential liberator, responsible for unshackling East Pakistan from the clutches of the West Pakistan government, celebrates 50 years of diplomatic relations with Bangladesh this year. The 1971 war between India & Pakistan which culminated in the birth of Bangladesh. Keeping 50 years of liberation and diplomatic relations in mind, New Delhi-Dhaka relations are being examined. The purpose herein is to analyze how the ties have progressed over the years and where do they stand now.
New Delhi-Dhaka relations post liberation:
India was the first country to recognize Bangladesh as an independent nation-state and immediately established diplomatic ties with the neighbour in December 1971. The diplomatic ties were cordial in the aftermath of the war as India not only played a major role in liberating Bangladesh but also opened its borders for the refugees during the war. Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace was signed between Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 19 March 1972 for a period of 25 years.
The ties took a turn for the worse after Mujibur Rahman was assassinated and Ziaur Rahman, who had orchestrated the coup, came to power in Bangladesh. Anti-India sentiments were on a high when he consolidated power as President in April 1977, but the relations improved somewhat after Janata Dal came to power under the leadership of Morarji Desai in India. Both the countries cooperated on containing insurgency against Bangladesh and in addition to that, the Ganga river water sharing agreement was signed in December 1977 for a period of 5 years. Joint river commission was set up in April 1979 during the state visit of Prime Minister Morarji Desai.
On Indira Gandhi’s return to power in 1980, General Zia met her during the UNIDO conference held in New Delhi but overall, the relations between the two leaders were not as cordial as multiple issues such as joint river commission not being able to come to an agreement on the Ganges water flow sharing as well as the south Talpatti island dispute irked both sides.
Under General Ershad, a new interim agreement was signed for sharing of the river Ganges water flow, it was a replica of the 1977 accord and as a result, that issue could not be resolved. Despite many issues, the two nations expanded cooperation on the economic front as in 1983, India agreed to extend 200 million rupees loan and the two nations were committed to reduce the trade gap as Bangladesh surplus newsprint, paper, pulp, and bitumen were to be sold to India. A joint venture was penned down to manufacture iron and cement and an agreement was reached regarding the Teesta river water sharing.
Under Rajiv Gandhi’s government, a Memorandum of Understanding was reached in 1985 but the agreement could not be renewed in 1988 as Bangladesh was not keen on having a permanent agreement to look after water sharing of the Ganges River. New Delhi-Dhaka relations were strained during the 1972 to 1996 period but there was advancement in bilateral trade.
With Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman becoming Prime Minister of Bangladesh in 1996, the relations improved as the Ganga water treaty was finally signed and along with it, joint committee conducted regular meetings to look after the implementation. Moreover, in June 1999, ‘the bus service between Dhaka and Calcutta was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina’. The above events symbolize how the ties improved under the democratic government after years of strained relations during military rule in Dhaka.
Ties in the 21st Century:
The Bangladesh National Party (BNP) came to power in 2001 and during its tenure the relations took a downturn due to its anti-India posturing and the fact that the pro Pakistan party Jamaat-e-Islami was a major partner of the government. The ties have been on an upswing ever since Sheikh Hasina came back to power in 2009. In January 2010, Bangladeshi Prime Minister visited New Delhi to build a ‘stable and fruitful relationship’, both the nations sought to address cross-border terrorism and India’s connectivity with Bangladesh through the northeast region. A joint communique was released where the two Prime Ministers agreed to formulate a shared vision for the future which would include cooperation in water resources, power, transportation, connectivity, tourism, and education. Also, in 2013, a credit line of $800 million was extended by the Manmohan Singh government and Maitreyi express was revived between Kolkata and Dhaka together with the bus service being operational.
The diplomatic ties began with ‘Saree-diplomacy’ by the then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj under the Modi government back in 2014. Furthermore, the long pending Land Boundary Agreement was approved when Prime Minister undertook his maiden visit to Dhaka in 2015 which resulted in transfer of 111 enclaves to Bangladesh and 51 enclaves to India. Agreement for trans-border service was also agreed wherein Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati and Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala route was finalised. In addition, a credit line of $2 billion was given to Bangladesh.
In 2017, Sheikh Hasina visited New Delhi and the result was dozens of agreements being signed concerning trade, transport, energy as well as counterterrorism. India reciprocated by extending a $4.5 billion worth credit line. However, challenges in the relationship remained as the Teesta water sharing agreement was not signed during the visit due to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s reservation.
Source:https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/current-affairs-trends/explained-the-flourishing-trade-ties-and-friendship-between-india-and-bangladesh-6700071.html
The above graph clearly exhibits that the economic ties have steadily progressed under the Modi government, for instance the bilateral trade was about $6 billion in 2015-16 and crossed the landmark $10 billion in 2018-19. Bangladesh is India’s top trading partner in south Asia, a fact which would augur well with both the governments.
In October 2019, Prime Minister Hasina paid an official visit to New Delhi at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi, and the two leaders signed various bilateral agreements and three projects were also inaugurated. In December 2020, the two nations held a virtual summit courtesy of the pandemic wherein a rail link between Haldibari and Chilahati was inaugurated.
PM Modi’s visit to Dhaka:
The visit to the neighbouring country comes a year after the pandemic. The Indian Prime Minister was to visit Dhaka in 2020 but due to the pandemic it was cancelled, and a virtual summit was organised instead in December 2020. His arrival coincides Bangladesh’s 50th year of independence and keeping the same in mind, ‘he visited national martyrs memorial in Savar upazila, Dhaka where he laid down a wreath to commemorate the fallen freedom fighters of the 1971 liberation war’. The visit symbolises strong bilateral ties and is reflective of the transformation between the two as during the 20th century India did not enjoy very cordial relations after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The two sides agreed to conclude the interim agreement on the sharing of Teesta and Feni river water. Both the agreements have been pending since 2011, the finalization of the agreement is of vital importance to both the sides. The Indian Prime Minister offered 1.2 million vaccine doses of AstraZeneca which has been manufactured by Serum Institute of India and ‘expressed India’s support and solidarity for Bangladesh’s fight against Covid-19’.
Conclusion:
India-Bangladesh ties started on a positive note when East Pakistan achieved independence from West Pakistan. Relations were cordial during Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s short-lived reign but since the coup in 1975, the ties between the two sides took the turn for the worse as secular elements of the constitution were dismantled and an unstable Bangladesh would affect India’s national security. When Sheikh Hasina came to power in 1996, ties improved as the Awami League wanted to be closer to India.
However, once Awami League lost the election in 2001, the ties shifted for the worse as the Bangladesh National Party had partnered with Jamaat-e-Islami which is a pro-Pakistan outfit and understandably, India-Bangladesh relations were strained till 2009 when Sheikh Hasina came back to power. From 2009 onwards the ties have been on an upswing as crucial issues such as the Land Boundary Agreement have been resolved, trade ties expanded although there are problems there too. If we compare the relations between the countries from the past then it is safe to say that they have never been better and at present even though there are challenges, the two nations enjoy pleasant relations.
End Notes
1)http://mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Bangladesh_September_2017_en.pdf
2)https://www.jstor.org/stable/45073231?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
3)https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/5621/
4)https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-38950
5)https://www.jstor.org/stable/41394203?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3Aa564661cb054ce17f81e82625165d72e&seq=9#page_scan_tab_contents
6)https://www.jstor.org/stable/45073231?read-now=1&seq=13#page_scan_tab_contents
7)http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/373184.stm
8)https://www.dailyo.in/politics/bangladesh-polls-khaleda-zia-sheikh-hasina-india-bangladesh-nationalist-party-awami-league/story/1/25203.html
9)https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-bangladesh-s-pm-sheikh-hasina-slams-bnp-for-anti-india-stance-2350476
10)http://www.ipcs.org/comm_select.php?articleNo=4134
11)https://mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/3452/Joint+Communiqu+issued+on+the+occasion+of+the+visit+to+India+of+Her+Excellency+Sheikh+Hasina+Prime+Minister+of+Bangladesh
12)https://www.wionews.com/india-news/when-india-bangladesh-diplomacy-took-the-saree-route-373327
14)https://indianexpress.com/article/india/three-years-of-modi-government-where-indias-relations-with-its-neighbours-stand-4673042/
15)https://mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/31911/IndiaBangladesh%B1Joint%B1Statement%B1during%B1Official%B1Visit%B1of%B1Prime%B1Minister%B1of%B1Bangladesh%B1to%B1India
16)https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-india-bangladesh-idUSKBN2BJ0KC
Pic Courtesy -Punjab Kesari
(The views expressed are personal and do not represent the views of CESCUBE.)
