Will we see a better day?

Greetings as you arrive in Bangladesh. As a Bangladeshi we are very happy to have you visiting our country. I am sure you have been informed that your country is not exactly the most popular country out here. You are considered a bit of a bully unfortunately and your actions leave many perplexed. Some are angry and a few even livid. While it’s clear to most that we have to learn to live with India no matter what, does India reciprocate? Now that there has been a change in the government in Delhi, will things improve?

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This question is asked because the last PM of India, Manmohan Singh had very nearly promised Teesta water sharing treaty and land border agreement but an intransigent Mamata made it impossible to deliver. However, it came in the wake of the famous gaffe of  Manmohan Singh when he accused nearly a quarter of Bangladeshis as ISI agents. It didn’t just make a lot of our people angry but made many wonder if the information processing system of India, the one country that truly matters to Bangladesh is in place or not. So our misgivings are also that maybe you need to look at the history of policymaking and its foundations when it comes to Bangladesh. At least no embarrassing promises or assessments, please.

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Teesta Water Treaty and the border agreement have apparently been held up by various forces in India including the West Bengal government but think about Farakka and how that too went ahead  in the best interest of the Kolkata port. But the loss to Bangladesh in particular and the region in general has been devastating. Not only has it been ruinous in every way to Bangladesh but it made a permanent deposit in the mutual animosity bank. Millions of people will think of India as the country that forced the Farakka barrage on us. So now that the sense of hostility is high and when there is feet dragging on Teesta, most think that there goes India again with its power mixing into lack of co-operation with Bangladesh. So the issue is not Teesta treaty but the fundamentals of Indo-Bangla relations and since it’s not with us to decide, I am afraid you will have to take the responsibility

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Every national boundary that exists in South Asia is a product of some form of the colonial era and our own is the result of two births not just one like yours. Borders are traumatic reminders of the nation-state paradigm when it fails to work but for us, a historically borderland people, it is also a reminder of how the bigger North Indian presence has always imposed, be it India or Pakistan. There was a time when it was open, then became closed and now is on its way to be barbed wired. Of course they reflect reality of situations within and without. But in the end there is a need to understand the reality of relationship too, particularly with a weaker state which is Bangladesh and that is where the gap is. Most people think we are equal only when it suits you. That needs a bit of changing don’t you think?

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Anti-Terrorism of course is what much of the discussion is all about because that is the key leverage issue and some say that this was the main reason why India supported the Awami League all throughout during the recently held unfortunate elections. Sheikh Hasina has been praised all over for her anti-terrorism actions but that can’t be the be-all end all focus of this relationship. Yet you seem to fail to understand that terrorism is quite a large part of the regional political situation and India has more of them than anyone else. India too has failed to settle its adivasi problem, and many of the militants have emerged from there. The presence of ULFA and other North Eastern rebels is rooted in India’s difficulties in ensuring a sense of participation for all its ethnic groups. That does mean that the problem lies in India itself and better management of its insurgencies would greatly reduce terrorism in the region. But this problem can’t be used as an excuse to blindly support an issue next door. Counter terrorism policy can’t have counter effects.

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The other part is of course Islamic/Pakistani terrorism and that is a problem plaguing many parts of the world and in many ways Pakistan is its worst victim. The reason why Pakistan supports them is to make Indian life difficult and push the leverage button on unresolved Indo-Pakistan issues. Even after so many years, the problems remain unsolved and Kashmir has become the perennial flashpoint. If it’s allowed to become a sort of Shia-Sunni conflict then it will not be over before history itself ends so the will to resolve must exist in both parties. In many ways, it’s this unresolved problem that is impacting on Bangladesh since our militants are all supported by Pakistan in an effort to put pressure on India. We have become collateral damage of Indo-Pak relations. So a great part of the source of terrorism has more to do with you than us. Don’t keep blaming us for harbouring militants which are largely a by-product of your own border problems with Pakistan.

So regional security begins with a search for peace rather than militants only. Let’s get together to work towards that instead of simply dumping it down to police action against a violent lot.

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Don’t want to take too much of your time but the latest visa issue is a good example of what’s wrong with the relationship. Apparently, the goodwill gesture of the Indian Foreign Ministry to let in Bangladeshi seniors and children without Visa has been turned down by the Home Ministry. There could be many reasons for this but all over the world, very few terrorists have been found to be senior citizens and few children if any have been known to participate in terrorist activities. The visa free gesture would have been nice, grand and friendly. Now some are saying that this was prompted by political considerations as this gesture would be interpreted as over accommodating in Assam and the BJP wants to return to power there. Perhaps, perhaps not. But the fact remains that India needs to have an independent regional foreign policy which is actually based on regional concerns rather than narrow domestic gains. Right now, it’s all about internal priorities but as every country in the world has found out, we all are connected and it affects our war and peace simultaneously.

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Finally, we have one request. Recently you sent your Cricket B team to play against ours and they clobbered us. Ahh… do you have a C team which you could send? Thanks and welcome to Bangladesh.