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Hasina defrosting India–Bangladesh ties

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India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina clap during signing ceremony of agreements between India and Bangladesh in Dhaka 6 June 2015. (Photo: Reuters/Rafiqur Rahman).

In Brief

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s state visit to India from 7 to 10 April signalled a remarkable movement in the relationship between the two countries. Nearly seven years after Hasina’s last trip to India, the visit was of such importance that protocol was set aside and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally received Hasina at Palam airport in New Delhi.

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The Indian government even named a road in New Delhi in memory of Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman — the founding leader of Bangladesh.

The visit marked the first time that the Bangladeshi government publically recognised the sacrifices made by the Indian armed forces in the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh. The two countries also signed 22 agreements covering a range of shared concerns including nuclear power and defence.

This level of engagement was unthinkable during former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s administration when anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh was at an all-time high. It was only after Hasina came to power that Bangladesh started responding favourably towards India’s desire to strengthen ties. Modi’s ‘neighbourhood first’ policy also played a pivotal role in re-energising the relationship. This first became evident when Modi visited Bangladesh in June 2015 and signed the long-pending land border agreement, reviving the philosophy of trust, friendship and commitment in the relationship.

One of the pillars of the India–Bangladesh relationship is its economic engagement. This was on display during Hasina’s visit when India announced that it would provide a 3rd line of credit worth US$4.5 billion to implement a number of projects in Bangladesh. This financial assistance will help Bangladesh develop infrastructure and create new jobs, improving its economic growth trajectory.

To bolster the flow of Indian FDI to Bangladesh, the Hasina administration has assigned 1005 acres at Mirsarai to set up an Indian special economic zone. Enhanced economic ties with Bangladesh will augment the export of Indian goods Bangladesh receives and help maintain stable political relations between the two countries.

Connectivity is another major issue for India and Bangladesh. During Hasina’s visit, the leaders inaugurated the newly restored railway link between Radhikapur in India and Birol in Bangladesh, and a trial run of a passenger train between Khulna in Bangladesh and Kolkata in India. These efforts strengthen people-to-people contacts and promote trade and commerce. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal signed the historic Motor Vehicle Agreement in June 2015 on road connectivity to allow cross-border movement of people and cargoes. And the new railway passages with Bangladesh will further boost regional connectivity and link India’s north-eastern region to Southeast Asia.

The signing of the inter-governmental agreement for cooperation in the field of civil nuclear energy added a new dimension to the cooperation between New Delhi and Dhaka. This initiative helps Bangladesh improve its energy capacity, and enhances India’s stature as a responsible nuclear power in the international arena, strengthening its case for membership of the Nuclear Supplier Group.

Security cooperation with Bangladesh has been a major priority for the Indian government to ensure peace and security in its north-eastern states and beyond. During the Zia administration, Bangladesh became a sanctuary for Indian insurgent groups and other terrorist organisations who, with the support of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, worked against India. Things started changing under Hasina when the government realised it was necessary to work with India in the security sphere after Bangladesh suffered a series of terrorist attacks. In response, Hasina launched heavy crackdowns on anti-India groups and handed over some of their leaders to India.

China is another reason why India is promoting defence ties with Bangladesh. Dhaka is profoundly dependent on Chinese arms and defence equipment. China’s growing footprint in India’s neighbourhood is a big cause for concern in New Delhi. Last year during the visit of Chinese President Xi, the relationship between Bangladesh and China was elevated from ‘comprehensive partnership cooperation’ to ‘strategic partnership cooperation’ and Bangladesh purchased two submarines from China. The renewed synergy in the China–Bangladesh defence cooperation forced the Modi government to send its Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to Dhaka to build defence ties between the two countries.

During Hasina’s recent visit, India also provided US$500 million to Bangladesh for the purchase of military hardware. An important element of this military assistance is the fact that Bangladesh’s arms and defence sources are not limited. The joint statement also emphasised the need to further consolidate defence cooperation through greater military-to-military training and exchanges.

Despite these leaps in the bilateral relationship, challenges still lay ahead. India not signing the much-awaited Teesta water-sharing treaty has been highlighted by Bangladeshi groups, calling into question how sincere India’s desire to deepen ties with their country is. Former prime minister Zia has also accused Hasina of ‘selling out’ the country to India to pursue her ‘dream of staying in power for life’.

While Prime Minister Hasina’s visit has set the path for greater cooperation, calibrated efforts are still required to steer the relationship to new heights.

Sumit Kumar is a Senior Researcher at the UGC Centre for Southern Asia Studies at Pondicherry University.

3 responses to “Hasina defrosting India–Bangladesh ties”

  1. The vast majority of Bangladeshis do not see the Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India in the same light as the writer. Many in Bangladesh view the visit as a betrayal of Bangladesh and surrender to Indian hegemonic and exploitative designs on the country. Merely going through social media will indicate the depth of anger in the country. Following the mainstream media will not provide any meaningful indicators of public sentiment as the entire media is under strict censorship and many news networks are under the control or guidance of RAW. In fact RAW under the present regime has made vast inroads in the country and people are generally fearful of expressing an opinion. Until recently people were able to hide their identities on social media but due to recent updates on Facebook demanded by the government this is no longer possible.

  2. Well articulated artcle on the tie between delhi-dhaka about which historians, scholars and foreeign relations’ expert are surprisingly silent. Thank you Sumit for throwing light on this.

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