50 Years of Diplomatic Ties India and Bangladesh The South Asian Neighbours
Posted on : April 13, 2021Author : Sristhi Ghosh
India’s engagement with Bangladesh dates back to the period when Bangladesh was yet to win liberation and territorial sovereignty from the dominant West Pakistan. India was the first country to recognize Bangladesh as an independent state.[1] Post the Six Point Programme declaration by Sheikh Mujibur Rehman and Awami League, the Indian government, army and civil society under Indira Gandhi’s regime extended wholehearted support to Bangladeshi struggle for independence. The India-Bangladesh border was opened to allow influx of Bangladeshi refugees, during the time when brutalities of Pakistani army started to take form of a genocide. India hosted and sheltered around 10 million refugees. In fact, the Bangladeshi Mukti Bahini was joined by the Indian Army directly in the 1971 war defeating the Pakistani army. India’s good will gesture that began with Mujibur Rehman’s midnight proclamation of independence in March 25, 1971, gradually developed into organic bi-lateral ties and engagements. In the following year India-Bangladesh Treaty of Peace and Friendship[2] or what is popularly known as ‘India-Mujib’ Treaty was signed. The year 2021 not only marks the golden jubilee anniversary of Bangladeshi liberation but celebrates fifty years of Indo-Bangladesh diplomatic relations and bi-lateral engagement.
India and Bangladesh share the longest international border. Fifty four common rivers flow between the two countries. Their cultural, linguistic and civilizational linkages are not unknown. Hence geo-politically, culturally and economically maintaining ties of cooperation and trust between the South Asian neighbours has always been a priority. India’s role as an ally for Bangladesh’s liberation war proved to be a catalyst in this process. However, the warm and cordial relations lasted till Mujib’s era, after which strong anti-India sentiments developed among the Bangladeshis. Several factors contributed to surfacing of this dark cloud of suspicion and distrust against India’s acts of generosity. One of the key reasons was activation of ‘pro Pakistani’ nationalism. An additional factor was the growing suspicion of India’s hegemonic dominance in Bangladesh. Worsening economic conditions in the war ravaged Bangladesh, beyond India’s restoring capacity generated strong anti-India, pro-Pakistani and pro-Chinese lobbies. Mujib’s friendship with India and USSR intensified opposition to the regime. Climax reached in 1975 when a military coup killed Sheikh Mujib and his family, imprisoned pro-Mujib and pro-India leaders. Indian High Commission in Bangladesh was attacked in November 1975[3]. For India, as Indira Gandhi declared[4], such happenings was of “grave concern and anxiety”, kept it “self scrumptiously aloof” from them perceiving it a threat to India. Mistrust and mutual hostility were the dominant norms in Indo-Bangladesh relations during the tenure of latter’s military regime (1981-90) reflecting pro-Islamic polity with unpleasant political alliance. Issues like sharing Ganga water, Farakka Barrage, land boundary, Tin Bigha Corridor and migration were some persistent source of disputes.
The derailed relations between the two South Asian neighbours showed little signs of revival in the late 1990s. However, it was only in 2009 that the installation of Awami League under Sheikh Hasina’s Prime Ministership and Congress Party in India created affable environment in revival of Indo-Bangladesh friendship. A spirit of connectivity, mutual cooperation and collaboration was promoted. Launching of People’s Bus service, trade duty concessions and 200 crore credit line by New Delhi, thirty years of water sharing and transit agreements reflected spirit of co-operation between the two nations. Agreements on food grains, infrastructure, border and land demarcation, restoration of navigation and re-launching of Maitreyi Express after 43 years were some positive aspects. But, issues of illegal migration, Teesta water sharing, activities of BSF and the growing threats due to Al-Qaeda’s presence in Bangladesh continued to cause trouble.
Since 2010, the decade has been a watershed in Indo-Bangladesh bi-lateral relationship. It began with Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India and signing of number of bilateral agreements in 2010. In the following year, Bangladesh recognised India’s good will and honoured Indira Gandhi with Bangladesh Swadhinata Sammanona (Bangladesh Freedom Honour) in 2011. Bangladesh too significantly enjoys top priority under India’s Neighbourhood Policy. As such, Bangladesh enjoys Duty-Free and Quota Free exports to India under South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) since 2011. Over the years there have been many high level bilateral visits and formation of several bilateral institutional mechanisms. There are more than 50 bilateral institutional mechanisms between India and Bangladesh in the areas of security, trade & commerce, power & energy, transport & connectivity, science and technology, defence, rivers & maritime affairs etc. A Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) led by the Ministers of External Affairs coordinates and oversees implementation of initiatives taken between the two countries as well as explores newer avenues for cooperation.[5] India-Bangladesh Land Boundary agreement was finally settled in 2015.
India, under its ‘Neighbourhood First’[6] policy, is committed to developing friendly and mutually beneficial relations for regional stability and prosperity. For Narendra Modi, “Bangladesh is a major pillar of our ‘neighbourhood first’ policy and it has been a special priority for me from day one to strengthen our relations with Bangladesh.”[7] Bangladesh is also pivotal to India’s Act East policy and lies at the heart of India’s economic and strategic interests. As such, Bangladesh is India’s biggest trading partner in South Asia. The good neighbours also has been committed to each other’s support in several multilateral forums. Despite differences over Teesta river water sharing, migration, Islamic radicalism, Rohingya refugees, Belt and Road Initiative and Citizenship Amendment Act, the neighbouring countries have proved to be grounded on strong foundation of trust and cooperation. This is evident with Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Bangladesh on March 26th and 27th 2021 as the guest of honour to celebrate Bangladesh’s 50th year of Independence, 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu and the 50th year of diplomatic relations with India. Both India and Bangladesh released coins to commemorate the occasions.
The year 2021 marks fifty years of India Bangladesh diplomatic ties and seeks to mark the beginning of ‘shonali adhyay’ (golden chapter) in their bilateral relations. In fact, Bangladesh was among the first countries to receive Indian COVID-19 vaccines under the “Vaccine Maitri” mission. Further, new announcements for bolstering cooperation in several areas has been made during Modi’s recent two-day visit to Bangladesh. Memorandum of Understanding was signed on issues including disaster management, cooperation between Bangladesh National Cadet Corps and National Cadet Corps of India, trade, supply of ICT, and sports. India gifted 109 ambulances to Bangladesh as well as 1.2 million doses of the Covishield vaccine.[8] Modi’s first international visit post pandemic to Bangladesh reiterated the desire for greater connectivity, cooperation and collaboration and enhancement of commerce. However, what one must look forward to is the future of Indo-Bangladesh relations in resolving the unsettled avenues of security, conclusion of Teesta Water Agreement, Bangladesh’s increasing Chinese dependence for military hardware among others.
References
[1] https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Bangladesh_September_2017_en.pdf (Accessed 2 Apr. 2021)
[2] https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/5621/ (Accessed 2 Apr. 2021)
[3] http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,947565,00.html
[4] JHA, NALINI KANT. “INDIA-BANGLADESH RELATIONS: A PERSPECTIVE.” India Quarterly, vol. 56, no. 3/4, 2000, pp. 15–34. JSTOR (Accessed 3 Apr. 2021)
[5] https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Bangladesh_September_2017_en.pdf
[6] https://mea.gov.in/rajya-sabha.htm?dtl/31673/QUESTION+NO3692+NEIGHBOURHOOD+FIRST+POLICY
[7] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bangladesh-pillar-of-neighbourhood-first-policy-pm-modi/article33353610.ece
[8] https://currentaffairs.adda247.com/india-bangladesh-inks-5-mou-to-boost-cooperation/
Sristhi Ghosh
Intern, Asia in Global Affairs
Leave a Reply