Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. All of these have happened by achieving laudable successes during the past nine years of Awami League government since 2009. The three leaders of BNP, who visited India were Abdul Awal Mintoo, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and Humayun Kabir. During this seven days’ visit they have held several meetings in Delhi. However, media report suggests that there is a brawl in BNP over these three leaders’ visit to India without telling party’s senior leaders. BNP standing committee member Dr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said to the journalists that he does not know anything about those meetings. After returning from Delhi these three leaders were facing pressure. The BNP leader asked, "What is the secret agreement BNP has had with India?" Not only the BNP, Awami League leaders also questioned, "What kind of deal did BNP offer to India?"BNP leaders India visit: A review
With the BNPs hold on power in different periods, Bangladesh has pursued anti-Indian policy, and chosen a policy of
alignment with Pakistan to counterbalance India. In contrast, during different tenures of the rule of the AL, Bangladesh has chosen the path of friendship with India
Dr. Arun Kumar Goswami
The leaders of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have visited India at a time when Bangladesh has become a role model of development and Bangladesh-India friendship has reached to the highest level under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. All of these have happened by achieving laudable successes during the past nine years of Awami League government since 2009. The three leaders of BNP, who visited India were Abdul Awal Mintoo, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and Humayun Kabir. During this seven days visit they have held several meetings in Delhi. However, media report suggests that there is a brawl in BNP over these three leaders visit to India without telling partys senior leaders. BNP standing committee member Dr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said to the journalists that he does not know anything about those meetings. After returning from Delhi these three leaders were facing pressure. The BNP leader asked, What is the secret agreement BNP has had with India? Not only the BNP, Awami League leaders also questioned, What kind of deal did BNP offer to India?
However, despite BNP`s apology for supporting the separatists in 2001-2006, India wants guarantee that such incidents will not happen in the future.
But after returning home BNP leaders kept their meetings a secret from their party leaders. Many BNP leaders expressed frustration and said that anti-Indian and pro-Pakistani stance are the main strength of BNP`s politics. Now, if the party abruptly change its traditional anti-Indian position and follow the policy of appeasing India, then how does BNP`s ideological identity remain unharmed?
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on June 12, 2018 Tuesday said his party has no complaint over BNP leaders India visit. On the backdrop of coming election for 11th Jatiya Sangsad, observers view, the power hungry quarters are moving to different places to get their blessings. The BNP sits out of parliament after the boycott of the 2014 general election. However, it is quite uncertain whether they will contest in the next election due by the end of this year - its chief Khaleda Zia is in jail for corruption and violence-related cases and the Awami League not agreeing to meet the BNPs demand for installation of a non-partisan government to oversee the balloting.
However, when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited India in April 2017 mainstream Indian media publicized it as, Sheikh Hasinas Visit to India Matters. Even during her most recent visit to India on May 25-26, 2018 to inaugurate Bangladesh Bhawan at Shanti Niketan and receive Honorary D.Lit. degree from Kazi Nazrul University, a warm reception was given to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Thousands of people were standing on two sides of the road to have a glimpse of Bangabandhus daughter and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. On the contrary, during her premiership in 2001-2006 when Khaleda Zia visited India on March, 2006 the Indian media wrote, barring the hype, Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zias three-day visit to India will only be remembered as another sore point in the history of India-Bangladesh relations, pockmarked largely by bitterness and feud. Bangabandhus daughter has transformed that bitterness and feud into friendship dialogue. The Indian media has further depicted that visit of BNP leader (during 2006) as the furtherance of enmity. It said the visit (of Khaleda Zia) yielded precious little, two minor agreements and usual homilies for the cameras, and would be known more for the missed opportunities, and the subsequent bouts of bitterness.
Everything was wrong about this visit, particularly the timing and the content. And of course BNP has done everything that might do harm to India. Evidences abound.
Even after sudden and purposeful change of BNPs stance, at least two most recent events could be mentioned at this moment. One is the disappointment of Indian government over abrupt cancellation of Khaleda Zias proposed meeting with former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee during his visit in 2013. As per the original itinerary of the then visiting Indian President, Khaleda Zia, Chairperson of BNP, was to have called on Mukherjee at his hotel suite on the afternoon of March 4, 2013, but the revised official programme given to the media did not include the meeting. This was an insult to the visiting Indian President.
Another point is invitation and entertainment of Indian high commissioner Harsh Bardhan Shringla on May 20, 2018 in the Iftar Party of Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Several photos of that Iftar party have been uploaded on the facebook. The narration of the photos was, different face(s) of different people. Face of any individual may be the index of individual mind(s)One is smiling reluctantly, other is in gloomy face, still another is just sitting, while the guest is standing. Many things can be observed by the political psychologists.
Of course, it is nothing new as the party maintains Pakistani ideology, which, following late writer and politician Abul Mansur Ahmed, could be termed as spirit-of-partition. This was the basis for creation of Pakistan, as the religious colony of South Asia. Without any doubt it could be said that the spirit-of-partition is the antonym of the spirit-of-liberation war.
With the BNPs hold on power in different periods, Bangladesh has pursued anti-Indian policy, and chosen a policy of alignment with Pakistan to counterbalance India. In contrast, during different tenures of the rule of the AL, Bangladesh has chosen the path of friendship with India.
The ALs India policy, characterised by friendship with India, has simultaneously marked strains in Bangladesh-Pakistan ties. This variation in Bangladeshs foreign policy, in particular its orientation towards India and Pakistan, raises a question, why the BNP has preferred a policy of enmity against India and followed the path of alignment with Pakistan? In response we can say that the BNPs politics of Islamic-nationalism or communalism against non-Muslims especially against Hindus, is a key variable that can answer the question. Islamic-nationalism views Hindu India as the enemy of Muslim Pakistan or Bangladesh.
At a public meeting in Dhaka on February 23, 1991 Khaleda Zia said, If Awami League comes to power, the land till Feni will be captured by India. You will not be a citizen of Bangladesh; you will get enslaved to India. (Khaleda Zia, Jan 30, 1991 at a public gathering in Feni).
After the signing of Ganges water treaty, Khaleda Zia as the opposition leader had given a statement on December 14, 1996. In that statement she said, Despite the Ganges water treaty, Bangladesh will not get a single drop of water, and in two years time, cars will run on the river Padma.
On January 28, 2000 Leader of the Opposition, Khaleda Zia said, The 25-year India-Bangladesh Friendship Agreement with India is actually a contract of slavery. The contract will be abandoned immediately. If this contract is not abandoned, BNP will abandon it after coming to power.
There were definite activities that indicate that the ISI has been active in Bangladesh whenever the BNP has been in power (1991-1996) and later during 2001-2006. The dreaded ISI is alleged to have supported a network in Bangladesh, which includes the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, the BNP and Northeast Indias rebel groups during the BNPs rule.
The spy agency was also alleged to have launched a campaign from Bangladesh to destabilize the Northeast India by patronizing and providing logistic support, weapons, training, money-laundering to fund covert operations by the separatist groups from Bangladesh.
However, the ISI covert operations were scuttled after Sheikh Hasina swept into power in 2009. The separatist leaders were gradually handed over to Indian authorities and insurgent camps were dismantled jointly by Bangladesh Army, Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) and elite anti-crime force RAB.
In the end of 2012, Khaleda Zia suddenly made a U-turn and air dashed to India to convince the Indian hierarchy in New Delhi. Khaleda Zia, Bangladeshs leader of the opposition in Parliament, made some significant statements during her October 28-November 3 private visit to India that deserves scrutiny, writes the Hindu.
During the visit, which was closely watched in both the countries, Khaleda Zia met key Indian leaders including President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, senior BJP leader LK Advani, BJP president Nitin Gadkari, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai.
In her meetings, Khaleda Zia, for the first time, appreciated Indias security concerns and gave an assurance that terrorist and anti-India insurgents would not be allowed on Bangladeshi soil if she comes to power again.
Khaleda Zia, a staunch critic of the present Sheikh Hasinas government, is accusing her (Sheikh Hasina) for being an Indian stooge who (Sheikh Hasina) urged Delhi for improved relations between two neighbors, also reportedly supported Indias transit and transshipment through Bangladesh. Indians did not forget that, as the opposition leader Khaleda Zia made several public statements that Northeast Indian insurgents were freedom fighters
The informed quarters of South Asian politics know it very well that BNP has done everything possible against India and against minority Hindus of Bangladesh. However, at the end it would be affordable to conclude that at present Bangladesh and Bangladesh Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina are following the proper way of the spirit-of-liberation war as opposed to the spirit-of-partition. Accordingly, the country has become a role model of development and Bangladesh-India friendship has reached at the top most level under the government of Awami League. The development of Bangladesh would be stopped and Bangladesh-India friendship would go back to dark-age if the traditional anti-Indian, anti-liberation and communal forces could come to power by any means.
For this reason, it is the ardent hope of the people of Bangladesh that Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina would win the coming election and the process of Bangladeshs development would continue.
The writer is Director, South Asian Study Circle, Jagannath University, Dhaka.
