The possibility of the fall of Berlin Wall between Dhaka and Delhi
Abdul Gaffar Choudhury
Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now in Dhaka. Though this is his first visit to Bangladesh, it is a historic one. It might rekindle the flame of friendship between the two countries after a long term lapse. 43 years ago Indias the-then Prime Minister came to visit Dhaka after its liberation and laid the foundation of strong friendship and cooperation between Dhaka and Delhi. Indira Gandhis government supported the liberation war of Bangladesh, and she became a symbol of friendship between the two countries.
When she came to visit Dhaka in 1972 a mammoth gathering received her in Ramna and she spoke from the dais of Indira Mancha which was erected in her honour by Bangladesh government. The first government of independent Bangladesh signed a treaty with Indira Gandhi which is still the foundation of Dhaka-Delhi accord and friendship.
But that accord did not last very long. After the overthrow of Mujib government gradually army took over power and the military rulers started to pursue the anti-Indian policy which was basically a state-policy of the-then Pakistan. After Indira India also started to show big stick to her small neighbour and numerous problems between the two countries raised their heads and remained unresolved for a long time.
Last Congress-led UPI government tried to break the ice between the two countries but in spite of their eagerness they could not succeed in their effort as they had no working majority in the parliament and was a very weak coalition government.
In this regard Modi enjoys an absolute majority in the Indian parliament and he can do and undo many things on this strength. As BJP is not a secular political party and Narendra Modi had a controversial past as Chief Minister of Gujrat there was doubt whether he will be eager to pursue a policy of friendship with a secular government in Bangladesh. But like his predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee he came out from his past and started to build a new image for himself. Perhaps after Indira Gandhi he is an Indian Prime Minister who took a bold step to improve the relation with Bangladesh with his political wisdom and parliamentary majority.
Of course the groundwork of that friendship was started by Hasina government of Bangladesh long ago which resulted in the present historic land-boundary treaty. It was an uphill task for Sheikh Hasina to mend the damaged relation with India caused by previous military and autocratic governments.
It was an open secret then that Bangladesh was having a proxy war with India for the benefit of Pakistan for a long time.
For its role of big boss towards Bangladesh India also lost much of Bangladeshi peoples confidence. There was also communal tension between the two countries- a legacy of the British rule. Hasina had to fight a long war to revive this essential friendship which was necessary for both the countries.
For a long time Pakistani rulers pursued an anti-Indian policy using Bangladesh, the-then East Pakistan keeping it in the front line. They settled the disputes over the share of water of their rivers by the Indus-basin treaty but kept the dispute of Ganges water between India and East Pakistan unresolved. East Pakistan had a big market in West Bengal and Tipara for its jute, cotton and fish.
All the production of jute bags on the banks of Howrah river was dependent on the jute cuttings of East Pakistan. During Korean War taking the advantage of the boom period of jute trades Pakistan did not devalue her money with sterling and Indian rupee and trade between India and Pakistan came to a standstill.
India started to produce jute and the jute growers in East Pakistan heavily suffered. Pakistan gradually built up an invisible Berlin Wall between the-then East Pakistan and eastern states of India especially West Bengal and the life line between these two areas which was once a single state was cut down.
In the cultural side also the import of Bengali books, newspapers and magazines were stopped and vice versa and there was a deliberate attempt from Pakistan government to throttle the Bangla culture and language. Because of the absence of good relation between the two countries India remained cold and sometimes hostile towards the settlement of various problems with East Pakistan including the distribution of river water.
With the independence of Bangladesh there was a ray of hope that the country now free from the grip of Pakistan can look forward to the friendship and cooperation with India for mutual benefits. But after the overthrow of Mujib government this hope was dashed out and the subsequent governments started an anti-Indian tirade which benefited Pakistan, not Bangladesh.
After coming to power Sheikh Hasina took bold step to destroy the invisible Berlin Wall from its border and to restore the friendly relation between Dhaka and Delhi. It was a Herculean task because of the tremendous opposition from the communal and anti-people forces in both the countries. Hasina was continually dubbed as Indian agent and Bangladesh as a satellite country of India by opposition parties, including BNP. But her war now has a historic victory. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed the land-border treaty. Now he is in Dhaka for a two-day visit and would sign so many treaties which will benefit the people of both the countries and ensure peace and tranquillity for a long time. I am not going to discuss these treaties in details here because already these have been published in news media of both the countries.
One of the treaties would allow India and Bangladesh to transport their goods through each others land, river and railways. The regulations will be softened to facilitate Bangladeshi peoples getting Indian visa easily. There will be now bus services from Agartala to Dhaka and Kolkata and from Dhaka to Shillong and Gauhati. Modi himself compared the signing off of these bilateral and other treaties with the fall of Berlin wall, which ended the cold war between the East and West.
There was a hope that the problems related to Teesta water will be solved in this visit. But the prediction is that the Teesta treaty will not be signed this time. Perhaps, Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal is a hindrance in this treaty. But the hopeful sign is Mamata came to Dhaka on 5th June, one day before Modis visit and day after she left Dhaka after witnessing the exchange of the copy of land boundary treaty between the two Prime ministers of two countries. There is rumour in some political circles of Dhaka that there is some progress in Teesta talk with Mamata behind the curtain. Our foreign office is hopeful that Sheikh Hasinas tenacity, patience and political wisdom would succeed in completing the Teesta treaty also within a foreseeable time.
The BNP leader has been trying hard to have even a short meeting with the Indian Prime Minister. When I am writing this article I do not know whether Modi has agreed to meet her. If he does not agree some may presume that it is a tit for tat for Khaleda Zia. Because just a few months ago Khaleda Zia refused to meet Indian President and showed disrespect to the great neighbouring country. But if Modi meets her perhaps he will advise the BNP leader to change herself by following his example. Modi of Gujrat has changed from a sectarian towards a national democrat leader. If Khaleda Zia follows his example then that will benefit her party and the country both.
London: Friday 5th June, 2015
