Formulating policies in relation to India
Many Bangladeshis overlook the fact that the reason for Indias huge advantage in its bilateral trade with Bangladesh stems from the superior abilities of its producers. The Indian producers in many cases seem to be more efficient and can market their produces at notably cheaper prices and better quality in relation to Bangladeshi products.
There is also another way of looking at it. India has become Bangladeshs single biggest source for meeting the latters import requirements for various merchandise. One reason is proximity or freighting costs from India are cheaper or more competitive than from other countries for Bangladesh. So, there is a gainful aspect in this for Bangladesh even though India enjoys a huge upper hand in the bilateral trade.
But these issues are not seen with objectivity in Bangladesh but are presented to the gullible people as if India deliberately practices economic imperialism with us. In India also similar notions are spread that Bangladesh is an unreliable neighbour in many respects specially in areas that have implications for Indias physical security. So, it is crucial for the leaderships in both countries to get rid of these hypes or discourage them effectively and build up their relationships based on trust and exact visualization of state of affairs between them as they stand and not on some highly exaggerated ones.
Some may say that Bangladesh has the transit factor to bargain with India. But this is only one area where Bangladesh has a geographical or locational advantage whereas in all other geographical senses, India can breathe down Bangladeshs neck or dominate. India is among the first four countries of the world in terms of military power. Bangladesh is inconsequential by comparison.
Thus, we just cannot have our way with India through keeping alive discords or a confrontational stand. Governments will come and go in Bangladesh. But we must essentially have a united or consensual policy in response to India. The major political parties in Bangladesh must come to an understanding about what that policy will be so that there can be continuity of it regardless of changes in governance. And such a policy needs to be drawn up completely unemotionally and constructively minus mind-sets or phobias. Of course, the aim ought not to be to approach the formation of this policy with any prejudice but the goal ought to be firmly also not to make any concessions if the same is not similarly responded by
the other side.
A new relationship with India is waiting to be defined and shaped seizing and exploiting every opportunity. Clearly we need to acquire better specialist capacities to support formulation of foreign policies in relation to India.
