Bangladesh- India relations
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
1971 war heroes, martyrs
Scholarships for their kin: 2023
Mohua Chatterjee, Oct 27, 2023: The Times of India
New Delhi : The High Commission of Bangladesh in New Delhi presented 20 ‘Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Student Scholarships’ to descendants of martyred Indian soldiers who fought for the liberation of Bangladesh.
Minister for liberation war affairs of Bangladesh A K M Mozammel Huq, attended the event as chief guest while India’s minister of state for defence Ajay Bhatt graced the occasion as the guest of honour. Freedom fighter Lt Col Quazi Sazzad Ali Zahir, Bir Protik conducted the programme. Paying tribute to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in whose honour Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina introduced the scholarships in 2022 during her state visit here, Huq recalled the sacrifice and gallantry of the Indian soldiers and the people of India during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He hoped that the recipients of the scholarships would remember the valour and courage of their forefathers and contribute to the deepening of Bangladesh-India relations.
Bhatt thanked the Bangladesh government and said this sort of initiative will contribute to further consolidating friendship among the governments and the people of the two countries.High commissioner of Bangladesh to India Md Mustafizur Rahman welcomed all the participants at the event. Ishrat Chowdhury, secretary of the ministry of Liberation War affairs of Bangladesh, was also present.
Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar corridor
China takes lead, offers ₹2L cr to Bangladesh/ 2019
Saibal Dasgupta, July 5, 2019: The Times of India
China is taking a lead in the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) corridor by extending a $31 billion (about Rs 2.12 lakh crore) funding package for infrastructure development in Bangladesh. A series of agreements were signed between the two countries during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ongoing visit to Beijing.
The Chinese offer far exceeds India’s assistance packages which are limited to a few billion dollars at a time. India, which is opposed to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has been eager to develop the BCIM corridor. The move from Beijing indicates it is eager to take over the leadership of BCIM, at least in financial terms, political observers said. One of New Delhi’s plans is to link India’s northeast with Chittagong port in Bangladesh.
China’s financial investment in Bangladesh now appears to be its second-biggest, after the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The investment continues to be regarded as development of the BCIM corridor in deference to India’s views about BRI but it is effectively a BRI investment.
Hasina also obtained generous rice aid for tiding over the Rohingya refugee crisis after meeting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. China will provide 2,500 tonnes of rice for Rohingyas living in Bangladesh after being forcibly displaced from Myanmar.
She also presided over the signing of nine agreements between the two countries, covering areas like economic and technical cooperation and investment in electricity development, tourism and culture. Beijing’s investments in Bangladesh include the construction of a six-km-long bridge across the Padma river, costing about $3.7 billion, and the $2.5 billion power plant at Payra, near Dhaka. The 2,800-km BCIM corridor plan involves linking Kunming in China's Yunnan province with Kolkata, passing though nodes such as Mandalay in Myanmar and Dhaka in Bangladesh before heading to Kolkata.
Bilateral issues
2017
As in April 2017
In the last five years [2012-17], trade between the two countries has grown by more than 17% with two way trade at $6.8 billion in the fiscal year 2015-16. The trade is heavily in favour of India and Bangladesh imported goods worth $5.45 billion and exported $690 million. Concerted efforts are needed to narrow the gap.
For facilitation of trade and investment Bangladesh has dedicated two SEZs in its northwest, bordering India. Trade ties are troubled by poor road and rail connectivity . The four operational `border haats' along the India-Bangladesh border have been successful, with trade worth $2,60,000 having taken place. However, there have been delays in the operationalisation of four more `border haats' in Meghalaya, agreed upon during Modi's visit.
Launch of trans-shipment operations combining riverine and land routes last year have enabled India to deliver goods through Bangladesh to Nepal and Bhutan in a third of previous time and reduced transport cost by almost half. After turning power surplus last year, India has been working with Bangladesh to double the capacity of existing transmission interconnects. There are plans to set up a third link for increasing cross-border electricity trade for widening the regional market as new generation capacities come up.
Currently, India provides Bangladesh with 2,600 MW of power. The new line is expected to wheel power from hydel projects proposed to be built in the northeast which can be shared with Bangladesh as well. India's ONGC and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation are in negotiation to build a 6,900 km long gas pipeline linking Bangladesh, Myanmar and northeastern states. There are ongoing talks of expanding energy cooperation to BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal) framework.
Cattle smuggling across the border has decreased, with seizure of cattle by BSF decreasing from 1.5 lakh in 2015 to 1.2 lakh in 2016 in south Bengal frontier, known as the cattle corridor of India. However, border killings of Bangladeshi civilians by BSF have not ceased, with four killed in February alone. Since 2015, a total of 77 people have been killed and 108 injured by BSF. Cattle, even if smuggled, can't be worse than drugs, and fatal shooting of offenders is not justifiable when there are options for imprisonment, fines and confiscation.
Bangladesh has extended full cooperation to India for fighting insurgent groups along the border. During 2009-14 Bangladesh arrested at least 17 top leaders of various insurgent groups, with the surrender of eight more suspects. Some of the insurgents were also sent back to India.
Bangladesh and India are set to sign a five-year MoU for bilateral defence cooperation for joint initiatives in defence technology , research and maritime infrastructure development. Also on the cards is a $500 million line of credit by India to Bangladesh for purchase of military equipment. Some have questioned whether this deal is a response to the recent purchase of two submarines by Bangladesh from China. Given that India has a defence budget of around $50 billion and shops around the world, Bangladesh with a meagre defence budget of around $2.8 billion, with reliance mostly on Chinese built military hardware, should not be a concern for India.
While defence cooperation may be one of the major outcomes of the visit, bigger issues from the Bangladeshi point of view, such as the Teesta water treaty , are still at bay . Despite Modi's pledge and assurances by mercurial Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee of a Teesta deal the water-sharing agreement is being stalled.
The writer is chairperson of Dhaka-based thinktank, Institute for Policy, Advocacy, and Governance (IPAG)
The importance of Sheikh Hasina’s visit
See graphic:
Convergences and challenges, MoUs signed, India and Balgadesh, as on April 7, 2017
2018
Ex-PM Zia’s aide deported over ‘inappropriate’ visa
India deports B’desh ex-PM Zia’s aide over ‘inappropriate’ visa, July 12, 2018: The Times of India
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Khaleda Zia’s foreign legal consultant Lord Alexander Carlile was deported from India on Tuesday, the government has confir med.
The ministry of external affairs (MEA) said Carlile, a British national, arrived in New Delhi (from London) on July 11, 2018, without having obtained the appropriate Indian visa. “His intended activity in India was incompatible with the purpose of his visit as mentioned in his visa application. It was therefore decided to deny him entry into India upon arrival,” it added.
According to reports in Bangladesh media, he was scheduled to hold a press conference along with Zia’s legal team and members of the top brass of the BNP at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in Delhi.
According to a report in Dhaka Tribune, Carlile was expected to discuss his client Khaleda Zia’s jail sentence in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.
The Sheikh Hasina government had apparently denied him entry into Bangladesh earlier. BNP has accused India of playing a role in the “false case” against Zia.
“Since I did not get the permission to come to Dhaka, I wanted to hold the press conference in India in order explain the complexities of Khaleda Zia’s case to the international media community,” Carlile, a member of House of Lords, was quoted as saying.
Zia aide’s motive was suspect: MEA
July 13, 2018: The Times of India
After being denied entry into India, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Khaleda Zia’s foreign legal consultant and British MP Lord Alexander Carlile accused India of acting in a slavish manner under pressure from the government in Dhaka.
India, however, hit back saying his motive for the visit was suspect as he was trying to create differences not just between India and the Bangladesh government but also between India and BNP, the Bangladesh opposition party headed by Zia.
MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said Carlile’s real purpose for the visit did not match what he had mentioned in the visa application form. Despite being told his e-visa could not be honoured because of this ‘discrepancy’, Carlile arrived on Tuesday night armed with a return ticket for a flight scheduled to leave just two hours after his arrival, the government said.
According to Indian officials, Carlile knew he would not get entry into India and that’s why he had come with a return ticket. According to a report in Dhaka Tribune, he was expected to discuss in Delhi his client Khaleda Zia’s jail sentence in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.
Carlile alleged that there was “intolerable political pressure” from the Bangladeshi government to try and stop him from going to India. “The Bangladesh government called in the acting Indian high commissioner in Dhaka and asked him to urge the Indian government to refuse me entry,”' he said, addressing journalists here through Skype.
“The Indian government did that and they ought to be ashamed of themselves, denying a British QC, a member of the House of Lords, entry into India,” Carlile added, alleging that there was an attempt underway with help of judiciary in Bangladesh to keep the Zia family out of politics.
He said he was coming to Delhi for two reasons -- to attend a press briefing as a leading lawyer in the team representing Zia and to meet colleagues in a Commonwealth body that deals with human rights. “When I embarked for India at Heathrow airport yesterday, my visa was checked through the automatic system on two occasions. When I arrived in Delhi later, I was informed that my visa had been revoked,” Carlile said.
There are several cases pending against Zia, including of graft. Her party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, claims that the cases are politically motivated to keep its party chief out of the national elections scheduled for December.
Developmental projects
2023
Nov 2, 2023: The Times of India
New Delhi : PM Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina inaugurated key energy and connectivity projects, one of them a cross-border rail link, the first between northeast India and the neighbouring country.
Modi said inauguration of the India-Bangladesh rail project — Agartala-Akhaura cross-border rail link — was a “historic” moment. He also told Hasina, who is seeking reelection in January, in the virtual ceremony that the kind of work that has taken place between the two countries in the past nine years had not taken place in decades earlier, recalling the land boundary pact and the resolution of the maritime boundary. “India takes pride in the fact that it’s the No. 1 development partner of Bangladesh,” Modi said. TNN
Details
The list of our achievements is so long that we can spend an entire day talking about it,” said Modi. The other two projects inaugurated by Modi and Hasina are the 65-km Khulna-Mongla port rail line, and Unit 2 of the Maitree super thermal power plant in Bangladesh’s Rampal. “The joint inauguration of these important projects shows that we have a strong bond of friendship and collaboration... I also thank PM Modi for the warm hospitality during my visit in September for the G20 Summit,” said Hasina.
India had extended Rs 392.5 crore as grant assistance to Bangladesh for the Agartala-Akhaura rail link, officials said. As part of the Khulna-Mongla port rail line, a 65-km broad gauge route was constructed between Bangladesh’s Mongla Port and the existing rail network in Khulna. The length of the rail link is 12.24 km with a 6.8 km Dual Gauge rail line in Bangladesh and 5.5 km in Tripura. Modi said it will allow northeast states to access ports in Bangladesh. Earlier this year, Modi and Hasina inaugurated the ‘India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline’, a cross-border energy pipeline, built at an estimated cost of Rs 377 crore.
Energy cooperation
2018: agreement signed on 130 km oil pipeline
B’desh, India sign 130km oil pipeline deal, April 10, 2018: The Times of India
Bangladesh and India signed an agreement on their proposed nearly 130km oil pipeline aimed at pumping Indian oil to Bangladesh with a capacity of 1 million tonnes per annum.
The deal was part of the six memorandum of understandings (MoUs) which Dhaka and New Delhi signed during a meeting between their foreign secretaries in Dhaka, Xinhua news agency reported.
Indian foreign secretary Vijay Keshav Gokhale arrived here on Sunday to hold talks with senior Bangladeshi officials on a host of bilateral and regional issues.
“Today, we add another six documents to our large and growing list of meaningful agreements signed during the recent visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India,” Gokhale said.
The documents included the implementation MoU on the friendship pipeline between Numaligarh in Assam and Parbatipur in Bangladesh, an MoU on cooperation between Prasar Bharati and Bangladesh Betar, an MoU for setting up an ICCR Urdu Chair in Dhaka University and an Addendum to the GCNEP-BAEC Interagency Agreement, bdnews24.com reported.
Both sides signed two more MoUs to set up language labs in 500 schools in Bangladesh and upgrade roads in Rangpur city. “This is part of our endeavour to undertake projects in Bangladesh in various socio-economic sectors including education, culture, health, community welfare, road infrastructure for which we are providing Tk 1,600 crore,” he said.
He said India remained a “committed development partner” of Bangladesh and had extended lines of credit of over $8 billion to Bangladesh in the last seven years. This is the largest amount of credit India has ever committed to any single country, he said. From 2008-09, the bilateral trade almost tripled from $2.75 billion to $7.52 billion in 2016-17. Gokhale called Bangladesh “India’s biggest trade partner in south Asia”.
Talking about the energy and power sector, Gokhale said India was currently supplying 660 MW of power to Bangladesh and they were on course to add at least 500 MW more by June.
Gokhale also announced the second phase of humanitarian assistance for the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. His Bangladeshi counterpart Shahdiul Haque said they were “happy” over India’s position on the Rohingya refugee issue and its progress on the pending Teesta water sharing deal. Haque said the two discussed all aspects of the relations between the two nations, including the pending Teesta water sharing issue, and was “delighted” regarding the outcome.
Gokhale is expected to meet PM Sheikh Hasina and foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali on Tuesday before retur ning home.
Inland waterways
2020: Daukandi-Sonamura route operationalised
India opens inland water link to boost B’desh ties, September 5, 2020: The Times of India
New Delhi:
India operationalised the Daukandi (Bangladesh)-Sonamura (Tripura) inland waterway protocol route and called it another milestone in bilateral ties with Bangladesh.
Bangladeshi vessel MB Premier carrying cement started from Daukandi on Thursday and will reach Sonamura on Saturday, traversing 93km along the river Gumti, an external affairs ministry statement said.
This will be the first ever export consignment from Bangladesh to Tripura through the inland waterway. The cargo will be received at Sonamura in the presence of Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb and India’s high commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das. The operationalisation of this route, besides further facilitating overall bilateral trade with Bangladesh, is expected to provide an economical, faster, safer and environment-friendly mode of transport and result in substantial economic benefits to local communities on both sides.
Amid reports of a Chinese outreach to Bangladesh, India has been proactively working with Dhaka to provide impetus to ties. Bangladesh was the first country foreign secretary Harsh Shringla visited since the Covid lockdown was implemented in March. TNN
Migrants from Bangladesh
2020: misgivings in Bangladesh
Indrani Bagchi, March 2, 2020: The Times of India
When foreign secretary Harsh Shringla arrives in Dhaka, his primary task will be to assuage some serious hurt feelings among Bangladeshis over both the CAA-NRC controversy as well as some ill-judged comments by Indian politicians. Shringla will be the first high-level contact with the Sheikh Hasina government since protests against CAANRC erupted all across India.
PM Narendra Modi will be travelling to Dhaka on March 17 for a day to participate in the centenary celebration of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman. But he is likely to face some degree of wariness in a country which was touted as India’s closest neighbour not too long ago. In the past few days, Bangladesh even saw protest marches against communal riots that tore through Delhi last week.
Therefore, Modi is likely to face a different reception, even if the brass papers over the disquiet. The PM will deliver the keynote address at the Mujib centenary event, which will be attended by former President Pranab Mukherjee and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
In the past few months, India has not really stretched itself diplomatically to reassure the people and the Bangladesh brass — particularly on the fear that migrants may be pushed into that country — already straining under the weight of the Rohingya refugees. Sources in Dhaka have been critical of the lack of initiative by the Indian government, particularly the foreign office here and the Indian mission in Dhaka.
Shringla is expected to call on PM Sheikh Hasina, foreign minister A K Abdul Momen and foreign secretary Masud bin Momen. He will also address a seminar organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Strategic Studies.
India wants a trade and services pact with Bangladesh, for which negotiations are expected to begin soon. India will also try to persuade Bangladesh to utilise the $500 million defence cooperation assistance that has been advanced to Dhaka but not made use of yet. More connectivity projects are likely to be announced and some, like rail services connecting Dhaka, Kolkata and Khulna, may increase their frequency.
Both Shringla and the PM are likely to engage the Bangladesh leadership on the Rohingya issue. It’s a thorny subject between two of India’s close neighbours. This week, the issue featured in high level talks during the state visit of Myanmar President U Win Myint here. India is adding another 12 projects to help develop the backward Rakhine state in Myanmar. Correspondingly, India has stepped up humanitarian assistance to the displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh.
Indian car rally team turned back from Bangladesh border over ‘security issues’
A rally with 21 cars from Kolkata to Dhaka and other cities of Bangladesh to promote friendship, named “Moitree”, coinciding with Bangabandhu Sk Mujibur Rahman’s birth centenary celeb- rations, was turned back from the Benapole border on Sunday. The organisers, Automobile Association of Eastern India, have set up an “inquiry” into the incident. Armed with the required visa the rallyists crossed the Petrapole border on Sunday morning, only to be stopped at the Bangladesh end and told to return. Upset rallyists said they were told to return because of some “security issues” and “for lack of permission”. Nothing, however, was given in writing. The rally was supposed to move from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong, Mymensingh and Narayanganj, and re-enter Bengal at Siliguri, reports Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey. Bangladesh deputy high commissioner in Kolkata, Toufique Hasan, told TOI via WhatsApp that while the intention of the rally was good, visas are given only for entry but a rally of this magnitude requires several other permissions from various Bangladeshi authorities.
Voting at multilateral forums
2023: WHO
DurgeshNandan Jha, Nov 2, 2023: The Times of India
New Delhi : India preferred Bangladesh over Nepal for the post of regional director of World Health Organization’s (WHO) Southeast Asia Region contributing to the comfortable victory of Saima Wazed, daughter of Bangla PM Sheikh Hasina.
Although officials were tight-lipped about which way India voted, sources said that it voted for Wazed at the expense of Dr Shambhu Acharya, who could manage one vote, apart from Nepal’s.
It could not have been an easy decision as India has been working to improve ties with both neighbours. The decision may have been influenced by Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina’s effort to stop Islamic terrorist groups, many of them backed by Pakistan, from using Bangla desh as a base to launch attacks against India. The personal stake of Sheikh Hasina, who faces an increasingly tough situation on the domestic front ahead of elections next year, in the outcome of a contest featuring her daughter and China’s effort to woo her, also perhaps helped tip scales in Wazed’s favour.
Wazed, who is a global autism advocate and has been a member of the WHO’s 25-member expert advisory panel on mental health, would have won in any case as eight of the 10 member nations preferred her over Dr Acharya who is a WHO specialist.
WHO said that Wazed’s nomination will be submitted to the WHO executive board during its 154th session, taking place on 22−27 January 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland, and that the newly appointed regional director will take office on 1 February 2024.
Military cooperation
November 2016: Sampriti-7 joint exercise
The Hindustan Times, November 2, 2016
India and Bangladesh undertook a joint military exercise in Bangladesh from November 5, the Defence Ministry announced.
The exercise is likely to include counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations, it added.
Joint exercise of 2016 is an important bilateral defence cooperation endeavour between India and Bangladesh and will be the sixth edition of the same, hosted alternately by the two countries.
In 2015, India hosted ‘Sampriti 2015’ at Binnaguri, West Bengal. The first exercise in this series was conducted in 2010 at Jorhat in Assam.
2018/ Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT)
India, Bangladesh Navies to join hands, June 24, 2018: The Hindu
India and Bangladesh have agreed to institute a Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) as an annual feature between the two Navies. The first edition will be inaugurated by Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba during his visit there from June 24 to 29.
“The commencement of CORPAT is major step towards enhanced operational interaction between both Navies. Naval cooperation between India and Bangladesh has been traditionally strong, encompassing a wide span which includes operational interactions through port calls, passage exercises along with capacity building, capability enhancement and training initiatives,” the Navy said in a statement.
The Navy said the aim of Adm. Lanba’s visit is to “consolidate bilateral defence relations between India and Bangladesh and to explore new avenues for naval cooperation.”
During his visit, Adm. Lanba will call on Bangladesh President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and also interact with the three service Chiefs of Bangladesh armed forces.
Widening cooperation
Over the last few years, the Navy has expanded its assistance to countries in the region through “material support, training, EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) surveillance, provisioning of platforms, hydrographic assistance, joint exercises and offering slots in professional training courses.”
The Indian Navy regularly conducts CORPATs with Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand. It also conducts EEZ surveillance of Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles on their request.
Rail services
2020: Bangladesh- Haldibari trains resume
December 12, 2020: The Times of India
Trains to B’desh from Haldibari after 55 years
New Delhi:
After a gap of 55 years, India and Bangladesh will officially relaunch the operation of trains between Haldibari in West Bengal and Chilahati in Bangladesh on December 17. Sources said the trains will be flagged off from both ends and a goods train will make the debut journey from Chilahati to Haldibari to mark the opening.
The date has significance considering that on this day, Pakistani troops surrendered to the allied forces of Bangladesh and India, bringing to end the war for the liberation of Bangladesh..
The Prime Ministers of the two countries are scheduled inaugurate the resumption of rail services, sources said. TNN
Sheikh Hasina Wazed and India
1975-2024
Shubhajit Roy, Aug 6, 2024: The Indian Express
In 1975, the sisters had taken refuge in India after soldiers assassinated their father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along with seven members of the family, including Mujib’s 10-year-old son Russell (named after the British philosopher Bertrand Russell). Hasina escaped because she was then in Germany with her husband and Rehana.
Army in politics
The chequered history of Bangladeshi democracy has seen periodic interventions by the military. The army appointed Chief Justice Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem as president in November 1975, and the country was ruled by a military junta.
In 1977, Gen Ziaur Rahman became president; he was assassinated in 1981 and his successor Abdus Sattar was removed in a coup in 1982. Army chief H M Ershad took control, but mass unrest led to his resignation in 1990.
The civilian governments of Khaleda Zia, widow of Gen Ziaur Rahman (1991-96 and 2001-06), and Sheikh Hasina (1996-2001) followed. In between, there was an attempted coup in 1996.
After Hasina came back to power in 2008, she made sure that the army returned to the barracks. In 2010, the Supreme Court reduced the scope for military interventions through legal loopholes, and reaffirmed the secular principles of the Bangladesh constitution.
Hasina’s goodwill
Hasina’s regime brought political stability and economic growth to the country. India was one of the beneficiaries of her return, and a benefactor as well.
In 2009, the Manmohan Singh government reached out with humanitarian aid and assistance. It helped that Hasina had deep personal ties with the Gandhi family; Indira Gandhi had played a pivotal role in the liberation of Bangladesh. Hasina’s personal rapport with Sonia Gandhi, as well as Rahul and Priyanka, was evident when she visited India in June.
Former President Pranab Mukherjee acted as Hasina’s local guardian when, in the years after Mujib’s assassination, she lived on Delhi’s Pandara Road. Mukherjee’s wife Suvra is said to have introduced Hasina as her relative. Decades later, Hasina would attend both their funerals.
These early experiences left an indelible impact on Hasina, and she developed a deep gratitude for the Indian leadership and its people. She received bipartisan support in India — after assuming office in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also reached out to her. The core concerns of fighting religious extremism and countering terrorism was the strategic glue that bound successive Indian governments with Hasina’s regime.
With this bi-partisan support, the outstanding maritime boundary issue was resolved, followed by the land boundary agreement. As Bangladesh’s economy grew rapidly, India extended it billions of dollars in lines of credit, and supported its infrastructure and humanitarian requirements.
India’s attitude
As Hasina won election after election — in 2013, 2018, and 2024 — she faced questions of legitimacy and alleged rigging, especially from the US and the West. But she could bank on India for full-fledged, no-questions-asked support.
This support was founded on India’s experience during the BNP-Jamaat rule in 2001-06, when anti-India terror groups operated with impunity from Bangladeshi soil. On returning to power, Hasina went after these terror groups and their benefactor, the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh.
She extended her crackdown to the main opposition BNP as well — the war tribunal hanged Jamaat leaders for 1971 war crimes, jailed BNP leader Khaleda Zia for alleged corruption, and jailed hundreds of Opposition leaders and activists. As India looked the other way for its own national security and strategic reasons, Hasina’s crackdown extended to the dissenting voices in civil society and media as well.
As she landed in India on Monday — some say she may be headed to London — National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met her at the Hindon Air Force station. New Delhi will have to work towards ensuring her safety — even as it is likely to face some questions from the new regime in Dhaka about giving refuge to an unpopular leader.
For New Delhi, Hasina will always be the leader who helped make its eastern borders quiet and stable.
The way forward
New Delhi has its diplomatic task cut out going forward. It shunned the BNP and Jamaat for the past decade-and-half, choosing Hasina’s Awami League as its favoured party in Bangladesh. During these years, the Bangladeshi opposition viewed India as backing Hasina, and the West as being on their side.
There is a real risk of blowback from the Bangladeshi people as well. What attitude the new power centres in Dhaka — some of whom will carry past grudges — take towards India will be critical.
The challenges encountered during the earlier BNP-Jamaat years could well resurface. New Delhi cannot afford to have another front open when the LoC and the border with Pakistan is hot again, and the Indian Army is in a long standoff with the PLA in eastern Ladakh. The Myanmar border remains extremely volatile, and the source of unrest in India’s Northeast.
The army chief will play an important role. New Delhi has had robust links with the Bangladeshi security establishment due to the common threats from terrorism and extremism. Those ties might come in handy now, as “anti-India elements” take charge.
Teesta project
2024/ Bangladesh prefers India over China
July 16, 2024: The Times of India
Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina said her govt would prefer neighboring India execute a $1 billion river development project, a move that would soothe New Delhi’s security concerns.
“China is ready but I want India to do the project,” PM Hasina told reporters at a presser in Dhaka.
China and India both want to execute the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration — a Dhakaled initiative to better manage the river’s waters — as the two nation vie for influence in neighboring Bangladesh.
The project to develop the river basin of 414km Teesta river that flows from India into Bangladesh figured prominently in talks during Hasina’s visit to New Delhi in June. The two countries share numerous rivers that flow from the Himalayas into the Bay of Bengal. BLOOMBERG
Details
July 16, 2024: The Times of India
With Beijing being non-committal on Teesta water conservation project, Bangladesh PM has announced that she would prefer India to implement the same. New Delhi anyway would not like China's potential involvement in the project near its strategic Siliguri Corridor, which connects the northeastern region with the rest of India
Back from her China visit, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said something that would be music to India’s ears.She has announced in Dhaka that India, as the next-door neighbour, has the right on the Teesta water conservation and associated special economic zone (SEZ) project and she would prefer New Delhi to implement the same, The Economic Times reports.
Both China and India are competing to build the mega project on the cross-border river involving a reservoir. But New Delhi is believed to have reservations over China's potential involvement in the project near its strategic Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chicken's Neck, which connects the northeastern region with the rest of India.
India’s concerns are genuine given the years-long border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.
Then and now
On June 25, Hasina told reporters in Dhaka that Bangladesh would carefully assess the proposals from both India and China on this project and accept the better one for her country.
Hasina, who visited India last month at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had described her trip as “very fruitful” and said the outcome of her talks with India's top leadership would play a “pivotal role” in strengthening the existing bilateral relations and opening new avenues of cooperation.
That was her first visit to a neighbouring country since her return to power in January.
Asked which side she favoured more as far as India and China were concerned regarding the Teesta project, the 76-year-old leader had said, “We maintain our friendships based on the developmental needs of our country”.
“When we receive a proposal, we consider factors such as its suitability for us, our capacity to repay any loans, the returns we will enjoy after project completion, and how it will benefit the people of our country,” she said after her second visit to Delhi in June.
However, the Bangladesh PM has now clearly spelled out her preference.
“...I would prioritise that India will do it [the Teesta project]. India holds the water of Teesta River.... So, they should do the project and they would give whatever is necessary here if they do the project," Hasina said in Dhaka on July 14.
She seems to be upset over China remaining non-committal on backing the project during her recent Beijing trip. Hasina cut short her China visit after Beijing backtracked on a financial package of $5 billion and did not offer her adequate protocol.
She had expected to hold a lengthy meeting with Chinese President Xi Jingping but the latter met her briefly, leaving the Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang as her principal interlocutor, according to an earlier ET report. Even foreign minister Wang Yi did not call on the visiting Bangladesh PM.
State-run Chinese media did not give adequate coverage to Hasina's visit as well, which was rare as any visiting leader tends to get prominent exposure in official media.
Geopolitical observers say with this act, China showed disapproval of her two visits to Delhi ahead of the Beijing trip.
These developments may have prompted Hasina, who was scheduled to return from Beijing on July 11, to cut short her visit by a day. She took a return flight on July 10 night, on the pretext of attending to her “ailing daughter”.
What has China done so far?
China has completed a physical survey on the project while India expressed its willingness to do another study regarding the implementation of the Teesta project.
According to Bangladeshi officials, China in 2020 proposed a major dredging work on the Teesta River and building reservoirs and embankments without India having to play any role but Bangladesh has kept the billion-dollar project on hold.
Hydropower on the Teesta is another point of conflict. There are at least 26 projects on the river mostly in Sikkim, aimed at producing some 50,000MW.
Bangladesh wants 50% of the Teesta waters between December and May every year, because that's when the water flow to the country drops drastically.
“The historical flow of the river at Rangpur [Bangladesh] is 5,000 cusecs, but we're getting only 500 cusecs of water now. This has affected farmers whose standing crops are withering away and also fishermen who are facing loss of livelihood,” a Bangladeshi expert told TOI a couple of years ago.
India says it has its own compulsions. “Not enough water is flowing into the Teesta to meet our irrigation needs. We have to increase the area under irrigation in North Bengal to boost agricultural production.
“We will achieve our target of bringing in 1.5 lakh acres of farmland,” said then West Bengal irrigation minister Rajib Banerjee in 2021.
Centre Vs Bengal Over India-Bangladesh Talks: Mamata Upset With Modi? Water Sharing Troubles Return?
Media reports suggest that the Bengal government decided in principle to dig two new canals to divert the Teesta waters for irrigation purposes in the Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts.
Replying to another query about Banerjee's objection to the Indian government's move over the sharing of Teesta and Ganga water with Bangladesh, Hasina said on June 25 she doesn't want to make any comment over the issue as it is solely their internal matter.
But Hasina said she has a good relationship with all the political parties in India including Indian PM Modi and Banerjee.
“As part of our development cooperation, we will also undertake conservation and management of Teesta River inside Bangladesh with Indian assistance within a mutually agreed timeframe,” said a joint statement issued during Hasina’s visit to India on June 22.
The Ganga Treaty
On December 12, 1996, then Indian PM HD Deve Gowda and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina signed a treaty to share Ganga waters.
The 30-year arrangement will expire in December 2026. A joint committee monitors the implementation of the pact. According to the treaty, the Ganga waters are being shared at Farakka (which is the last control structure on river Ganga in India) during the lean period — from January 1 to May 3 every year — on a 10-day period basis.
“India will send a technical team after the 1996 Ganges water treaty expires in 2026. The team [with their Bangladesh counterparts] will explore options and negotiate the terms,” Hasina told reporters.
A strategic dilemma for Dhaka?
Some experts argue that the Teesta project has landed Bangladesh in a strategic dilemma. Writing for The Diplomat, Kamal Uddin Mazumder, a Dhaka-based security and strategic affairs analyst, said, “The Teesta river project has far-reaching implications for Bangladesh and its relations with India and China. While maintaining neutrality is crucial for Bangladesh’s foreign policy, the Teesta project poses a challenge as it may force Bangladesh to take sides or risk alienating key partners.
“Engaging with India could reinforce bilateral relations and address immediate security concerns, but at the risk of alienating China and potentially missing out on economic opportunities. Conversely, embracing China’s involvement may yield economic benefits but could strain relations with India.”
However, according to an Indian analyst, the China factor should not be overstated.
“India-Bangladesh ties today stand on their own merit. Hasina and Modi have ensured that by focusing on concrete tangible outcomes for the people of both nations, they have redefined the contours of what an ideal partnership between two neighbours should look like. Mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity have made this relationship an exemplar for all others,” writes professor Harsh V Pant, vice-president, Studies and Foreign Policy at Observer Research Foundation.
With inputs from agencies
Trade relations
India-Bangladesh trade
The Times of India, Feb 25, 2012
[ The Times of India]
Sidhartha & Surojit Gupta
With over 100 Indian firms already in Bangladesh, and trade in current financial year already at $1.7bn, business relations between the two countries have never looked better
Kotak Mahindra Bank is the latest Indian firm to line up to be part of the growing India-Bangladesh trade and investment story. The private sector lender has sought permission from the authorities across the border to set up a joint venture with Abdul Mehtab Ahmed, a local businessman. A Kotak Mahindra spokesperson told ToI that the move is in line with the bank’s growth strategy. But any banking analyst would tell you that banks typically follow companies to meet their funding requirements. What they leverage is their existing ties. With over 100 Indian companies already in Bangladesh, it is not surprising that the country is on the banking radar.
From Bharti Airtel, which has invested close to $1 billion, to the AV Birla Group, Arvind Mills and Sun Pharma and even smaller players who make fans, plastic products and garments, several Indian players are sensing an opportunity across the border. After all, trade ties have improved, which is evident in better trade numbers. In the first six months of the current financial year trade has increased to around $1.7 billion from $1.56 billion in April-September 2011. Although exports from India have increased marginally to $1.4 billion, imports have gone up 85% to $290 million from around $160 million a year ago. The target is to increase trade to $1 billion this year. “The terms of trade are still tilted in India’s favour but we expect this to improve significantly in the coming years,” says an official. Within this it is textiles and raw jute imports that have seen a steep rise. Raw jute imports from Bangladesh rose over 500% to $54 million, while readymade garment imports rose nearly three-fold from $8 million in the first half of 2010-11 to $22 million during April-September 2011. Import of made-ups of textiles also increased to $27 million. India had offered tariff concessions as well as dutyfree import quotas to Bangladesh to boost trade ties. Numbers indicate that cotton fabric and yarn exports from India rose around 22% to $350 million, indicating that ties with garment makers across the border were improving. The concessions given on export of textiles are beginning to have an impact and there is already a clamour for protection from Bangladesh, which is now among the largest textiles exporters. Indian officials, however, dismissed suggestions that import of textiles from Bangladesh were affecting the local industry, saying the local market was worth nearly $35 billion (Rs 1.82 lakh crore). But officials from both sides recognize that there are several bottlenecks, starting with the pile-up of trucks at the border.
Anyone who has visited the Petrapole or the Akhaura border with Bangladesh would tell you that a long queue of trucks on either side of the border is a common sight. “India has worked on improving the border but we need to upgrade the customs facility. There are very few officers to clear the consignments,” says a Bangladesh government official. There are other irritants too such as the absence of money changers at the border. “On both sides, infrastructure is a big issue,” adds another official. While work at Petrapole is underway for an integrated check post, they say often the attitude of the customs officials at the border posts impacts trade. “There are not enough senior officers and often one can find that the officers who are there are not well versed in the latest notifications. This delays trade enormously,” said one official. Adding to the problem is the lack of quarantine officers to take care of farm exports and imports. But some progress is visible as ties between the two countries improve. New posts are scheduled to come up Agartala, Dawki, Hili, Chandrabangha, Sutarkhandi and Kawarpuchiah. Simultaneously, eight land customs stations are also coming up with the two projects together expected to cost over Rs 600 crore. There are border haats too which permit weekly trade in select local goods. This is a move aimed at building confidence on both sides of the border and increasing peopleto-people contact.
While the bonhomie is visible, there are several decisions that can help bolster ties. For instance, Bangladesh is sitting on proposals to permit Indian companies to get goods and raw material delivered at the Chittagong and Mongla ports and then transport then through the North East. That’s linked to the deal on Teesta. Politics apart, there are trade irritants too, which Bangladesh terms as non-tariff barriers. For instance, both countries have productwise restrictions on entry of consignments at various entry points. Bangladesh is also willing to open up more to Indian companies. They have said they are willing to offer one or two special economic zones to Indian companies. So far there has been no takers but expectations are that the plan will soon take off. Bangladesh officials say the potential for raising bilateral trade is immense. Both sides have recognized the potential and it is upto the policymakers to seize the initiative to nurture the relationship which analysts say can accelerate the pace of regional integration in South Asia and transform the lives of people living along the India-Bangladesh border.
2020
Bengal stop goods from Bangladesh through Petrapole-Benapol
Indrani Bagchi, Bengal bump hits Bangladesh ties, July 4, 2020: The Times of India
NEW DELHI: West Bengal is proving to be a major obstacle to India’s neighbourhood policy.
A decision by the Mamata Banerjee government to stop all goods from Bangladesh through the Petrapole-Benapole border since March has resulted in serious damage to bilateral trade and it came to a head on Wednesday with Bangladesh refusing to allow Indian trucks to cross the border.
As a result of Bengal’s actions, bilateral trade with Bangladesh dropped to $424 million in April-May, as compared to nearly $2 billion for the same period in 2019, with serious disruption to imports from Bangladesh. In the first five calendar months of 2019 (Jan-May), it was $4.1 billion but in 2020, it is just $2.9 billion.
Bangladeshi traders and government have been expressing unhappiness for some time, which spilled over on July 1 leading to Bangladesh stopping Indian trucks. Even so, sources said, 106 trucks had been let through into Bangladesh.
No exports from Bangladesh have been allowed to come via Petrapole-Benapole since March 23, day before the lockdown was ordered. It briefly resumed on April 29, but shut down again on May 2, following some local protests. Trade restarted on June 7 and slowly the volume rose to around 250 trucks per day from around 24 aday. But it was all one-way trade with only trucks from India going to Bangladesh but nothing being allowed to come from the other side.
Interestingly, there has been no stoppage of goods from Bangladesh via Tripura, but only through Petrapole-Benapole which accounts for about 70% of Indo-Bangla trade. Sources here said Bengal even went so far as to stop trucks going to Nepal and Bhutan via the state. In April, the home ministry asked the Mamata Banerjee government to allow truck movement to these countries since they are landlocked and depend on India for goods movement. This is also part of India’s global commitments.
The Centre had told Bengal its actions were in “clear violation of the MHA orders issued under Disaster Management Act 2005 as well as well as Articles 253, 256 and 257 of the Constitution”.
On the domestic front, this was also the time when the Centre and the Bengal government were at loggerheads over the state’s handling of the Covid crisis.
Faced with a serious disruption in trade which could have a negative impact on other aspects of bilateral ties, the Centre is looking for other options to bypass the Petrapole-Benapole ICP. For the first time, goods have been moving through the resurrected India-Bangladesh rail network. On Friday, the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, announced that it would serve Indo-Bangla trade by introducing a new service between Kolkata Dock System and Chattogram (Chittagong) through Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route.
Coastal Shipping
First cargo ship from India arrives in B'desh
The first container ship from India has arrived at Panagon river port in Dhaka under the Coastal Shipping Agreement signed in 2015, allowing direct cargo vessel movement between the two countries.
The ship, Shonartori Nou Kalyan-1, reached the Panagon port on Friday with 65 containers on board. PTI
2020
Chattogram port opens for India’s internal cargo after 1965
B’desh port opens for India’s internal cargo after 55 yrs, July 17, 2020: The Times of India
New Delhi:
After a gap of 55 years, a container ship was flagged off from Kolkata carrying TMT steel bars and pulses to Agartala via Chattogram (Chittagong) port in Bangladesh, reports Dipak Dash.
This is the first time after 1965 that Bangladesh is allowing its ports to be used as transit for cargo movement from any part of India to northeastern states. The shipping ministry said two TEUs (twentyfoot equivalent unit) carrying TMT steel bars are destined for West Tripura district and two TEUs carrying pulses is heading for Karimganj in Assam. After reaching Chattogram, the consignment will move to Agartala on Bangladeshi trucks.
Water sharing agreements
2022: Kushiyara river
Kallol Bhattacherjee, Sep 10, 2022: The Hindu
From: Kallol Bhattacherjee, Sep 10, 2022: The Hindu
What is the status of the Teesta river water sharing proposal?
The story so far: During Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India from September 5 to 8, the two sides signed a slew of agreements, including the first water sharing agreement since the landmark Ganga Waters Treaty, 1996. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on sharing of the waters of the Kushiyara river, a distributary of the Barak river which flows through Assam, and then on to Bangladesh. The agreement comes in a year when both lower Assam in India and Sylhet in Bangladesh have witnessed deadly floods highlighting the requirement for greater cooperation on flood control and irrigation-related issues between the two countries.
The story so far: During Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India from September 5 to 8, the two sides signed a slew of agreements, including the first water sharing agreement since the landmark Ganga Waters Treaty, 1996. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on sharing of the waters of the Kushiyara river, a distributary of the Barak river which flows through Assam, and then on to Bangladesh. The agreement comes in a year when both lower Assam in India and Sylhet in Bangladesh have witnessed deadly floods highlighting the requirement for greater cooperation on flood control and irrigation-related issues between the two countries.
What is the Kushiyara agreement?
Over the last century, the flow of the Barak river has changed in such a way that the bulk of the river’s water flows into Kushiyara while the rest goes into Surma. According to water expert, Dr. Ainun Nishat, the agreement is aimed at addressing part of the problem that the changing nature of the river has posed before Bangladesh as it unleashes floods during the monsoon and goes dry during the winter when demand of water goes up because of a crop cycle in Sylhet. Though the details of the agreement are not yet known, Dr. Nishat says that under this MoU, Bangladesh will be able to withdraw 153 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water from the Kushiyara out of the approximately 2,500 cusecs of water that is there in the river during the winter season. There are various estimates about the area that will benefit from this supply but it is generally understood that approximately 10,000 hectares of land and millions of people will benefit from the water that will flow through a network of canals in Sylhet benefiting the farmers involved in Boro rice, which is basically the rice cultivated during the dry season of December to February and harvested in early summer. Bangladesh has been complaining that the Boro rice cultivation in the region had been suffering as India did not allow it to withdraw the required water from the Kushiyara. The agreement addresses Bangladesh’s concern over water supply along the river, during the winter months but flood control in the basin of Kushiyara is expected to require much more work.
How will Bangladesh use the water?
The water of Kushiyara will be channelled through the Rahimpur Canal project in Sylhet. The Rahimpur Canal project in Zakiganj upazila or subdivision of Sylhet was built to help the farmers access Kushiyara’s water but the facility used to remain dry during the lean season without serving the purpose for which it was built. The eight km long canal is the only supplier of water from the Kushiyara to the region and Bangladesh has built a pump house and other facilities for withdrawal of water that can now be utilised.
Why is the water from the Kushiyara so important for Rahimpur Canal?
The water of the Kushiyara has been used for centuries in Sylhet’s subdivisions like the Zakiganj, Kanaighat and Beanibazar areas. But Bangladesh has witnessed that the flow and volume of water in the canal has reduced during the lean season. The utility of the river and the canal during the lean/winter season had gone down, affecting cultivation of rice as well as a wide variety of vegetables for which Sylhet is famous. The additional water of Kushiyara through the Rahimpur Canal therefore is the only way to ensure steady supply of water for irrigation of agriculture fields and orchards of the subdivisions of Sylhet.
What was India’s objection to the Rahimpur Canal?
The Kushiyara water sharing agreement finalised during the August 25 Joint River Commission and signed during Prime Minister Hasina’s visit was made possible as India withdrew its objection to withdrawal of Kushiyara’s waters by Bangladesh through the Rahimpur Canal. Withdrawal of India’s objection is likely the main part of the agreement, said Dr. Nishat. Before this, Bangladesh had carried out the Upper Surma Kushiyara Project which included clearing and dredging of the canal and other connected channels of water; but the channels could not be of much use to Bangladesh because India objected to the move and claimed that the dyke and other infrastructure interfered in border security as Kushiyara itself forms part of the border between the two sides. However, the agreement indicates that the economic benefits possible from the river outweighed the security concerns.
What are the hurdles to the Teesta agreement?
The Kushiyara agreement is relatively smaller in scale in comparison to Teesta that involves West Bengal, which has problems with the proposal. The Kushiyara agreement did not require a nod from any of the States like Assam from which the Barak emerges and branches into Kushiyara and Surma.The reduced water flow of the Kushiyara during winter and Teesta too, however, raise important questions about the impact of climate change on South Asian rivers that can affect communities and trigger migration. Bangladesh has cited low water flow in its rivers during the winter months as a matter of concern as it affects its agriculture sector. Dr. Nishat contends that the coming decades will throw up similar challenging issues involving river water sharing as the impact of the climate crisis becomes more visible with water levels going down in several cross-border rivers.
