Prior to the Partition of British India, the Lahore Resolution initially envisaged separate Muslim-majority states in the eastern and northwestern zones of British India. A proposal for an independent United Bengal was mooted by Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy in 1946, but was opposed by the colonial authorities. The East Pakistan Renaissance Society advocated the creation of a sovereign state in eastern British India. Eventually, political negotiations led, in August 1947, to the official birth of two states, Pakistan and India, giving presumably permanent homes for Muslims and Hindus respectively following the departure of the British.
The Dominion of Pakistan comprised two geographically and culturally separate areas to the east and the west with India in between. The western zone was popularly (and for a period, also officially) termed West Pakistan and the eastern zone (modern-day Bangladesh) was initially termed East Bengal and later, East Pakistan. Although the population of the two zones was close to equal, political power was concentrated in West Pakistan and it was widely perceived that East Pakistan was being exploited economically, leading to many grievances.
Administration of two discontinuous territories was also seen as a challenge. On 25 March 1971, after an election won by an East Pakistani political party (the Awami League) was ignored by the ruling (West Pakistani) establishment, rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by brutal suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment, in what came to be termed “Operation Searchlight”.The violent crackdown by the Pakistan Army led to Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declaring East Pakistan’s independence as the state of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971. Most Bengalis threw their support behind this move although Islamists and Biharis opposed this and sided with the Pakistan Army instead. Pakistani President Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan ordered the Pakistani military to restore the Pakistani government’s authority, beginning the civil war. The war led to a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million) flooding into the eastern provinces of India. Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis, India started actively aiding and organising the Bangladeshi resistance army known as the Mukti Bahini.
The world came to know about the atrocities when a Goan, Antony Mascarenhas, a journalist based in Karachi wrote an article after a 10 day Pak Sponsored tour to East Pakistan in Sunday Times, a British newspaper. It changed the history as the Pakistani brutalities to suppress the liberation movement stood exposed.
The Bangladesh Liberation was not just a helping hand by India to a population persecuted by the Pakistani Military Junta, but was a policy decision to avoid a political enemy on two sides of its borders by the Indian Policy makers. This may have been intended to create a weaker Pakistan on one side and a friendly state on the other.
After almost half a century later, we need to have a look at what we have achieved or maybe what we should have. When the Liberation happened on 16 December, 1971 by the signing of “Instrument of Surrender” by Lt. Gen. Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi of the Pakistan Army, it was not just a diplomatic coup by India. It was also an intervention into the Genocide of millions of Bengalis by the West Pakistani forces who treated the region as a colony rather than a part of the nation.
Bengalis are the third largest ethnic group in the world after the Han Chinese and the Arabs. Kingdoms of Pundra and Vanga were formed in Bengal and were first described in the Atharva Veda around 1000 BCE as well as in Hindu epic Mahabharata. Anga and later Magadha expanded to include most of the Bihar and Bengal regions. It was one of the four main kingdoms of India at the time of Buddha and was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas. Under the Maurya Empire founded by Chandragupta Maurya, Magadha extended over nearly all of South Asia, including parts of Balochistan and Afghanistan, reaching its greatest extent under the Buddhist emperor Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BCE. (Source: Wikipedia)
Today, It is worth noting that India and Bangladesh share a 4,156 km (2,582 mi)-long international border, the fifth-longest land border in the world. India surrounds Bangladesh from north, east and west. Only south of Bangladesh is open to the Bay of Bengal. However, the powerful Indian Navy, in my view, can deny passage of Bangladesh navy in the Bay. These are realities and Bangladesh has to be mindful of these natural geographic features in shaping its foreign policy. We must realise that no one can re-fashion geography and under the circumstances, Bangladesh could be called as “India-locked country”.
The first major step was taken when the Indian Parliament passed a historic Constitution Amendment Bill seeking to settle India’s 41-year-old border issue with Bangladesh. The bill operationalise the India-Bangladesh Land Boundary agreement that provides for exchange of 161 enclaves between the two countries. Many enclave dwellers who were denied citizenship rights heaved a sigh of relief when they were given the opportunity to live in the country where they have their citizenship. A major diplomatic victory, which will further strengthen the relationship between the border states.
Over the past decade, New Delhi has invested heavily in building strong relations with Dhaka. The stakes have been raised considerably during the four years of the Modi government and today Bangladesh is seen as an important player in India’s “Act East” agenda.
Economics has served as a significant platform in strengthening the bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh. The economic relations between the two countries have been multifaceted, embracing trade transactions, credit arrangements, joint ventures, transit facilities and transport development. Even during adverse political situations, the economic relations have continued and expanded without any hindrances. The year 1982, was an important year for Bangladesh as it embarked upon the path of liberalisation. India has reaped in major benefits because of the trade relations between both the countries. Bangladesh serves as one of the most important markets for India’s exports.
For the past few decades, Bangladesh has been the India’s largest export market in the SAARC region. During 1985-90, Bangladesh’s trade with India grew higher than that with the world and rest of the SAARC countries in total. Between the period 1988-89 to 1992-93, exports to Bangladesh increased to 293 per cent while India’s total exports rose by 164 per cent. In 1995, India left China behind to reach first position as exporters to Bangladesh. India enjoyed a decade at the same position until 2005-06, after which China retained its position at number one. China has remained in that position until now.
India’s total exports to Bangladesh touched 5.84 billion dollars in the fiscal year 2011-12, since then there has been a subdued increase in the trade between two countries. There was a modest increase of 4.6 per cent in 2014-15 FY taking it to 6.4 billion dollars, however, there was a slight dip of 6.4 per cent (6.03 billion dollars) in 2015-16. In 2016-17, the exports grew by 13 per cent, it reached 6.8 billion dollars as rise in exports of high-value machinery and equipment for various project implementation. India-Bangladesh relation can strengthen based upon three primary pillars: concerted counter-terror initiatives, trade and commerce, and bilateral trust and confidence building efforts.
In a world where Trade is the new War, having friendly neighbours with trade and economic ties are the need of the hour. It is not just for India, but also for the development of a rather growing economy of Bangladesh. India’s eastern neighbour saw a GDP growth of 7.28 per cent in the last financial year, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), while India grew at 7.1 per cent. This, a country which was the poorest regions in Pakistan, came a very long way from a negative GDP growth rate of 14% to a 7 plus positive growth rate today.
It is important for India to have a close relationship with its neighbour for several reasons. The insurgent groups which hampers the development of North East and the Eastern States in India has to be reined in and we do not need a hostile neighbour helping these terror-mongers. Also, the active involvement of China and its military and business presence is always a threat for India. The threat of disasters which is stated to decrease its landmass by about 20% poses a severe threat of immigrants which can seriously affect the demography, safety and security of the nation. Moreover, a stable and economically strong neighbour can only improve the trade relationships between two countries where the nations which share the very same cultural identity and the same author of their anthems can scale bigger and better heights together. Wishing our neighbour a Happy Bijoy Dibosh.
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