Geopolitical compulsion dictates that laying the foundation of friendly relation with neighboring countries should be the cornerstone of Bangladesh foreign policy. It should logically be dictated to focus attention on India which is surrounded from three sides but Bangladesh has been sandwiched between two giant neighbors of Asia: India and China. Therefore, Bangladesh could not ignore China either as well. As a matter of fact, ancient Bengal has had the best of relation with China.
Presently, India is contesting against China since the maiden visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of BJP on 6 and 7 June in 2015 as a part of his neighborhood first programme when he exchanged instrument of ratification of 1974 Land Boundary agreement with Bangladesh removing major irritation between two countries.
There have been serious protests and strikes as well against the visit of Mr. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India to Bangladesh from 25-26 March 2021 in connection with the celebration of fifty years of independence of Bangladesh. There is no doubt that the government of Bangladesh has done a good job by inviting representatives of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives to celebrate fifty years of Independence of Bangladesh.
However, protests and strikes have taken place in connection with the visit of Mr. Narendra Modi who is a long-time member of RSS whose philosophy is Hindutva. Its terminology is explained as nationalist. RSS has not changed its anti-Muslim philosophy. Christians in Orissa have been targeted by Bajrang Dal, the militant group of RSS. Human Rights Watch in its report described killing of Muslims in Gujrat under the watch of Mr. Narendra Modi, Chief Minister, in 1992-1993 and Christians in September 1999 in Orissa, apart from killing Christhian many have been forced to accept Hinduism. Gujrat was described as genocide and a pogrom by former Chief of Indian Navy Mr. L. Ramadas in a letter to Prime Minister Mr. Atal Bihari Bajpai.
Government of BJP headed by Mr. Narendra Modi has changed the constitution of India. Its citizenship bill aims at granting citizenship to non-Muslim from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after 6 years staying in India. Revised Indian citizenship will provide citizenships to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhist and Parsi from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It seems interesting to note that nearly two million in India’s north -east Assam have been left out a massive list of Indian citizenship in the state. Luckily citizenship act and National Register of citizenship have been of late put on the backburner as a result of covid-19.
During the election campaign in Assam in March, 2021 both Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is the President of BJP, have addressed “almost all poll rallies in Assam that Congress and AIUDF laid red-carpet for infiltrations from neighboring Bangladesh ”. This was reported by Deccan Herald of 28 March, 2021. These people like Narendra Modi and Amit Shah should not behave in an irresponsible way.
BJP needs to change its image of Hindutva. After 73 years of Independence BJP has started witch-hunting against Muslims. It was Moulana Abul Kalam Azad who took the lead for independence from the British along with Mr. M.N Masud, Pandit Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi. Moulana Abul Kalam Azad was the first Education Minister of India under Jawaharlal Nehru while Mr. M.N Masud served as Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia.
I would like to remind leaders of BJP that it was Muslim who developed nuclear strategy in India. Mr. Abul Kalam who came to be known as the Missile man of India as a result of his work on the development of ballistic missile who was awarded with highest civilian award Padma Bhushan and Bharat Ratna. Another brilliant Muslim leader was Mr. Humayun Kabir, who got first class first in English literature from Calcutta University and Exeter College of Oxford, London who was the second Education Minister under Prime Minister of Jawaharlal Nehru. Mr. Humayun Kabir also served under Prime Minister Mr. Lal Bahadur Shastri. Mr. Humayun Kabir was a brilliant student that has been reflected in his translation: India Wins freedom of Moulana Abul Kalam Azad who gave dictation in Urdu while his nephew Altamas Kabir was 39th Chief Justice of India. Another stalwart politician was Syed Badrud Doza who served as Mayor of Calcutta in 1943 while he served 15 years in Lok Sabha.
Bangladesh is known as a riverine country but now many rivers are dried up practically because of shortage of water in the rivers. India is a close door neighboring country of Bangladesh which had built up barrages on the common rivers. The Prime Minister of India during his premier visit to Bangladesh is reported to have said on 7 June 2015 that “water sharing is, above all, a humanitarian (issue) and it affects the life and livelihood of the people. I am confident that we can reach a fair solution to the Teesta and Feni water sharing issue with the help of its state policy”. As of now there is no solution of sharing waters from two rivers. Bangladesh has been affected as a result of water level in Teesta dropped during the dry season following construction of dams and irrigation canals upstream.
Border killings of Bangladeshi nationals by the Indian Border security force are on the increase in spite of protests by the Bangladesh government. Bangladesh Home Minister Mr. Asaduzzaman has spoken in Parliament in July of 2019 about border killings by Indian Border Security Force who is on record by saying that the number of Border killings by Border Security Force of India was 66 in 2009, 55 in 2010 while 24 in 2011 and 24 in 2014. HRW South Asia reported that a total of 51 Bangladeshi were killed by BSF in 2020. Bangladesh Foreign Minister Mr. A. K. Abdul Momen is reported to have said that we have such good ties but border killing has strained our relations.
This being the situation Bangladesh and India should think seriously to maintain a harmonious relation for better interest of both sides.
(Mohammad Amjad Hossain, retired diplomat from Bangladesh and former President Nova Toastmaster International club of America, writes from Falls Church,Virginia)
