Bangla connect new delhi must not take ties with dhaka for granted

Bangla connect new delhi must not take ties with dhaka for granted

Coming a day after the anniversary of Victory Day marking the surrender of Pakistani forces in Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his virtual meeting with Bangladeshi premier Sheikh Hasina, emphasised that Bangladesh was a major pillar of India’s Neighbourhood First policy. India-Bangladesh ties have steadily grown over the last six years. This is exemplified by increasing connectivity, investments and sub-regional cooperation under the BBIN (Bangladesh Bhutan Indian Nepal) platform. Taking this momentum further, the virtual meeting saw the two sides ink seven agreements and revive the cross-border Chilahati-Haldibari rail link that was snapped during the 1965 war with Pakistan.

The deals include cooperation in hydrocarbons, Indian grants for high impact community development projects in Bangladesh, cooperation in transboundary elephant conservation, cooperation in agriculture, an MoU between museums and terms of reference for a CEOs forum. All of this shows that India-Bangladesh ties today have acquired a multi-dimensional character. And a large reason for this is Hasina herself who is personally invested in the relationship with New Delhi. However, China has been pushing hard to increase its footprint in Bangladesh as exemplified by its $24 billion investment plans for Dhaka announced in 2016. Bangladesh has also joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

At the same time, Pakistan has been looking to revive its ties with Bangladesh after a period of major diplomatic spat with Dhaka. Given this scenario, India shouldn’t take its ties with Bangladesh for granted and remind Dhaka of the perils of relying too much on Chinese largesse. Meanwhile, issues such as the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens have created a highly negative impression in Bangladesh. Harping on them for hypothetical domestic political gains can jeopardise ties with Dhaka and put unnecessary pressure on Hasina. Relations with Bangladesh are a bright spot. Government must take care to keep it that way.