Rama Krishna Sangem
Distance by road between Dhaka and Delhi is 1,821 km. It may appear faraway. But in essence, it is closer than what we imagine. Dhaka is just 300 km from Kolkata, state capital of Bengal. The developments that suddenly exploded on August 6, Monday may have left the political leadership of India greatly shocked, if disappointment is a small world. PM Modi and his key advisers in the Cabinet and government struggled hard till late in the night to respond to them.
The news of resigned PM Sheik Hasina landing at Hindon airstrip of Indian Air Force by 5.30 pm, hours after she left her country threw up many questions on the role India would be playing now. Of course. our national TV news channels have taken charge and the experts had a field day. All sorts of theories – right from the possible role of China and Pakistan to how dictators like Hasina would meet this fate – went on air.
Many recalled how India stood by Bangladesh’s freedom war in 1971. How India sent its soldiers to defend Bangladesh people, who were part of East Pakistan at the time, and paid heavy price, both militarily and financially. Of course, Indira won another term as PM, but India suffered economically for a long time. Maybe that was a reason why the financial stress resulted in subsequent unrest in India, which finally led to the imposition of Emergency in 1975.
Interestingly, Indira imposed Emergency in India on June 25, and two months later, Bangladesh freedom movement leader and then President Sheik Mujibur Rahaman was assassinated in his country. Ironically, during the Emergency, Indira added secular words to the Indian Constitution, while Bangladesh transitioned from secular to Islamic republic the same period. Within 5-6 years after the 1971 war, Islamist forces consolidated in Bangladesh.
Development not issue
Since then, Bangladesh has seen many spells of political uncertainty and military rules. But, initially Mujibur Rahaman and later Hasina mostly focused on development of the country on all fronts. Their Awami League party generally is known for its centrist views, while other major contenders Bagla National Party (BNP)led by Khaleed Zia and Jamaat e-Islami championed Islamic principles.
A country of around 17 crore population and with the size of some bigger states in India, Bangladesh has gained much progress economically. Now the country is with a GDP of 470 billion US dollars and a per capita income of around 2,650 US dollars, slightly more than India’s. On many human development indices, Bangladesh is ahead of India. For rural development Bangladesh is a model for the UN bodies.
With around 77 per cent literacy rate and 45 state funded universities, Bangladesh is strong on education and gross enrollment ratio of girl students too is high. The country consolidated its textile industry, neglected during both the British rule and later Pakistan, is now a global leader. The US and other developed West is considering Bangladesh for its China Plus One policy – means, shifting some of their manufacturing units from China to Bangladesh.
Rise of Radical forces
Still Islamic forces are not happy with all this. They want to avenge the split of Bangladesh from Pakistan through a war in 1971. Most BNP and Jamait leaders are ready to digest the fact that India had helped Bangladesh win its freedom. Some of them still see the creation of Bangladesh as a conspiracy of India to weaken Pakistan. Of course, now they may not try to unite Bangladesh with Pakistan, but would love to hate India.
Hasina in an interview to BBC in May this year said that her opponents are against the progress and development of Bangladesh. “They want to enforce fundamentalist rule,” she claimed. In her view, the recent student protests have nothing to do with students. “These protests have gone into the hands of criminals and radical elements who want to toe the pro-Pakistan line,” is what she wanted to convey.
India losing friends fast
With the fall of Hasina government in Dhaka, India has almost lost another friendly country, in its neighborhood and the world. Only recently we lost Nepal, then Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and now Bangladesh. Now we have only one ally, tiny Bhutan. India has stopped holding or attending SARC long ago, to avoid Pakistan. But, now it cannot hold BIMSTEC – Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral technical and economic cooperation.
BIMSTEC comprises 7 countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Napal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Already, India is not on comfortable terms with Canada and to a great extent the US too, for their handling of Khalistani elements based on those countries. Why haven’t India’s foreign policy makers have found themselves dim-witted? Why has not India been able to use its influence on its neighbors?
The savage events unfolded first in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have also found an echo in Bangladesh too now. A government which won an election only 7 months ago had to fall unceremoniously due to mob violence is a matter not to be ignored easily. Whether it is unemployment or inflation, there’s a way to solve them through peaceful methods. But, what is now happening in Dhaka is too serious an issue to be dismissed by Delhi.
After all, Dhaka is not far from Delhi.
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