A border management agreement was signed by India and Bangladesh last weekend. The two countries have a border stretching to 4000 km. but both countries have been somewhat indifferent to the need for settling border issues. In the not too distant past, some Bangladeshis were killed while crossing the border illegally. Not merely Bangladesh protested but international human rights groups also attacked India. Union home minister P. Chidambaram has now assured Dhaka that there will be no recurrence of such incidents. The Border Security Force has been asked not to fire on people trying to get across the border. Dhaka needs greater reassurance as seven Bangladeshis have been killed by the BSF this year.
However, it cannot be denied that such unfortunate incidents result from unresolved issues. The Indira-Mujib border agreement of 1974 remains a document on paper. Tensions have clouded India-Bangladesh relations from time to time which have made the border prickly. Islamic militancy in Bangladesh has exacerbated relations. There is of course the problem of the border being long. The mind set created by partition in 1971 led to further complications. Law and order issues on the border should be handled by the two countries in a joint manner. Border management cannot be separated from such bigger issues as increasing bilateral trade and sharing water resources. The border crimes are still looked upon in a manner which creates the impression that relations between the two countries are unfriendly. Things may look up when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Dhaka and heals the wound caused by him with a tactless remark about ISI presence in Bangladesh. A good thing will be to stop avoidable deaths on the porous border.
