The positive sentiments that mark the visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India and her confabulations in New Delhi are there for all to see and cherish. The four-day visit takes place in the run-up to parliament elections in Bangladesh next year and this is time for India to demonstrate its continued support to her and Bangladesh in more pronounced ways. Bangladesh became a reality with eminent backing from India during the time of Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who headed the Independence struggle through the Mukti Bahini movement against Pakistani domination, in the early 1970s. The bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh remain strong even as China plays around and continues to court Bangladesh through promises of economic and other support.
During the present visit, India and Bangladesh have decided to extend bilateral cooperation in fields of IT, Space, Railways, Nuclear and Media and signed a river water sharing pact on Kushiyara river that originates in Nagaland. The more important sharing of waters of the River Teesta that originates from the Himalayas in Sikkim and passes through north Bengal eluded an agreement yet again despite a willingness on the part of Delhi to help Bangladesh. As long as West Bengal continues its resistance to such a sharing, the issue could remain unresolved. Yet, the positive note with which Sheikh Hasina deals with India was evident in her assertion in New Delhi, “With friendship, we can solve all our problems.”
The two nations would soon begin talks on a comprehensive economic partnership. Hasina is concentrating heavily on developing the national economy as was also evident in her repeated assertions, “Our enemy is poverty”. Having neutralized the opposition for long, she has an unassailable position as leader of the nation. The political stability thereof and her command over the affairs of the nation have ensured fast-paced progress for Bangladesh, registering better growth figures compared to India in recent times. This has also helped her effectively tackle the Islamic fundamentalism that gained considerable strength in Bangladesh due also to backing from the ISI of Pakistan. Hasina and India are mindful of such threats even as Pakistan seeks to target both via these fundamentalists. The going for Hasina is ‘so far so good’ and what adds to her strength even today is the able support India extends to Bangladesh. The future is certainly not predictable especially in a scenario in which Islamists are spreading their nets far and wide. The strong command of Hasina over the affairs in Bangladesh is guarantee, so far, that such games will not succeed there.
