India’s courteous relationship with Bangladesh has been vision from the time ofBangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh. The recent general elections was won by the Awami League (founded by the latter), which has been Pro-India in the geopolitical arena of South Asia vis-à-vis the Bangladesh National Party.India’s links with Bangladesh are civilizational, cultural, social and economic.

Body:

The impact of the electoral win of Awami league on India can be studied under the following heads.

• Strategic
  1. A steadfast partner in the fight against counter-terrorism.
  2. Awami League is poised to play a major role in Delhi’s initiatives in Bay of Bengal (g BIMSTEC, SASEC) and Northeast India amid China’s massive inroads in South Asia.
  3. Stability in Bangladesh like Bhutan is imperative for India amid political uncertainties in certain other parts of neighbourhood that includes Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, according to experts’ familiar with Delhi’s South Asia strategy.
  4. A staunch ally in Dhaka further assists Delhi against Pak Army & ISI’s designs to foment cross-border extremism in the region, according to persons familiar with South Asian politics.

• Economic
  1. Bangladesh is all poised to emerge as a middle-income country opens up a huge market for Indian investors.
  2. Bangladesh has already emerged as major source for remittances for Indians after the Gulf region.
  3. Bangladesh is the highest recipient of India’s concessional Line of Credit that almost amounts to eight billion USD.
  4. Connectivity between Bangladesh and neighbouring countries including India have received great boost during the last ten years from Hasina’s pro-active stance on enhancing connectivity in South and Southeast Asia.
  5. Major initiatives like the Kaladan Multimodal project, BBIN road project, Bus & train services between Kolkata and North Eastern states are at various stages of construction and operation.
  6. Currently, four border haats are operational along the India-Bangladesh border. Two border haats are located in Meghalaya at Kalaichar and Balat and two are located in Tripura at Srinagar and Kamalasagar.
  7. Regional connectivity between Bangladesh and its neighbours is expected in implementation of the planned concept of ‘Blue Economy’ now that Bangladesh is in receipt of new marine territories as a result of the maritime verdict wins through arbitration against India and Myanmar.
• Geopolitical
  1. Bangladesh’s location is a strategic wedge between mainland India and Northeastern seven states of the Indian Union. Each of these states is land-locked and has shorter route to the sea through Bangladesh.
  2. Bangladesh is a natural pillar of “Look East Policy”. A friendly Bangladesh that ensures no anti-India terror or insurgent activities can be carried out from its soil unlike in the past will substantially assist India in handling security problems in some of its restive north-east States.
  3. The navigable rivers in India’s Northeast that could connect West Bengal or Orissa ports pass through Bangladesh. The only entry to and exit from the Northeastern region of India is through the Siliguri Corridor that is close to the Chinese border and within striking distance of Bangladesh. The Siliguri Corridor is the most sensitive ‘choke point’ for the Indian Union.
  4. The 100th Constitutional Amendment Act of India which involved exchange of the enclaves between India and Bangladesh can act as model for other issues like the Teesta river water sharing.

Areas which need to be worked upon:

1. A major area of contention has been the construction and operation of the Farakka Barrage by India to increase water supply in the river Hoogly. Bangladesh insists that it does not receive a fair share of the Ganges waters during the drier seasons, and gets flooded during the monsoons when India releases excess waters.
2. There have also been disputes regarding the transfer of TeenBigha Corridor to Bangladesh.
3. Terrorist activities carried out by outfits based in both countries, like BangaSena and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami. Recently India and Bangladesh had agreed jointly to fight terrorism.
4. Illegal Bangladeshi immigration into India. The border is porous and migrants are able to cross illegally, though sometimes only in return for financial or other incentives to border security personnel. Bangladeshi officials have denied the existence of Bangladeshis living in India and those illegal migrants found are described as having been trafficked.
5. Continuous border killing of Bangladeshi people by Indian border guards, aiding illegal immigrants, helping in armed dacoity, fake money transfer and illegal drug trades by both Indian and Bangladeshi people are the major problems between Bangladesh and India.

Conclusion:

Bangladesh as a neighbour, a close partner for regional development, security and cooperation, is a central pillar in India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy. An economically strong, secular and democratic Bangladesh is integral to New Delhi’s interests and also of the subcontinent as a whole.