Opening Remarks : Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Dipankar Banerjee

Bangladesh is a neighbour and since geography cannot be changed, it is a reality India will have to contend with. Bilateral relations with Bangladesh have not been very cordial for the last few years and the Foreign Secretary, Shiv Shanker Menon, has gone so far as to call Bangladesh a "conundrum" as far as India is concerned. In this context, the upcoming elections may be an important landmark in the political history of Bangladesh and affect India-Bangladesh relations.

Speaker: IP Khosla

Bangladesh is indeed a conundrum. To study Bangladesh however, what is required is to separate all of its major processes and to review them, one by one. Such a process would enable us to think about Bangladesh more clearly.

The first category is that of Bangladesh's socio-cultural reality. Bangladesh is a highly egalitarian society with an Islamic-Bangla culture. On human development as well as on the GINI index, Bangladesh stands higher than India. In South Asia, Bangladesh has the highest primary school enrolment. Despite its being an Islamic society, the enrolment of females in educational institutes is also very good. Infant mortality is also lower than in India and women's life expectancy is longer than in India. Thus in social spheres, Bangladesh ranks better than India. There is an enormous effort made by the non-governmental sector to ameliorate poverty. Thus the contention that disparities in income levels leads to discontent and is the source of political disorder, becomes problematic when we consider Bangladesh.

The second category is the rise of Islam. The rise of Islamic practice among the political leadership has become prominent within Bangladesh in recent years. While the populace in Bangladesh actively practices Islam, it does not necessarily support Islamic parties. In the pre-Liberation elections, Islamic parties received only 9-10 per cent of the vote. This has continued even though Islam is now a part of the constitution. There is a move by the mullahs to legislate laws that conform to the Shariat. Haseena's alliance with the BKM (Bangladesh Khilafat Majlish) is another step in this direction. The BKM is part of the Islamic Oikya Jote whose leadership is connected to the HUJI which had participated in Afghanistan in the form of the radical mujahideen. It would not be surprising if something like the MMA or a religious policy developed in Bangladesh in the future, the way Islam is being pushed by the leadership in Bangladesh. Nationalism in Bangladesh is now not language-based but linked now to the ability of the leadership to create an Islamic identity.

The third category is the state machinery. The Bangladeshi parliament is not fully functional. There is very little participation by the opposition in parliamentary proceedings. Political events occur mainly on the streets. The judiciary too is increasingly becoming a political instrument as is the civil service. All these institutions are exploited by political parties for short-term gains. The caretaker government too is party to political manipulation and it is uncertain whether the institution will last till the next elections.

The fourth category relates to the cult of violence. Violence has become part of the political routine in Bangladesh. As far as the impact of terrorism on India is concerned, it is nil. Bangladeshi support to terrorism is linked to the army. No one will deem credible the idea that India or Myanmar will attack Bangladesh. Yet the army is geared towards protecting Bangladesh from India's designs. Terror camps are run by the army and it is repeatedly stated that the Northast is Bangladesh-blocked. The army will attempt to seize power only in two scenarios - in case of prolonged violence or if the elections are sabotaged. It is however not interested in taking over the government per se.

The elections in Bangladesh will certainly be held as both political parties are keen on them. Many pro-BNP people have been removed from the caretaker government to make it acceptable to the Awami League. However, as the cult of violence grows, this may be the last time that elections will be held in an orderly fashion.

Discussion

Bhabani Sengupta

There is a dearth of news and information on Bangladesh in India. This makes it very difficult for Indians to gain insights on Bangladesh. The role of the media has been trivialized in India. Issues pertaining to Indian foreign policy do not make headlines but sex and sleaze do.

A pertinent question to ask would be how important is Bangladesh for India. There are two Punjabs and two Bengals and the kind of affinity that exists between the former is absent in the latter. When IK Gujaral and Nawaz Sharif were Prime Ministers of their respective countries, though they never met formally, they spoke in Punjabi with each other creating a sense of 'Punjabiyat'. A common language can greatly enhance interactions between states. Unfortunately there is no "Bangaliyana' when New Delhi interacts with Dhaka. Though Buddhadeb Bhattacharya is a very popular chief minister, he has never been invited for a visit by the Bangladeshi government.

Music and other such cultural exchanges can go a long way in strengthening ties between India and Bangladesh. However, Bangladeshi television programs that are telecast in Kolkata do not have a great number of viewers. This is despite the fact that the songs and poetry of Rabindranath Tagore are equally popular in India and Bangladesh. In fact, the national anthems of both countries are works of Tagore.

Indians do not buy books from Bangladesh and vice versa. Even people from Kolkata are not very keen on buying books from Bangladesh. This can be attributed to the fact the Bengalis from Kolkata consider their own work as being of extremely high standards and consider Bangladeshi works to be substandard. Bangladeshi magazines do not come to Kolkata and vice versa. However, Bangladeshis participating in the Kolkata Book Fair do buy Bengali books by Indian authors. Indians,though seem to be unconcerned as far as gaining knowledge on Bangladesh is concerned.

There is a lack of reporting and analysis of events in Bangladesh in India. In this regard, the approach of China needs mention. It has fourteen neighbours and has good relations with almost all of them. It is the largest trading partner for South Korea, North Korea and the ASEAN countries. There is an unuttered fear in India that China will replace it as the dominant power in South Asia and that its attempt at strengthening relations with Bangladesh is a step in this direction. Its presence in Bangladesh is bigger than that of India. China's foreign policy espouses 'harmony at home and harmony abroad'. The influence of India in the neighbourhood has waned in the past few years. Sadly, howver, India is doing nothing about it. There is a distinct coolness between the policy makers of India and Bangladesh, almost amounting to indifference towards each other. There is no debate on Bangladesh in India.

The Khaleda Zia-led Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is considered to be anti-Indian whereas the Awami League is viewed as having pro-India sentiments. However, the Awami League -India bonhomie increasingly appears to be a thing of the past. The opposition, unlike in India, has absolutely no role to play in Bangladesh.

Vidya Shankar Aiyar

There is a lack of expertise in the media on international political issues in general. Though 'experts' and analysts on Pakistan are available in plenty, the same is not true for the other neighbours of India. It is still possible to focus on Sri Lanka as one can go to Chennai and find someone to comment on developments there, but the national media in India never gets to the point of covering Bangladesh. However, the events leading up to the 2007 general elections there ,are being covered by the electronic media round the clock and also by a few newspapers.

Sreeradha Dutta

The media coverage of Track-II discussions is phenomenal in Bangladesh. But the same is not true for India. In fact, most of the meetings do not even make it as a snippet in the national newspapers.

In Bangladesh, the state has receded to the background. In the villages, the Jamaat cadres provide services in the form of schools and hospitals. This is one of the main reasons why women have not objected to Jamaat diktats, such as those asking them to wear burqas. As long as healthcare is provided to their children and family by the Jamaat cadres, donning a burqa is not an issue with them.

Sanjay Hazarika

The Indian government and the Indian Army do not apprehend northeast as separating itself from India.

As far as migration is concerned, the policy of Bangladesh is ambiguous. At the official level, it does not recognize the phenonmenon but the Bangladeshi Army and certain scholars have actually begun to accept the reality of migration.

Bangladeshi migrants are always projected as stooges of the ISI. But this is an extremely ignorant view as most of the migrants are ordinary people who cross over to the Indian side to earn their bread and butter. There is a problem in the Northeast not because of Bangladesh but due to the failure of the policies of the Indian government.

Human trafficking is a bigger threat to Bangladesh than terrorism. Besides that, the secular views in Bangladesh also need to be strengthened. There are people like Imtiaz Ahmad of the Dhaka University and Mahfuz Hasan of the Daily Star who are outspoken, impartial and secular in their views and are therefore disliked by both the BNP and Awami League. The important question is how to strengthen these secular voices.

Bangladesh does not have sweeping Islamic traditions. When the bombers blew themselves up outside the High Court last year, their family members refused to accept their bodies for burial and disowned them on the ground that suicide was unIslamic and a devout Muslim would never indulge in violent activities. Also the work of Islamic NGOs while significant does not match those of the intnernational NGOs. Bangladesh depends heavily on international NGOs for its roads, hospitals and other infrastructural requirements. In Kurigram, the roads and the only hospital there have been built by a Swiss NGO.

Greater interaction is required between Indian and Bangladeshi academics. Perhaps the best CBM is the cultural one. Indian movies, movie stars and music have been much appreciated in Bangladesh. Utilizing these in Track-II discussions may prove to be more productive vis-?-vis the Bangladeshis while also ensuring media coverage in India. India has also to understand that political capital in the form of goodwill is far greater than the economic gains from the relationship.

India is Bangladesh-blocked. In fact, Bangladesh is India's link to Southeast Asia. In India there is a tendency to consider Bangladesh as part of the Northeast and that is India's biggest folly. The resonance of history continues to be strong. Asking Bangladesh to be a sub-region will not be acceptable to Dhaka. So the relations between these two countries will continue to be New Delhi and Dhaka-driven. The Awami League-BKM alliance might only be political in nature and is aimed at cutting the Jamaat vote.

Dipankar Banerjee

There is a lack of communication between India and Bangladesh and the level of understanding of each other is appalling. Both countries have reached a point where all they do is demonize each other. Bangladesh has some outstanding scholars and its academia has tremendous potential. But India continues to shut itself off from Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi migrants have played an important role in nation building in many countries. One has just to look at the skyscrapers of Singapore and Malaysia, which have been built by Bangladeshi labour. Even in India, the labour provided by Bangladeshi migrants is noteworthy and largely advantageous to India. India has to identify the level of threat posed by migration from Bangladesh.

However, Bangladesh did contribute in substantial numbers to the Al Qaeda. Former military officials did good business by exporting Bangladeshi nationals to be trained and recruited by the Al Qaeda. It is also virtually impossible to seal the Indian border with Bangladesh considering that it is a single economic zone. India has to chart out a clear policy vis-?-vis Bangladesh.

Eric Gonsalves

The main thrust of media world over is on local news. So Indian media is just a part of the trend and therefore should not be singled out. Bangladesh is not a high priority of the Indian government. During the BJP government, Jaswant Singh took three to four years to make a visit to any neighbouring country. Bhutan, Maldives and Myanmar have fairly friendly relations with India. Nepal, like Sri Lanka is not that big a problem anymore. Whenever there is a possibility to work out joint projects at a regional level, however, it is South Block that backs out. India continues to have problems with Bangladesh and the present government has bungled its relations with Bangladesh. There is a need for a change in attitude towards Bangladesh. Like India, political parties in Bangladesh are also personality driven with little or no emphasis on concrete policies.

Cdr. Alok Bansal

Indian NGOs too are active in Bangladesh. The Ramakrishna Mission runs hospitals in Bangladesh. During the last election, the Indian government backed both the Awami League and the BNP. The average Bangladeshi wants good relations with India but this policy does win India any gains. Perhaps India should decide on only one party to back and formulate its policy accordingly.

Concluding Remarks : IP Khosla

There is an increase in the influence of Islamic fundamentalism worldwide. Indonesia and Malaysia are examples of this. After 9/11 and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, Islamic fundamentalism has reached a new high. Bangladesh should be considered as a part of this trend. Before partition, Pashtoonistan in Pakistan, for example, was highly secular and wanted to join India but things have changed and it was there that MMA was started.

India should remove all tariffs and duties on goods to facilitate trade with Bangladesh. This will go a long way in reducing anti-India sentiments and will help strengthen the economy in Bangladesh. A strong economy is an important condition for political stability and the consolidation of democracy.