India and Bangladesh Relations

Reference

• Recently, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came to India on a two-day visit. She was the first guest on a bilateral state visit after the formation of the new government in India.
• Bangladesh is a major neighbour and we have always respected it as a friendly country; as Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said during her recent visit to India, “India is our major neighbour and a trusted friend” and Dhaka attaches great importance to its relations with New Delhi which were born out of “our Liberation War in 1971”.
• It is noteworthy that during this visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina discussed many areas of bilateral cooperation including development partnership, energy, water resources, trade, defense cooperation and others.

Background of India- Bangladesh Relations

• India and Bangladesh share an organic bond due to their common cultural heritage and historical events.
  • This also includes the losses suffered during the partition of India in 1947 and the large-scale separation of families.
• India played a key role in the emergence of independent Bangladesh during the Liberation War in 1971 and also provided shelter to an estimated 10 million refugees during the Liberation War.
• Furthermore, India was the first country to recognise Bangladesh as a separate state.
• It is noteworthy that December 16 is celebrated as 'Liberation Day' in Bangladesh and 'Victory Day' in India.

Importance of Bangladesh for India

• Geopolitical: India shares a 4,096 km long border with Bangladesh, the fifth longest in the world. The Indian states of Assam, West Bengal, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura share borders with Bangladesh.
  • This is important for India's security and foreign policy. India needs cooperation from Bangladesh to counter China's 'String of Pearls' policy.
  • Bangladesh lies at the crossroads of South Asia and Southeast Asia and is important to India's Act East policy, which aims to build closer ties with countries in Southeast Asia.
• Economic: Bangladesh is India's largest trading partner in South Asia and India is Bangladesh's second largest trading partner in Asia.
  • The total bilateral trade between India- Bangladesh stood at US$ 14.01 billion in FY 2023-24.
• Cultural: India and Bangladesh share a common history, culture and heritage. The people of the two countries are linked by strong cultural and familial ties and Bangladesh has a large population of people of Indian origin.
• Environmental Concerns: The two countries share trans-boundary rivers and ecosystems, making cooperation on issues such as water management and flood control important.

Areas of cooperation between India and Bangladesh

• Security and Border Management: There is active cooperation between various agencies of the two countries in police matters, anti-corruption activities and to deal with issues like illicit drug trafficking, counterfeit currency, human trafficking etc.
• Peaceful and cooperative management mechanisms for security of the long international border are actively pursued through border fencing, joint inspection of border pillars, joint border demarcation including riverine borders etc.
• Defence Cooperation: High-level exchanges under this include the India-Bangladesh CORPAT edition of ‘Bongosagar’ exercise, the Regional Coast Guard Commanders’ Meeting and the annual Defence Dialogue.

• Connectivity :
  • Rail connectivity: In November 2023, the 6th cross-border rail link was inaugurated between Agartala station in India and Akhaura in Bangladesh. This rail link will provide an alternate route to the North-East of India. The other five rail links commissioned between India and Bangladesh are:
    • Haldibari (India) - Chilahati (Bangladesh) rail link
    • Petrapole (India)-Benapole (Bangladesh)
    • Gede (India) - Darshana (Bangladesh)
    • Singhabad (India) - Rohanpur (Bangladesh)
    • Radhikapur (India) – Birol (Bangladesh)
  • Currently, three trains are operating between the two countries: the Maitree Express (since 2008, connecting Kolkata and Dhaka); the Bandhan Express (since 2017, connecting Kolkata and Khulna); and the Mithali Express (from June 2022, between New Jalpaiguri and Dhaka).
  • Road and Inland Water Connectivity: Currently five bus service routes operate between India and Bangladesh connecting the cities of Kolkata, Agartala and Guwahati to Dhaka and further to Khulna.
    • The Inland Waterways Trade and Transit Protocol (PIWTT) has been in operation between India and Bangladesh since 1972. It allows the movement of goods for inter-country trade as well as transit on barges/vessels through the river systems of India and Bangladesh.
  • Port Connectivity: Both countries have implemented the agreement for the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports in the year 2023.
    • This may reduce transportation cost and time cost for transit cargo between North-East India and mainland India.
• Economic and Commercial: Bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh has grown steadily over the last decade.
  • Exports from Bangladesh to India crossed $1 billion in the year 2018–19 and in FY 2023–24, Bangladesh exported goods worth US$1.97 billion to India.
  • In March 2021, the India-Bangladesh Startup Bridge was inaugurated.
• Electricity and Energy: Bangladesh is currently importing 1160 MW of electricity from India. The Joint Working Group (JWG)/Joint Steering Committee (JSC) on Electricity provides an institutional framework to promote bilateral cooperation in cross border trade of electricity.
  • Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant has been commissioned to supply power to the Bangladesh grid.
  • In March 2023, the India-Bangladesh Maitree Pipeline was inaugurated between the two countries to supply high speed diesel from India to Bangladesh.     
• Development Partnership:
  • Infrastructure Development: India has extended 3 Lines of Credit (LOC) to Bangladesh amounting to about US$8 billion for infrastructure development in various sectors including roads, railways, shipping and ports.
  • The Government of India has funded 77 High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP) in Bangladesh including construction of student hostels, educational buildings, skill development and training institutes, cultural centres and orphanages etc.
  • Grants: The Government of India is also providing grant assistance to Bangladesh for various infrastructure projects, including construction of the Akhaura-Agartala rail link, dredging of inland waterways in Bangladesh and construction of the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline.
• Training: Government of India is providing training to Bangladesh civil service officers, police officers, judicial officers and judges, professionals and others at various premier training institutes in India.
• Cultural Cooperation: Both the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre and the Indian Cultural Centre in Dhaka play a vital role in strengthening the cultural ties shared between the two countries.
  • Its training programmes, including yoga, Kathak, Manipuri dance, Hindi language, Hindustani classical music and cultural programmes by renowned artists from India and Bangladesh, contribute to promoting people-to-people contacts.
  • India has announced 1000 “Suborno Jayanti Scholarships” for Bangladeshi students and a dedicated website has also been launched for their admission in higher institutions in India.
• Visa: Services have been enhanced at 16 IVAC centres across Bangladesh to meet the growing demand for Indian visas. Indian medical visas remain in highest demand, with India issuing medical attendant visas to up to three persons accompanying a medical patient.
  • Indian Visas issued in Bangladesh are the largest visa operations carried out by India worldwide.
• Rohingya Crisis: India has launched “Operation Insaaniyat” to provide relief assistance to refugee camps in Bangladesh.
• Multilateral Cooperation: India and Bangladesh are cooperating on multilateral platforms like SAARC, BIMSTEC etc.

Challenges in India-Bangladesh relations

• Border disputes: There have been long-standing disputes over the demarcation of the shared border, particularly in the areas of Assam and Tripura.
  • The Comilla-Tripura land border, which stretches for 6.5 kilometres, has not been demarcated, leaving the border dispute unresolved.
• Illegal immigration: The flow of cross-border immigrants from Bangladesh has further strained relations between the two countries.
  • Residents of Indian states bordering Bangladesh have faced substantial socio-economic-political challenges as a result of the significant influx of migrants.
• Economic Challenges: Both countries face non-tariff barriers, such as lengthy customs procedures and bureaucratic red tape, which have hampered trade.
• Security Challenges: The presence of insurgent groups such as Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in Bangladesh raises concerns about terrorism.
  • The possibility of banned organisations in India like the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Bodoland and National Liberation Front of Tripura being active in Bangladesh is also a matter of concern.
• Teesta River Dispute: An agreement was reached in 2011 to maintain minimum water flow in the Teesta River under which 42.5% water was given to India, 37.5% water to Bangladesh and the remaining 20% ​​water was given complete freedom to flow.
  • Due to some differences this agreement has not been implemented yet.
  • Apart from this, there is tension over the distribution of water of Brahmaputra and Ganga.
• Chinese investment in Bangladesh: China is increasing its investment in Bangladesh, especially in the sectors of infrastructure development, energy and telecommunications.
  • For example, investments in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Chittagong port.

What could be the way forward with regard to India-Bangladesh relations?

• Defense Equipment Offer: India has offered BrahMos missiles and naval ships to Bangladesh. This will enhance mutual trust and provide strategic depth to bilateral relations.
• Solution to Teesta River Water Dispute: There is a need to demarcate the boundary of Teesta River water sharing and build a consensus towards reaching a mutual agreement in a time bound manner.
• Stop illegal immigration: Illegal immigrants should be deported and illegal migration should be curbed.
  • Furthermore, the government should not grant citizenship or voting rights to unauthorized immigrants.
• Refugee Crisis: India and Bangladesh can encourage other South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries to draw up a SAARC Declaration on Refugees.
  • Through this, a specific process can be laid down for determining the status of refugees and economic migrants.
• Trade deficit: Bangladesh is concerned about its trade deficit with India. Hence a free trade agreement between the two countries can make the relations stronger.
• Energy Security: As the global energy crisis grows, it is important that India and Bangladesh cooperate in harnessing clean and green energy to make South Asia energy self-reliant.