Indo-Bangladesh relations
The readers failed to notice two important factors during and after the recent visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Dhaka.
The geographical location of Bangladesh: it is surrounded by India in the West and in the East; with the high Himalayas in the North, and the Bay of Bengal in the South. Under such caged conditions, the foreign policy of Bangladesh has to be updated and fine-tuned on a long-term basis, for an independent and prosperous living . The cage door must be kept open; but under what conditions?
India does not have normal friendly relations with her neighbouring countries. The Kashmir issue is lingering since 1947 along with Pakistan; while Nepal and Bhutan are land-locked, countries in the Himalayas. North-East India is isolated due to lack of connectivity; therefore it is difficult to govern it in a normal manner.
Bangladesh lies in a deltaic region, full of rivers. It has high soil fertility but the construction of dams upstream in neighbouring countries impedes the natural flow of waters.
The density of population in Bangladesh is one of the highest in the world, approaching 1,000 persons per sq km (over-population is not recognised or encouraged by nature). Dhaka's political governance started from zero in 1947 (East Pakistan), and again from 1971 (Bangladesh), while India enjoyed continuity, which makes governance easier, although it is a vast country. The communal issues now cropping up seem to be artificial.
Indo-Bangla friendly relations have to be looked at from these perspectives of historical and geographical significance. Hence political initiatives have to be more judicious and long-term ones. Many elder citizens are still sceptical about the sudden partition of British India.
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