The India-Bangladesh bilateral meeting at Dhaka was dissappointing for Indo-Bangladesh think tanks
The much-talked-about India-Bangladesh talks held on 9 December, apparently did not melt the desired amount of ice after the fall of the autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina in early August. In fact, the Foreign Secretary of India, Vikram Misr offers were too little, too less and too late to warm up the strained relations after Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus took oath as Chief Adviser of the Interim Government.
The Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) with his Bangladesh counterpart Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin. The visiting Foreign Secretary highlighted India’s support for a democratic, stable, peaceful, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh.
“To that end, therefore, I have underlined today India’s desire to work closely with the interim government of Bangladesh authorities,” he said.
Vikram Misri said there is no reason why this mutually beneficial relationship should not continue to develop in the interest of our people.
He said they have always seen in the past and will continue to see in the future the relationship as a people-centric and people-oriented relationship—one that has the benefits of all the people as its central motivational force.
The parleys did not make any proactive decisions regarding the visa regime, which was unilaterally stalled by the Indian government after the sudden change of government. There were no tangible discussions on the resumption of the Dhaka-Agartala, Dhaka-Kolkata bus service, Dhaka-Kolkata, Dhaka-Siliguri, and Khulna-Kolkata Maitree trains, which came to a screeching halt.
The non-issuance of visas has also impacted the Dhaka-Delhi, Dhaka-Kolkata, Dhaka-Chennai, and Chattogram-Kolkata flights, which have been reduced to one-fourth after the Indian High Commission visa processing centres, except on special cases stopped after 5 August, the day Hasina fled the country.
Regarding issuing Indian visas to Bangladesh nationals, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda briefing the media said Misri has assured that steps would be taken to increase the number of Indian visas for Bangladeshi nationals.
After reading out a written press briefing by Misri, he hurriedly walked away without taking any questions from the journalists, including dozens of Indian journalists presently in town.
Walking away from a press briefing means that the speaker either has something to hide or wants to avoid taking questions, which could be embarrassing for Delhi’s South Block.
The press statement issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is fully loaded with diplomatic phrases and jargon. It says, Misri reiterated India’s willingness to build a positive and constructive relationship with Bangladesh, based on mutual trust and respect and mutual sensitivity to each other’s concerns and interests.
The Indian Foreign Secretary emphasized that people are the main stakeholders in India-Bangladesh relations, and noted India’s development cooperation and multifaceted engagements with Bangladesh.
The MEA statement mentions that both sides held comprehensive discussions on a wide range of issues covering political and security matters, border management, trade, commerce and connectivity, cooperation in water, power and energy sectors, development cooperation, consular, cultural and people-to-people ties.
The statement does not mention how the people, identified as the main stakeholders in India-Bangladesh relations interaction in the face of India’s blanket ban on visas will continue with people-to-people contact.
Political historian and researcher Mohiuddin Ahmad asked, “How will the so-called people-to-people ties will continue? On WhatsApp or social media?”
Ahmad was keenly following the recent development of India-Bangladesh relations, which have dipped to an all-time low in 53 years of all-weather friendship.He said when Indian media sang to the tune of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) advocating Hindutva, an extremist religious-cultural philosophy had embarked upon anti-Bangladesh rhetoric, challenging the legitimacy of Yunus administration, which was tantamount to downgrading the status of the India-Bangladesh ties.
Misri could not assure Bangladesh officials of the means to stop the anti-Bangladesh campaign of the ruling BJP and the Indian media to stabilise the hard-earned friendship, since the brutal birth of Bangladesh in 1971.
About the propaganda being spread by a section of Indian media against Bangladesh, Adviser Rizwana Hasan told journalists that the Indian foreign secretary claimed that the Indian government is not responsible for the anti-Bangladesh campaign and that Delhi does not subscribe to the disparagement against Bangladesh.
The Indian side also claimed that their government did not own the propaganda, the environment adviser added.
The majority of mainstream media picked up sources from fake news floating on social media without fact-checking. Several fact-checkers in India and Bangladesh have debunked scores of fake news, but Indian media has not stopped.
At least 49 Indian media outlets spread fake reports, according to fact-check outfit Rumour Scanner based in Bangladesh.
They are still playing with the Hindu card, terming the attacks on Hindus in the aftermath of the Iron Lady Hasina fleeing the country.
The Indian political leaders, several organisations and television news channels did not hesitate to coin words of ‘genocide’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’, without understanding the academically accepted definition found in textbooks and also in Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Mohiuddin Ahmad, who is a genocide survivor said how will one classify the ethnicity of the Adivasis? Never knew that Hindus are ethnic, he remarked.
Well, Misri aptly raised the concern of religious minorities and urged for their safety, security and welfare. He also raised some regrettable incidents of attacks on cultural, religious and diplomatic properties.
Misri also paid a courtesy call with Dr Yunus, he stressed reviving the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), an inter-governmental organisation that promotes economic, social, and cultural development among Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
SAARC was put into cold storage after India, Bangladesh and Nepal declined to attend the 19th Summit scheduled in Islamabad, Pakistan after a border skirmish in Kashmir.
The two officials during their parley, also exchanged views on sub-regional, regional and multilateral issues, and agreed to enhance consultations and cooperation to advance regional integration, including under the BIMSTEC framework. Misri did not mention SAARC, except nodding his head while speaking to Dr Yunus.
Misri will be the second senior-most Indian official to have met Dr Yunus, after the Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma met the inventor of micro-credit Dr Yunus days after he took oath on 8 August.
After the parley with the Yunus, Rizwana Hasan briefing the journalists said India is eager to clear the cloud formed in the sky over Bangladesh and India relations after the ouster of the Hasina government.
There was no comment regarding, India recognising the Monsoon Revolution, the student uprising which ousted the autocratic Hasina regime.
He concluded that the discussions have allowed both the countries to take stock of the relations, and appreciates the opportunity in holding the meeting to have had a frank, candid and constructive exchange of views with all my interlocutors.