Bangladesh–India Friendship: Historically Time-Tested

 

China was our foe for a very long time. We shall never forget what Mao Tse and Chou En Lai’s China did to our hapless people and Bangladesh in 1971 when we were fighting life and death against the bestial Pakistan’s military junta and their equally brutish local mango-twigs, particularly Jamaat-e-Islami gangsters, to attain our own homeland.

Even the Peking Government cast its first veto on 25 August, 1972 in the Security Council to bar Bangladesh from membership in the United Nations.
China was among the last countries to recognize independent Bangladesh on 31 August 1975, four years after its birth when Khondokar Moshtaq Ahmed and his confederates usurped power after brutally killing Bangladesh’s Founding Father – Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This temerity is irremissible under any setting.

So, we should condemn the Chinese government in the most corrosive language. We must also be very careful in building our relationship and foreign policy with China.

Together with this, we should echo Bangladesh and India have historic relations and traditional friendly ties. Bangladesh recalls with deep gratitude the support of the Indian people across various constituencies and that of the-then political leaders during the Liberation War in 1971. This laid the foundation of special nature of the relationship between the two friendly countries.

This constructive relationship seems likely to follow its pattern of steady, careful progress. The Bangladesh leadership continues to seek new foreign investment and integration with the world, goals that require good relations with India first. We hope India will continue to value Bangladesh’s dynamic economy, its increasingly sophisticated leadership and its quietly growing leadership role in Southeast Asia.

We can look at the history for an explanation, but really, I think it is something that cannot be explained logically. Somehow, we, Bangladesh’s people just inherently love the Indians, and vice versa. Why we are; what we are - the truth is that if we are asked about the relationship, almost every person in Bangladesh and India would say, we are friends forever.

It is a write-out on how both Bangladesh and India have adopted a good neighbour policy as part of a new strategy of peaceful development, in which both the countries have sought to promote an interdependent, rather than competitive, relationship with their neighbours and the world.

Bangladesh and India are good all-weather friends and there is existence of mutual support and cooperation between both the countries. The closed friendly relations that have stood the test of time over the years have gained greater strength and vitality despite the great changes which have taken place on the international and regional scenes. They have also remained unaffected by domestic changes. This is because that the friendship between the two countries is based on respect for the principles of the peaceful coexistence. It is underpinned by mutual trust and confidence and has been nurtured and enriched by frequent high-level contacts.

Both sides have a common interest in the peace and stability of Southeast Asia and have been working together in the pursuit of this objective. They oppose international and regional hegemony and have been striving for a just international political and economic order. Both the countries consult each other regularly on international and regional issues and cooperate closely in international forums. It is always hoped that the relations between the two countries will continue to flourish and strengthen further especially in the days to come. During the past almost 52 years, Bangladesh and India have developed an all-round partnership which embraces cooperation in the political, defense, economic, commercial, cultural and other fields. This partnership has been constantly growing in strength over the years and has made a positive contribution to peace and stability in Southeast Asia.

The salient features of Bangladesh-India policies are a model for both the countries. The structure of regional and global development, the well thought policy of economic liberalisation as well as a successful diplomacy all these features, if followed can make both the countries stronger and far better nations.

For this very reason both the countries have launched mutual programmes of economic and technological development which surely pave the way for the brighter nations. Not only this both the countries have always helped each other in many fields and because of these contributions and technical assistance, Bangladesh-India has started major projects of social and economic development.

Both the countries have also always assisted it in the promotion of regional peace, security and mutual understanding with other countries of the region. Bangladesh-India friendship has upped to new heights and made it more relevant to their individual and joint concerns. The visit of two sides has laid stress on the strengthening economic cooperation. The bilateral trade expansion has been emphasized. Many agreements have been signed for specific cooperation in sectors ranging from agriculture, information technology and education to energy and investment.

The friendship between Bangladesh and India is a cornerstone of our foreign policy and serve the interest of the two nations but also of the entire region is a friendship which is not directed against any country but contributes to the peace and stability in Asia and the world.

It is not about being a Hindu or a Muslim, it is about supporting what is right and condemning what is wrong.

We see cooperation at an all-time high and a bilateral relationship going from strength to strength between Bangladesh and India. The partnership established between Bangladesh and India during our glorified Liberation War in 1971 is delivering real benefits for both nations.

The Bangladesh-India relationship has steadily strengthened. Personal ties and mutual understanding are at the heart of any successful relationship. Our established annual high-level dialogues on finance, international strategy and cultural links all demonstrate the breadth and depth of this relationship.

Today, more people travel between India and Bangladesh than ever before. Students of both the countries are now studying across Bangladesh and India. We want to be the most inspirational and welcoming destination for visitors of India and other countries, so we have enhanced visa options and expanded visa application centres.

Bangladesh will build a truly global country that is open for business, and brings with it new and exciting opportunities for our partnership with India and many other countries. We will work to enhance our discussions on free trade and work together to expand trade and investment links. We must also work together to ensure nations play by the same rules that is fundamental for neighbouring countries’ security and prosperity. We expect this positive work to develop even further.

Our cooperation on climate change and energy has been crucial, and we are working hand-in-hand on healthcare, learning from each other to tackle global issues like anti-microbial resistance. It is because of our strong and mature relationship, we are able to have an open and constructive discussion on all of these issues, as well as areas where we do not always agree.

The pace and scope of what we have achieved is extraordinary, but it is not just about the past. We have a great deal to look forward to, including planning for the visit to India by our Prime Minister Hasina this year. That will be an excellent opportunity to reinforce our shared commitment to even greater cooperation between Bangladesh and India.

As neighbours who should share peace and prosperity, Bangladesh and India have especially inter-dependent relations. Based on this understanding, Bangladesh's basic policy aims at working toward closer relations and better understanding with India, and making contributions to the stability and development of both the countries.

Despite some events of considerably instable nature, confrontation has been avoided all in all and there were visible moves in search of stability. There is progress in our cooperation for strengthening resilience both of the two states and of the Southeast Asian region as a whole.

Taking these developments in the situation into consideration, Bangladesh has also endeavoured to strengthen relations with other nations of Asia and to develop those with ASEAN as a cooperative regional organisation.

But warm and friendly relations have long characterised the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India. The two countries share mutual values, and our common history goes back to the very early days of 1971 war with Pakistan, when hundreds of Indians played a crucial role with us in liberating Bangladesh.

The scope of cooperation between our two countries has always been wide. The import and export have exceeded billion US dollars and that will step-up in future. Both the countries are playing a part in accelerating the bilateral trade contacts between the two countries. Through technological experience, coordinated research, and information exchange, there is no doubt we can develop an ever-greater cooperation in the future. Both the countries look forward to it.

Cultural exchange has developed quickly in the past few years. Reciprocal visits between the two countries indicate the growing mutual interest and strength of relations between the two nations. This bipartisan motion bespeaks the long relationship between Bangladesh and India, highlighting the political, cultural and economic relationship between the two nations.

As peoples, both the countries share common values. These values are well manifested in the overall span of our bilateral relations.
While we are hoping for peaceful cooperation between the two countries and for fair competition for further development, there are some major sources of strain in this relationship that stand in the way. But the two countries are making efforts to maintain their bilateral relationship for peace and stability.  


Anwar A. Khan is a freedom
fighter who writes on politics
and international issues.