Bangladesh–India relations

During the Partition of India after independence in 1947, the Bengal region was divided into two: East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh) and West Bengal. East Pakistan was made a part of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan due to the fact that both regions had a overwhelmingly large Muslim population, more than 85%. In 1955, the government of Pakistan changed its name from East Bengal to East Pakistan.

There were some confrontations between the two regions though. Firstly, in 1948, Jinnah declared that only Urdu would the official language of the entire nation while more than 95% of the population spoke Bengali. And when protests broke out in Bangladesh on February 21, 1952, Pakistani police shot dead the protests, killing hundreds. Secondly, East Pakistan was given a step-motherly treatment and only a small amount of revenue was given for the development of the region. Therefore, a separatist movement started to grow in Bangladesh. When in 1970 elections, the main separatist party the Awami League, headed by Mujibur Rehman won 167 of the 169 seats and got the right to form the government, the Pakistan president under Yahya Khan refused to recognize the elections and on the other hand, arrested him. This led to widespread protests in Bangladesh and in 1971, the Liberation War in Bangladesh started.

India under Indira Gandhi fully supported the cause of the Bangladeshis and its troops and equipment were used to fight the Pakistani forces. It also gave full support to the main Bangladeshi guerilla force, the Mukti Bahini. Finally, on 26 March, 1971, Bangladesh emerged as an independent state. Since then, there have been several issues of agreement as well as of dispute.

Areas of Agreement

1. India, because of its central role in the independence of Bangladesh initially had very cordial relations with the country. India was also the first country to recognize Bangladesh as an independent nation. It also had a sense of obligation and thankfulness towards India.

2. Moreover, Bangladesh was faced with an economic crisis after independence and its population was 8th largest in the world at that time. India gave large amounts of aid to Pakistan and thousands of Bangladeshi refugees immigrated to India.

3. Mujibur Rehman’s first foreign visit as PM was to India and it was then decided Indo-Bangladesh relations would be guided by principles of democracy, socialism, nonalignment and opposition to colonialism and racism. Indira Gandhi too visited Bangladesh in 1972 and assured that India would never interfere in the internal affairs of the country.

4. In 1972, both the countries signed a ‘Treaty of Friendship and Peace’. An Indo-Bangladesh Trade Pact was also signed.

Areas of Dispute

1. A major bone of contention has been the construction of the Farakkha Barrage by India to increase water supply in the river Hoogly. Bangladesh insists that it does not receive a fair share of the Ganga waters, and on the other hand, it gets flooded in the monsoons when India releases excess. Water sharing agreement on water sharing had to be signed with the Sheikh Hasina government of Bangladesh in 1971.

2. In 1975, the creator of Bangladesh, Mujibur Rehman was assassinated and in his place, a staunch anti-India leader, General Zia-Ur-Rehman assumed power. He was supported by reactionary communal forces which were opposed to Bangladesh’s independence as well by ultra-leftist pro-Chinese groups which were highly critical of expansionist Indian policies. Internationally, he received support from Western powers and China who were hostile to India. In this situation Zia-Ur Rehman went about projecting India as Bangladesh’s enemy. Thus, during his rule, bilateral relations became complicated and hostile.

3. There have also been disputes regarding the transfer of Teen Bigha Corridor to Bangladesh. There is some area of Bangladesh in Best Bengal which is surrounded by India. This area is very near to Bangladesh and thus India leased three bigha land to Bangladesh to connect this land with mainland Bangladesh. There is dispute regarding this since it is used by anti-India forces and illegal immigrants to cross over into India. However, this Corridor was formally transferred to Bangladesh on 26 June, 1992.

4. A major issue which continues to be a major part of Indian politics is the issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in India, especially in places like Bengal, Assam and Tripura. Every day around 6,000 immigrants cross over into India. This has led to a change in the demography of India. In areas like Assam, there has been continuous violence against them and the BJP government has started a movement to prevent them from getting any employment in India.

5. Another problem which has arisen since the 1990s is the rise of Islamic fundamentalist forces in Pakistan. The Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has been making use of these forces to carry out anti-India activates. There has also started a trend towards Islamisation of Bangladesh. During the last few years, there have been a spate of blasts in the country by groups attempting to make the country an Islamic one. This has also contributed to the rise Islamic terrorists groups who wish to carry out operations against India.