& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Border fencing and Bangladesh-India relations

I recall the remarks of Mr. Ramchandran Swami, the Janata Party ideologue, during one of his visits to Dhaka. While addressing a gathering he mentioned that there were a lot of well-wishers of Bangladesh amongst the Indian leaders and people and that these must be nurtured further and developed for the benefit of both the countries. This is mentioned for the information of our political leaders to unite on national issues so that policies pursued can bring benefits to the people and the country.
Brig Gen. AH.M. Abdul MOMEN (Retd)
Relations between Bangladesh and India had come under stress and strain on many occasions in ihe past but with the intervention and understanding of the political । leadership of the two countries I these were resolved.
But of late, and even during the meeling of the DG of BDR and BSE some Bangladeshi nationals were killed by the BSF well inside Ban-| gladesh territory, though this was disputed by Indian officials, the I media and even the Indian High । Commissioner in Bangladesh. ' However, on the instruction of the two DGs, the situation improved at the border but not for long.
uio The civil society members after visiting and investigating the actuation on the spot at Akhaura <4 came to the conclusion that the •nBSF, on all the occasions, shot -□Bangladeshi nationals inside Bangladesh territory and without 21 any provocation. Again, iheunfor-. tunate death of die BSF officer i^ibok place well inside (as reported 33^0 to 300 yards) Bangladesh territory and the officer, was not in ^qniforni hut rather in civvies, which was highly irregular. However, Indian officials, newspapers and the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh also dispute this.
Even after the incidents, when the initiative is taken by BDR for wflag meetings, these are in most cases not responded to, as it Should be as per the protocol of , border agreement. Even the handling over of the dead body is not yr done immediately rather delayed - on one pretext or the other. The a BSF has been ordered to shoot at sight in the no-man's land. Even children were fired upon by BSF recently at Chapainawabganj. ‘Patrolling the border by Indian helicopters In Maulvi Bazaar area. ’’Thstead of reducing tension at die 3 borders, md#£the situation rather ’ hiore tense and made the lives in ihe border areas very difficult.
Of late some of the moves by 1,/hdia have made the relations o between the two neighbours very «j uneasy and this has even affected yn trade, thus Bangladesh is losing a lot of revenue.
Seeing the Indian move to improve relations with Pakistan through dialogue and even the cricket diplomacy, the elderly statesman and ihe former Chief Minister of West Bengal Mr. Joyuti Basu has suggested that India should also start dialogue with Bangladesh and remove the irri-tants which stand between the two neighbours. Budhadev Bhattachariya, Chief Minister West Bengal, suggested that the central government bring about changes in the composition of BSF manpower, particularly on the Bangladesh-West Bengal border. Of course, Mr. Joyti Basu also made this suggestion when he was the Chief Minister of West Bengal, and, had this been heeded, it would probably have helped in mitigating the misunderstandingin the border areas.
Here I would like to mention an incident that took place in the
Rastrapati Bhaban in New Delhi. I was a member of the presidential entourage. After the dinner hosted by the Indian PM, Mrs. Indira Ghandhi, we were enjoying Banarsi 'pan' when some senior members of our delegation requested me to introduce them to some very senior Indian politicians, including Mr. Joyuti Basu, all of whom were standing nearby.
During the course of the conversation, Mr. Joyuti Basu interjected "HR! HTO 'Srl 1*0 5^1 ^FTTsni ’ilTHCS ^3 HUT fn%G5 HU l" (Brother, you will have to come to Kolkata, not Delhi, if you want your share of the Ganges water). Very significant words indeed and I mention this because I feel that Bangladesh must have a personal channel with the leaders and people of West Bengal, for that matter India, for better understanding between the peoples of the two countries.
I had read that through the CEO of Occidental Oils of USA, a very
effective contact channel was maintained with the Russian leaders to use as and when required as there were quite a bit of restrictions to say or do many things officially. 1 recall the remarks of Mr. Ramchandran Swami, the Janata Party ideologue, during one of his visits to Dhaka. While addressing a gathering he mentioned that there were a lot of well-wishers of Bangladesh amongst the Indian leaders and people and that these must be nurtured further and developed for the benefit of both the countries. ’This is mentioned for the information of our political leaders to unite on national issues so that policies pursued can bring benefits to the people and the country.
ATN Bangla had recently telecast live from Hollywood and New York the musical performances of artists of both Bangladesh and West Bengal. This was a wonderful idea of meeting of peoples from the neighbouring countries. Such meetings would bring better understanding between the two peoples.
Let us now dwell on the irritants, which generated the recent tension in the borders. These irritants are clue to the push-in of so-called Bangladeshis, construction of fence on die border, at places in contravention of the border rules and agreement, and to this was added the Indian refusal to attend the SAARC Conference in Dhaka. At this point in time, due to Indian's intransigence, the Langal Bandh land port remains inoperative for movements of goods between Bangladesh and Nepal. In fact, all the land ports are facing similar problems.
The announcement regarding the Foreign Secretary level meeting in June ushers in great hope and expectation to grapple with the existing irritants and to take effective steps to remove the lension and maintain normalcy for movement of people and goods.
As for the border fencing, it should be done, if at all necessary, in accordance with the international rules and the agreements between the two countries. In case of some difficulty these could be resolved through dialogue. When the whole world is becoming a global village through globalisation, putting up of barbed wire is not at all understandable. Some former Indian diplomats have argued against border fencing; in this regard one must recall the trauma of the Berlin wall and its eventual disappearance
Again, the push-in bids of so-called Bangladeshis creates not only problem for the poor people but also tension in the border.
Let us hope that with the judicious intervention of the leaders of both the countries the irritants will be removed, peace will prevail so that both countries can gain from each other.
The author is a freelancer.