IT is refreshing on no-loss-no-gain basis, instructive and can be good for the future, if a little too dramatic for anyone's comfort, far less that of Dr. Manmohan Singh and Sheikh Hasina. The failure hasn't been exactly an "orphan," nor has the degree of success had any "fathers." If crisis is an opportunity,

then this certainly promises to be one. The failed nego-tiation with the moral thrown up has a guiding implication we need to press into service to cut corners of sensitive deals.

Given the media coverage on both sides, it seems diplomatic posturing is about putting together the true and the false and therefrom manufacturing the plausible.

That it was not all signed, sealed and delivered is perhaps a blessing in disguise. What the draft Teesta and Feni water sharing accord held out for us, we simply had no clues. The issue is reopened for the better, not certainly for the worse.

If the Indian press reports were anything to go by, Bangladesh's share of water would have been between 28% and 33% and not 48-50% as we were given to believe. That perhaps explains away Foreign Minister Dipu Moni's scaling down from "equal" to "equitable," almost back-to-back.

But, of course, it was a done deal between

Manmohan and Hasina governments, so it would have come as something of a fait accompli. Now, because of the non-signing of the deal, both sides have got a window to revisit the

treaty and make necessary adjustments to better protect their mutual interests. For a good deal is effectively nothing short of give-and-take.

As for transit, conceptually, there is a lack of clarity about the intricacies involved, apart from Bangladesh having been expressly not ready with the infrastructure, its financing, construction, and guaranteed tariff, so on and so forth. These will have to be firmed up, so the respite has come in handy.

Let's not allow our understanding of the outcome of the just-concluded Indo-Bangla summit to be clouded by overemphasising the unachieved part. This could only deflect our attention from the gains that we otherwise should be taking note of and building up on. Nor should we, even unwittingly, indulge in oversimplification while interpreting the results. Because that could lead us to mood-play and bickering at the expense of taking things forward from where the summit left off.

Reinforcing dynamics on four levels are critical to ensure a definitive improvement in neighbourly rela-

tions. These include expression of mutually congenial political will, agreements in principle, cutting of the deals to the mutual satisfaction of both sides and their operationalisation on the ground. Apparently, the first two elements have been in place but the last two are yet to follow. That's where role of diplomacy, astute negotiation to extract our parts of the bargain and taking the political parties and the people along so as to underpin implementation, come into play.

Deal-wise, even whatever has been achieved at the

Dhaka summit, viz. exchange of enclaves and adverse possessions along the border and the dropping of 46 export items of Bangladesh from the Indian negative list, is drawing flak. Trinamool-Congress government in Pashchimbanga didn't only raise objections to the draft Teesta deal they have also taken issue with the exchange of enclaves saying that the protocols have not specified any timeframe or modalities for the handovers and the citizenship determination. As in the case of Teesta water sharing so in exchanging enclaves, Trinamool-Congress is playing to the electorate.

The business community of Bangladesh whilst making the most of the presence of the chief ministers of four northeastern states of India to talk business has demanded dropping of the negative list altogether and elimination of the non-tariff barriers.

The joint statement issued at the end of the summitry has been more resolute than rhetorical. In that sense it makes up for some of the disappointment over the summit's less than expected results. It has very strongly reiterated the political goodwill for consistent and sustained improvement in the bilateral relations. The statement envisages a joint commission led by the external and foreign affairs ministers of India and Bangladesh respectively to explore new avenues to advance bilateral cooperation under the just concluded framework agree-

ment on development and cooperation. Furthermore, speedy completion of formalities for use of Chittagong and Mongla ports has been emphasised. Our concerns

over Tipaimukh dam would be addressed.

If the psycho-political characterisation of India that often comes through the writings of the Indian scribes themselves is borne in mind, the deficit in the outcome of the Indo-Bangla summit shouldn't have come as a surprise. Mamata factor may be crucial, but it hardly equals the importance of transit and connectivity.

The writer Is Associate Editor, The Dally Star. E-mail: husain,imam@the daily star.net