Table of Contents
News
- Sheikh Hasina secured third consecutive term with a landslide victory in Bangladesh’s national election.
Why was this election important?
- Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority nation of more than 160 million people and faces issues ranging from possibly devastating climate change, Islamist militancy, endemic poverty and corruption.
- The country has recently been in the international spotlight as hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled there from neighboring Myanmar.
- Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League (AL) is however credited with overseeing rapid economic growth and social development, especially in rural areas.
- Bangladesh is India’s largest trading partner in South Asia with an annual turnover of around $9 billion plus an estimated informal trade of around $8-9 billion
- Justice S.R. Sen of the Meghalaya High Court recently observed in a judgment that “anybody opposing Indian laws and the Constitution cannot be considered citizens of the country”
Recent Trends in India Bangladesh Relations
- Bangladesh-India engagement has intensified in the areas of Cooperation in connectivity, energy, security and intelligence matters in last decade.
- Act east policy
- Sub Regional groups
- Bangladesh too with denial of support to Indian insurgent groups
- Akhaura-Agartala rail link
- Bangladesh has provided cyber connectivity between the international gateway at Cox’s Bazar to Agartalafor faster Internet connectivity in India’s northeastern States.
- India has also become a partner in Bangladesh’s nuclear power programme, with the beginning of construction at the Rooppur nuclear power plant.
- To promote more Bangladeshi exports
- India has granted Bangladesh generous lines of credit (LoCs) and grants
- The visa regime and norms has been liberalized
- India has launched Dhaka-Khulna-Kolkata bus and Khulna-Kolkata Bandhan Express services in 2017 and end-to-end customs and immigration services for Dhaka-Kolkata Maitree Express to ease people to people movement.
- Justice S.R. Sen of the Meghalaya High Court recently observed in a judgment that “anybody opposing Indian laws and the Constitution cannot be considered citizens of the country”
Challenges ahead
- Current Rohingya issue
- The issue of illegal migration
- Sharing of Teesta river waters will remain a challenge.
- China’s security and economic footprint
- Beijing is strengthening its strategic, defence, economic and trade cooperation with Dhaka. Among other defence hardware, Bangladesh also received its first ever submarines from China and to balance momentum move India’s announced $500 million line of credit for military hardware purchase.
Way Forward
- India needs to narrow the gap of trade deficit.
- Better security ties between the two sides.
- With the two countries sharing the waters of 54 rivers, reassurance on water-sharing is necessary
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