Opinion
A new regime in Dhaka: Let’s reboot India-Bangladesh relations
Summary
- While India has legitimate concerns of a potentially anti-India shift in Bangladesh, the ascent of Muhammad Yunus as the head of its interim government holds out the hope that New Delhi could reset ties on a durable new basis.
Every crisis comes twinned with opportunity—not just to solve the proximate problem, but also to effect a paradigm shift, away from the conditions that led to the crisis. So it is with Bangladesh.
The country has a chance to forge a new politics more in tune with its recent economic dynamism, which calls for a political system that enables free thinking, new ways of doing things and decentralized decision-making. That would help the country overcome a legacy of political feuds that drew in successive generations and trapped them in pre-set patterns of irredeemable conduct.
India has legitimate concerns about the ouster of its long-term ally Sheikh Hasina from Bangladesh’s leadership and the possible rise of elements that are not just anti-India and pro-Pakistan, but may also be ready to serve as agents of Chinese interests in the region.
Also read: How Bangladesh crisis may impact its economic growth: Explained
The Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist outfit that makes no bones about its affinity with Pakistan, is capable of fomenting sentiment against India, persecuting minorities and pushing Bangladeshi politics towards sectarian violence and away from democracy. India has vital security and economic interests that an anti-India government in Dhaka could hurt.
However, this does not mean that we should view with hostility any successor to the India-friendly Hasina regime. Instead, New Delhi’s best bet would be to encourage any nascent political tendency to create a new politics that emphasizes inclusion and democratic accountability.
Fortunately, the newly appointed head of an interim administration to govern Bangladesh and conduct fresh elections is Muhammad Yunus, a globally respected figure in developmental economics, committed to openness and inclusion as a matter of ideology and business sense.
He is best known, of course, for his work in the field of microfinance. In a guest essay for The Economist, Yunus calls upon the country to aim for three zeroes: zero net carbon emission, zero wealth concentration and zero unemployment. These are welcome goals.
Also read: Bangladesh’s interim govt to take oath on Thursday night, may have 15 members: Report
While some may cavil that he has not explicitly called for zero attacks on minorities and zero relapse into religious fundamentalism, we must not overlook his call for new leadership drawn from the student movement, an uprising he has dubbed the country’s ‘second liberation.’
This snub to the political class signals both a commitment to change and the skill needed to fashion it in a way that avoids overt confrontation.
Rather than waste time bemoaning a potential tilt in Dhaka away from India, New Delhi should reach out to emerging power players in Bangladesh and aim for a consensus on the mutual benefits of cooperation. Yunus’s ascent can be interpreted as an olive branch held out to us. We should grab it with both hands and reciprocate.
Indians at large must refrain from irresponsible rhetoric on social media which equates Bangladesh’s second liberation—there’s enough evidence of Hasina’s dictatorial record—with an Islamist takeover that dooms the future of minority Hindus there.
Indian investors who have initiated major projects in Bangladesh should make it clear that they will carry on, provided they are assured of security. The success of its garment industry has lifted large numbers out of poverty and empowered women.
Also read: What Muhammad Yunus-led Bangladesh govt means for India: ’Best of friends, no suspicion’
Let’s not express glee over potential gains to be had from business disruption there. Many of our value chains are linked. We must strengthen them. Hasina’s departure offers a chance to forge better relations on a new basis.
