The growing closeness between Pakistan and Bangladesh is a disturbing development. After courting China, ‘Chief Advisor’ Mohammed Yunus is now junking the lessons of history and engaging with the former oppressors. It is obvious that this is being done out of hostility towards India, which continues to grant sanctuary to former PM Sheikh Hasina. It is evidently believed that India can be pressured by cozying up to its regional rivals. That Bangladesh will end up paying a heavy price for such diplomacy is being ignored – it is just a reflection of Yunus’s hubris and the usual grandiosity of fundamentalists’ worldview.
The undeniable truth is that both Bangladesh and Pakistan are part of the Indian sub-continent. In fact, Bangladesh was originally East Bengal, created on an artificial political construct. It culturally and psychologically is still conjoined with West Bengal. The continued immigration (mostly illegal) of Bangladeshis into India reflects that reality. Pakistan’s identity crisis is not very different, though it tries hard to identify with Turkey and West Asia.
What this means is that the obsession with India, even if it is to cause harm and become ‘separate’, only increases their involvement with the old civilisational flow. Bangladesh and Pakistan have had the opportunity over the years to build a mature, economically interdependent relationship with the ‘mother-country’ that would have helped establish their autonomous identity. Instead, they have been overcome by the limitations in their concept of nationhood. They are now paying the price for it. All the effort to unite against (Modi’s) India will only result in their sinking together instead of separately.
How should India respond? Right now, it is exercising considerable restraint. India, for obvious reasons, has no desire to reacquire these provinces, but to allow them to become strongholds of hostile elements is also not an alternative. If matters worsen, as they very probably will, one effective response would be to identify and send back illegal migrants, particularly from West Bengal. Considering the fact that Bangladeshi Hindus are always in a hostage situation, creating a ‘safe belt’ within that nation’s territory for them, protected by India forces but with nominal Bangladesh sovereignty, is an option that should be looked at. The hold that illegal immigrant votes have on West Bengal politics must also be ended on priority basis. However, that would require a well thought out plan before anything like President’s rule is imposed. Also, a consensus must be developed in political circles as far as possible in this regard. In the long run, this approach will prove greatly beneficial for all concerned.
