Trade-Off Between Bengal, North-east Not Viable

The agricultural economy of north Bengal cannot be undermined for the sake of a ‘transit’ treaty whose benefits are in the abstract given the woeful condition of infrastructure in the north-eastern region. It is time the diplomacy of Manmohan got real.

Bangladesh cannot be faulted for putting on hold the Feni River agreement and the much awaited transit treaty. The transit treaty not only held out huge revenue potential for Bangladesh but would have also yielded to north-eastern India its dream of access to a port. The importance of this link for the region’s economic turnaround cannot be overstated. But Singh threw that opportunity away by imagining that a pack of IFS officers would “manage” Mamata.

A problem between Delhi and Kolkata could leave Dhaka sneezing politically. Now the anti-Hasina BNP would take advantage of the failed treaty to whip up anti-India sentiments. An advantage for the Bangaldesh Nationalist Party (BNP), with its known links with radical Islam, is a clear headache for India.

The Awami League is known to be an old ally of India. Bangladesh’s birth was midwifed by India. The BNP is known to whip up old suspicions harboured by remnants of the pro-Pakistan section of Bangladesh society. When in the Opposition in Bangladesh’s never-ending revolving door politics, the BNP tends to follow Delhi-Dhaka diplomacy with a telescope and never loses an opportunity to cry ‘traitor’ in the direction of the Awami League government for perceived “sellout” to India.

In the 1990s, the Awami League appeared to pulled off a masterstroke by clinching the Ganga water agreement with India, whose diplomacy was then punctuated by the “Gujral doctrine”. The “Gujral doctrine” held that India, being the big brother of the region and immensely advantaged by natural and economic resources, should  not think twice before making “small” sacrifices to its neighbours, particularly Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, because through them India stands to gain greater long-term dividends. However, things don’t work like that in South Asia. For a time it did appear that Hasina, who was Prime Minister in the 1996-2001 period, was serious about helping India smash north-eastern insurgency by forcing the Assam,  Nagaland, Tripura and Manipur  militants to close down their shelters in the Chittagong region. But this cooperation was soon sabotaged by pro-BNP elements in the Bangladeshi military establishment. And there was nothing that either India or the Awami-controlled Bangladesh government could do about it.

So, disregarding the interests of millions of people in northern West Bengal in the hope of securing a greater reward in the form of a “transit agreement” is not workable. There is no guaranteeing that the several follow up agreements needed to make a transit agreement work, would automatically fall in place. Moreover, given the present state of north-eastern industry, trade and services, it would take many years, if not decades, for the transit agreement to bring in the expected dividends. The north-east’s biggest problem is not lack of access to a nearby port, but woeful infrastructure. The government of India is vainly expecting a foreign treaty to resolve a home-grown problem whereas it has no substantial plan to improve the state of the north-east’s deficits in power, roadways and communications. But by that time, the entire agricultural sector of northern West Bengal could go for a toss. So the tradeoff may not necessarily have been reasonable.

Shiv Shankar Menon may have great understanding of foreign affairs but he cannot be expected to appreciate the political compulsions of a Chief Minister. The Prime Minister’s claim that Mamata had been “fully briefed” before the final go-ahead was given to draft the treaty has to be taken with a pinch of salt because the West Bengal Chief Minister would never have given her consent at a juncture when she was consolidating her own position.

When it comes to the criticism, Mamata had to face from certain quarters for “spiking” the treaty to exercise her State’s legitimate rights over the waters of the Teesta river, one can’t but appreciate the fact that in international river water treaties the rights of lower riparian states are upheld by preserving the rights of upper riparian states. Hence it is the UPA Government led by Manmohan Singh that should take the blame rather than anyone else. One wonders how Singh went to taste the flavor of Hilsa but ended up with egg on his face.

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Duty-Free Textile From Bangladesh To Hurt Indian Units : Indan Media

Days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced duty-free access to 46 textile items from Bangladesh, the apprehensions are being raised that the move will prove detrimental to the Indian textile industry’s growth plans.

As per a deal signed by India and Bangladesh, a total of 305 products, mostly textile items, can be imported into the country by paying zero per cent duty. The same 305 products can also be imported duty free from Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal.

Ajit Lakra, president of Ludhiana Knitters Association said the duty waiver will work against the industry in India. “Centre has waived off 26% customs duty applicable on these products. All that the Bangladeshi industrialists would be paying is 10.3% counter veiling duty (CVD). The Indian garment industry is already paying 10.3% excise duty,” Lakra said, adding that labour is cheap in the neighbouring country and “we cannot compete with the prices, which will be offered by Bangladesh”. 

The Knitwear Club president Vinod Thaper and general secretary Narinder Miglani have already given a memorandum to state congress president Capt Amarinder to be handed over to the PM.

“Once the products (from neighbouring countries) start coming in the Indian market, many Indian units will shift focus from manufacturing to trading. This will lead to cut in the jobs houses and hence manufacturing will reduce. This will lead to job cuts. The Centre should have thought of the adverse impacts before signing the deal,” added Lakra. 

Bangladesh had been pressing for the last two years to get duty waiver on 61 products. Of the products, 47 were apparel items including pants, shirts, blouses, skirts, kids wear, cotton nightwear, jeans, swimwear and tracksuits.

Salim Osman, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), had recently said that Bangladeshi apparel makers will do well in Indian market. 

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Indian Leadership Lacks Vision

The fallouts of the Delhi blast and Teesta water sharing flop is ominous for the Singh government.

India has been caught on the wrong foot again. It has evoked anger over the bomb blast at Delhi High Court on the one hand and a bit of unhappiness on the accord between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Prime Minister Shaikh Hasina on the other. Both show the helplessness which has become the badge of the Union government. In the case of the terrorist attack, it is a failure of all those engaged in protecting the nation. At Dhaka, India could not deliver on the sharing of Teesta river water because West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was not willing to release a certain quantum of water after having given her word to New Delhi.

The fallout of the two is ominous for the broken and battered Singh government. The terrorists have again dared the government which has no clue about its perpetrators, although the responsibility has been owned by the Harkat-ul Ansar, a breakaway group of the HuJI (Harkat Ul Jihad Al Islami).

In fact, as soon as the blast took place, the government sources said unofficially that the needle of suspicion was directed towards the HuJI which operated from the soils of Pakistan and Bangladesh. There was little mention of the efforts that Bangladesh had made to curb terrorism, although Singh acknowledged the cooperation of Shaikh Hasina. In the terrific noise that the blast made, the hurrah over the demarcation of the border between India and Bangladesh was lost. New Delhi did not make any specific mention of the exchange of enclaves between the two countries, pending since the freedom of Bangladesh in December 1971.

People in Bangladesh are disappointed because they had put all their eggs in Teesta water basket. Yet the territorial exchange is not a mean achievement. As for Teesta waters, the older generation in Bangladesh would recall how long it took to bring around West Bengal to give more water from the Farrakha barrage. Being lower riparian, Bangladesh has every right to get water from the Teesta. The point at issue is: how much? At the time of Farrakha barrage accord, then chief minister Jyoti Basu headed West Bengal. The centre took time to bring him around. It could not go ahead without West Bengal's sanction because water is a state subject.

Therefore, Mamata, mercurial and cautious, would need a lot of persuasion and a lot of support from within West Bengal. According to Singh, she was on board till the last minute but then she changed her mind. A leader of substance became prey to rumours and self-created doubts. She fears that the communists are only waiting for an opportunity to pounce upon her after she had decimated them in the last assembly election.

True, West Bengal has the last word on giving Teesta water and that too in lean months. But the compromise figure worked out was fair and left most of Teesta water to the state. Emotional Bangladesh has made things more difficult because it has taken the issue to a feverish pitch where the lessening of water is considered India's betrayal of Bangladesh which was breathlessly waiting for signatures on the accord.

Finding faults

In democracies, public opinion matters. It is as much potent in Bangladesh as in India. It takes time and needs a lot of patience and courage to narrow down the differences. Agreements come to be evolved. The Teesta treaty will come through as the Farrakha barrage treaty did. But by damning India no purpose will be served. In contrast, India behaved maturely and there was no angry reaction on the stalling of transit treaty, which was a win-win situation for both.

Dhaka should be more circumspect while finding faults. The bomb blast has changed India's priorities. Its attention is focused on how to create a mechanism which could cope with terrorism which has taken roots in India. Inputs by Bangladesh would help. This was the psychological moment that Dhaka should have used to hand over the ULFA leader in detention.

No doubt, the main responsibility for security lies with New Delhi. Every time a blast takes place the government says that some heads will roll. I have not seen any so far. There does not seem to be any accountability of authorities or those who had the security system under them. Six major blasts remain unsolved. The police or intelligence agencies are nowhere near finding the people behind them. Something which baffles me is the attitude of political parties. The BJP enjoys seeing Congress-led government in trouble. This is the time when all ranks should be closed. Instead, every incident is politicised. And there is no consensus on any point.

The tragedy is that India has no leader with a vision. The challenge is to the polity. For political parties, things are either black or white. There is a grey area which they should widen. This requires a sense of accommodation and spirit of tolerance. I feel that the glue which unites the country is drying up.

BY :   Kuldip Nayar.
 

WHY SO MUCH TRUMPET BLAST? : Manmohan’s Visit: Outcome Negligible For Bangladesh

The national press created high expectation about the outcome of the summit between the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh. The Government agencies in Bangladesh, particularly the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, helped in dissemination of news and views about the summit directly and indirectly. The tempo was building up during the last 9 months though the actual visit took place between September 6- 7 2011. The outcome of the summit has not come up to the high expectation because of the fact that the Teesta water treaty was not signed.

 

The Bangladesh side was projecting the summit in a way that the achievement to be had out of the summit would surpass all past achievements and would thus give the Government of Sheikh Hasina Wazed a great political boost. It now appears that there were lackings and various experts on the subject of foreign affairs or diplomacy are saying that the drill for the visit in the home front was inadequate. 

 

The raw hands

The Acting Secretary General of BNP has alleged that the preparation for the summit were mostly done by Advisers in the office of the Prime Ministers and these Advisers were raw hands because they did not have any background of diplomatic encounters with other countries.

 

Blames have been put on Mamata Banarjee, the Chief Minister of Paschim Bangla as due to her absence the water treaty could not be signed. Mamata Banarjee is a self made politician who has been in and out of power on various occasions. Her party, Trinamul Congress, is a faction of the Indian Congress. She is through-bred in politics and, therefore, fully aware of her primary responsibility to serve the cause of the people. There are some by-elections which will be held in Paschim Bangla. This is one of the important factors which must have been high on her mind at this juncture, and therefore she did not want to take a risk by participating in the Teesta water treaty which is essential for Paschim Bangla too. Her absence, therefore, was a calculated step which did upset both the Prime Ministers who had high hopes of concluding the Teesta agreement. However, the Indian Prime Minister before leaving Bangladesh on the conclusion his visit said that Teesta Water Treaty would be concluded in 3 months time. But who knows about the slips between the cup and the lips.

 

 

No press briefing by Hasina

The Prime Ministers of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has not briefed the local press regarding the summit although she led the Bangladesh Team. Syed Ashraful Islam, General Secretary of the Awami League (AL) has, however, in a press conference claimed that though Teesta water agreement was not signed, the summit was a success and that Teesta was one of the items not the only item of agreement. He recounted the achievements of the summit which were favourable to Bangladesh. 

 

It is worthwhile to note that the Chief Minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi, a member of the Indian entourage, said in Delhi that due to the border agreement signed between Bangladesh and India, India has got 1240 acres of land, whereas, Bangladesh got only 357.5 acres of land. 

 

The Chief Minister of Tripura, Manik Sarker, and other members of the Indian entourage admitted in an interview with a leading English daily published from Dhaka that “Indian Prime Ministers’ recent visit to Dhaka may have had more misses than hits but the achievement should not be over shadowed by disappointment”. The statements made by the two Indian Chief Ministers were more pragmatic than what Syed Ashraful Islam, a junior in national politics, holding high party position and the portfolio as the Minister for LGRD and cooperatives, said in a press briefing, as stated above. 

 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed came to learn that the Teesta water sharing treaty would not be signed on the 5th instant at night but there are press reports that Baby Moudud, reportedly a personal friend of the Prime Minister, was sent to Kolkata to plead with Mamata Banarjee to attend the summit. Baby Moudud is not a diplomat and, therefore, she was not suited to the job. 

 

 

Inept handling

Another gentleman by the name of Gauhar Rizvi also became very conspicuous in connection with the summit as he attended talk shows and also fed the press on some occasions. The Foreign Minister Dipu Moni also spoke to the press to explain the progress of the preparation for the summit and pre-summit talks which were attended by high Indian officials.

 

There has been inept handling of the preparation for the summit and the end result has angered many people in the country because apparently the Government has failed to obtain a solution to the Teesta water problem as Mamata Banarjee did not come in the entourage, as alleged; but the real story will not be available very soon unless we come to learn what actually happened. In this connection leaks from Wikileaks may provide some lead. Recently, heavy releases of Wikileaks about Bangladesh politics and diplomacy are appearing in our national dailies and are raising many curtains which are of interest.

 

At the end of the summit a 65-point joint statement was issued on September 7, 2011 and this joint statement serialised the accords. Knowledgeable circles say that these accords could have been signed in a usual manner at the level of Joint Secretaries without so much trumpet blast and Dr. Manmohan Singh could have been invited by the Prime Minister for a goodwill visit to Bangladesh.

BY :  Shahabuddin Ahmad. 
 

Bangladesh ‘To Become Solar Energy Nation In 10 Years’

Bangladesh has given a significant thrust to tapping of solar energy and is set to become a ‘solar energy nation’ within the next 10 years.

 A huge number of ‘green jobs’ will also be created,  a leading expert said in Dhaka yesterday.  

Former Grameen Shakti managing director Dipal Chandra Barua said, “We’re moving ahead to lay out a mission, Bangladesh Solar Mission’. We’ll analyse the global perspective, engage experts from home and abroad and take support internationally to make Bangladesh a solar energy nation,” Barua said.

Barua is now president of Bangladesh Solar and Renewable Energy Association and founder and chairman of Bright Green Energy Foundation.

He said his group wants to ensure solar energy in every corner of the country, and to engage unemployed boys and girls in the business expansion process, and also help the country get rid of the nagging power crisis by ensuring the use of solar energy up to 51%.

Dipal said they have formed a trade body, ‘Bangladesh Solar and Renewable Energy Association’, to help expand solar energy in the country.

“If the solar energy business grows, it’ll create jobs and help reduce the cost of having solar energy,” Dipal, also the president of the association, said.

Replying to a query, he said there are many developments in this green area. “The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is planning to provide funds for generating 500 megawatt of solar energy in Bangladesh. The government is in negotiations with ADB in this area.”

“It’s a big breakthrough. It’ll help increase the generation further. We’ve the God’s best gifted sunbeam,” he said.
Dipal said an international conference on solar energy development will be held in Dhaka on September 20 which will help Bangladesh work out its own plan to move forward.

Replying to another question, Dipal said the foundation, ‘Bright Green Energy Foundation’, will help expand and popularise solar energy.

He sought government support and united efforts to help ensure the expansion of solar energy system in the country.

Dipal further said solar energy is important as it is environment-friendly unlike nuclear power generation. “So, all should work together in this regard.”

Asked about credit facilities, he said flexible credit support is needed to make solar system popular in Bangladesh.

Sharing his plan on increased solar energy generation, Dipal said, “We’re taking various steps. We just want to spread solar energy across the country. We want the expansion of this business and more job creation.”
He also said they will train girls in each village to ensure proper maintenance of the solar energy system and to make the business viable.

Currently, some 60,000 people work in the solar energy sector across Bangladesh, he informed. Dipal, who has decades of experience in the field, believes a solar power system could be the best option to mitigate the worsening power problem. He said over 1mn solar home systems (SHSs) have been installed in the country. There is a plan to set up 7.5mn more solar panels across Bangladesh by 2015.

Referring to the environment, the expert said the free source of solar energy is an excellent solution.

BY :  Mizan Rahman.