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COVID-19, Post-COVID-19 and Bangladesh-India Cooperation PDF

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FIFTY YEARS OF BANGLADESH-INDIA RELATIONS Issues, Challenges and Possibilities FIFTY YEARS OF BANGLADESH-INDIA RELATIONS Issues, Challenges and Possibilities Md. Shariful Islam PPPPPEEEEENNNNNTTTTTAAAAAGGGGGOOOOONNNNN PPPPPRRRRREEEEESSSSSSSSSS LLLLLLLLLLPPPPP Fifty Years of Bangladesh-India Relations: Issues, Challenges and Possibilities Md. Shariful Islam ISBN 978-93-90095- First Published in 2021 Copyright © RESERVED All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the book are the individual assertion of the Authors. The Publisher does not take any responsibility for the same in any manner whatsoever. The same shall solely be the responsibility of the Authors. Published by PENTAGON PRESS LLP 206, Peacock Lane, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi-110049 Phones: 011-64706243, 26491568 Telefax: 011-26490600 email: [email protected] website: www.pentagonpress.in Printed at Avantika Printers Private Limited. CONTENTS Preface ix 1. Introduction 1 Historical Background of Bangladesh-India Relations 7 India’s Role in the 1971 War 8 Organisation of the Book 11 2. Narratives on Political and Diplomatic Relations 16 Introduction 16 Evolving Political and Diplomatic Ties 18 Relations between 1972 and August 1975 18 Relations between post-August 1975 and 1990 22 Relations between 1991 and 1995 24 Bangladesh-India Relations (1996-2000) 26 Relations between 2001 and 2008 27 Bangladesh-India Relations (2009-present) 29 Critical Engagement 38 Conclusion 40 3. Emerging Trends in Development Partnership 45 Introduction 45 Understanding Development Partnership 47 Major Dimensions in Development Partnership 48 Trade 48 Institutional/Instrumental Development 49 Changing Volume of Trade 51 Bangladesh’s Imports of Services: Health and Education Sector in Focus 53 Investment 55 Special Investment Zones 56 Energy Cooperation 57 Challenges 59 Policy Imperatives 62 Conclusion 63 vi Fifty Years of Bangladesh-India Relations 4. Understanding Security Cooperation 66 Introduction 66 Conceptualising Security Cooperation 69 Major Areas of Security Cooperation 70 Narratives on Military Cooperation 71 Cooperation on Combating Terrorism 73 Maritime Cooperation 75 Cooperation in the Area of Cyber Security 77 Cooperation within Indian Ocean Regional Institutions 77 Conclusion 78 5. Border Issue: Challenges and Responses 82 Introduction 82 Theorising Borders 84 Historicising Bangladesh-India Border 85 Challenges 87 Border Killings 87 Smuggling 89 Women and Children Trafficking 93 Border Tensions 93 What can be Done? 94 Promoting Border Cooperation 94 Ensuring Strong Commitment 94 Promoting Awareness 95 Conclusion 95 6. Understanding Water Sharing Disputes 99 Introduction 100 A Brief Historical Account 101 Teesta Water Sharing 103 Why has Bangladesh-India Water Sharing Dispute not been Resolved yet? 104 Lack of India’s Interest 104 Lack of Information/Knowledge of Water 106 Domestic Politics 106 Creating Narratives of Water as ‘Scarce’ Resource and Rivers as National 107 Policy Imperatives 108 Still, Hope Exists 108 Addressing Domestic Politics 108 Hydro-diplomacy Pedagogy and Water Cooperation 109 Promoting Joint Research 110 Constructive Role of Academics and Media 110 Is Statist Approach Enough? 110 Conclusion 111 7. Narratives on Connectivity 114 Introduction 114 Conceptualising Connectivity 116 Contents vii Dimensions of Connectivity 117 Physical Connectivity: Connectivity by Road 117 Connectivity through Water 120 Connectivity at Sub-Regional Level 122 BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement 122 Implications 123 Challenges 125 Domestic Politics 125 Poor Infrastructure 126 Lack of Political Will 126 Conclusion 127 8. Unfolding the Role of Civil Society 130 Introduction 130 Understanding Civil Society 131 Civil Society and Bangladesh-India Relations 132 Role of the Media 133 Role of the Indian Media 134 Role of Bangladeshi Media 139 Role of Scholars and Scholarship 142 Role of Business Lobby Groups and Others 145 Role of Think Tanks 146 Conclusion 149 9. China Factor in Bangladesh-India Ties 153 Introduction 153 Contemporary Developments in Bangladesh-China Relations 155 Chinese Investments in Bangladesh 157 Defence Cooperation 157 India’s Concerns and Responses 158 Bangladesh’s Response 161 Conclusion 162 10. COVID-19, Post-COVID-19 World and Bangladesh-India Cooperation 166 Introduction 166 Implications of COVID-19 on Foreign Policy 167 Impact on State Behaviour 167 COVID-19 and Bangladesh-India Ties 170 Post-COVID-19 World and Bangladesh-India Cooperation 172 Conclusion 175 11. Looking Ahead: Strengthening the Partnership 178 Index 185 10 COVID-19, POST-COVID-19 WORLD AND BANGLADESH-INDIA COOPERATION ABSTRACT The COVID-19 global pandemic has serious foreign policy consequences including for Bangladesh-India relations. For instance, Bangladesh-India bilateral visits, trade, investment, travel, and various projects halted or slowed down due to the pandemic on the one hand and on the other, while many countries stopped cooperating with each other, the world witnessed Bangladesh-India cooperation on many grounds, including medical cooperation and cooperation over connectivity. It is often argued that the ‘new normal’ brought about by the pandemic would prevail everywhere, even in the conduct of the state’s foreign relations. Thus, this chapter asks: How does the COVID-19 global pandemic affect a state’s foreign policy in general and Bangladesh-India relations in particular? What would be the nature of Bangladesh-India relations in the post-COVID-19 world? What would be the future course of action for Bangladesh and India in the post-COVID-19 world to deepen the bilateral partnership? Keywords: COVID-19, Bangladesh-India Relations, Post-COVID-19 World Order, Medical Cooperation. Introduction The COVID-19 global pandemic is also known as coronavirus disease, which began at the end of 2019 in China and has spread all over the world COVID-19, Post-COVID-19 World and Bangladesh-India Cooperation 167 and thus impacted both states and people. The pandemic has shaken the world with broader implications at the domestic, regional and global scale in the domain of economy, security, foreign policy, and diplomacy. Itty Abraham (2020) writes that ‘There have been remarkably few truly global turning points in the last century and a half, so calling the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic a historic turning point is no small matter’. The coronavirus crisis created not only a health crisis but also an economic crisis and affected normal relations between people and states. Thus, normal bilateral relations, whether by bilateral visits, trade, investment, and people-to-people contacts have been affected severely. One can argue that the novel coronavirus has serious foreign policy consequences (Fuchs, 2020). In addition, the rise of extreme nationalism and a protectionist policy during the coronavirus pandemic has also been observed globally. Armando Barucco, director of the Policy Planning Unit of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, writes that ‘There is little doubt that the extreme forms of nationalism and isolationism that have pervaded public discourse and foreign policy in recent years will become even stronger and more vocal’ because of COVID-19 (Barucco, 2020). It is often argued that the ‘new normal’ brought about by the pandemic would prevail everywhere, even in the conduct of a state’s foreign relations. Thus, this chapter asks: How does the COVID- 19 global pandemic affect Bangladesh-India relations? What would be the nature of Bangladesh-India relations in the post-COVID-19 world? What would be the future course of action for Bangladesh and India in the post-COVID-19 world to deepen the bilateral partnership? This chapter has three main sections, excluding the introduction and conclusion. The first discusses COVID-19 impacts on foreign policy while the second section focuses on the pandemic’s implications on Bangladesh- India ties. The final section maps Bangladesh-India relations in the post- pandemic era while it is argued that there is no alternative to promoting Bangladesh-India cooperation in the post-pandemic era. Implications of COVID-19 on Foreign Policy Impact on State Behaviour Scholars are divided regarding the impacts of COVID-19 on the state’s behaviour. The pro-state progressive school of thought thinks that the pandemic has brought the end the of so-called Washington Consensus

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