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

20 Pages·2021·0.115 MB·English

FIFTY YEARS OF
BANGLADESH-INDIA
RELATIONS
Issues, Challenges and Possibilities

FIFTY YEARS OF
BANGLADESH-INDIA
RELATIONS
Issues, Challenges and Possibilities
Md. Shariful Islam
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Fifty Years of Bangladesh-India Relations: Issues, Challenges and Possibilities
Md. Shariful Islam
ISBN 978-93-90095-
First Published in 2021
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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