A narrative of a diplomat's experiences has
always been revealing and entertaining. A life of a diplomat is always exciting
as ever, and unexpected events often occur during his/her tenure. Diplomats are
privy to many interactions with the government which others are not aware of.
The Indian high commissioner has a high profile
across media and community in Bangladesh.
It is not an unmixed blessing as it has advantages as well as disadvantages.
High Commissioner Pinak has realised it during his tenure of almost three years
in the country.
The Indian high commissioner's lively discussions
at a farewell lunch on December 7th were not only fascinating but also provided
deep insight into the Bangladesh
and India relationship.
I was present at the lunch, hosted by former
ambassador Ashfaqur Rahman, chairman of the Centre for Foreign Affairs Studies
(C-FAS), for the departing Indian high commissioner.
Guests at the lunch included German Ambassador
Holger Michael, Pakistan's
acting High Commissioner, Afzaal Mamood, eminent Bangladeshi persons such as a
former minister, a former adviser to the caretaker government, a former
Bangladesh Bank governor, a few retired Bangladesh
ambassadors, and other important personalities.
High Commissioner Pinak is very articulate and a
master of facts and figures on many bilateral issues. What impressed me is his
imperturbable conviction that there exists a solution to every bilateral issue.
He has been no stranger to Bangladesh
because he had earlier served as deputy high commissioner in Dhaka.
Although he is a Bengali, he lived and had his education in New
Delhi. In that sense, he is a member of the Bengali
diaspora community.
At the lunch, it was interesting to listen to the
Indian high commissioner's personal experiences in Bangladesh
with revealing anecdotes.
His comments can be divided into two segments:
one relating to his experience with the caretaker government (CTG) led by
Fakhruddin Ahmed and the other on New Delhi's
earnest desire to remove mistrust and lack of confidence between the two
governments.
His anecdotes with the CTG are out of the
ordinary and some deserve mention:
-He came to Bangladesh
just 3 days before January 11th in 2007, when the "military backed
caretaker government," a terminology frequently used by some media, took
over. This was an unexpected event for him and provided him an opportunity to
know about the web of forces released after January 11, 2007.
-As he could not present his credentials, he took
the initiative to get in touch with the chief advisers office and sought an
appointment. He was contacted by the chief adviser's office about the date and
time of his appointment while he was playing golf in the late afternoon. At a
meeting, the high commissioner mentioned to Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed that
India wished to
pursue a policy of engagement with the CTG.
-Once, when High Commissioner Pinak was at the
golf course, he happened to meet the then Army Chief General Moeen U Ahmed.
General Moeen wanted to know from him about India's
proposed tri-nation (Myanmar-Bangladesh-India) gas pipeline. The high
commissioner informed the general that there was no gas available in Myanmar
because the country had committed the gas to China
instead of India.
-`On another occasion, the army chief wanted to
know from him whether the Kolkata-Dhaka train service could start. The high
commissioner informed the general that negotiation for the service was already
completed but the train service could not operate, reasons best known to Bangladesh.
When the caretaker government agreed to commence the train link between the two
cities, the date needed to be fixed and "Pahela Baisakh" (April 14th, 2007) -- the New Bengali
Year -- was agreed upon, symbolising a new era.
-He disclosed that the CTG once sought a
clearance over Indian airspace for an aircraft from Dhaka.
The Indian government gave the permission but the CTG never used it.
On Indo-Bangladesh relations, one could get the
impression from High Commissioner Pinak that, with the Sheikh Hasina government
in power, the atmosphere in New Delhi had dramatically changed and that there
were many reasons for that.
But the one issue that had a significant impact
on India is the
commitment of the current Bangladesh
government to get rid of extremists and militants.
India
attaches highest importance to the threat to security and wants a
"peaceful periphery" for socio-economic progress. He is convinced
that the Indian government will walk "miles" to restore confidence
and trust with the Bangladesh
government in the areas of security, trade, water sharing, energy and roads and
railways.
He has indicated that when Bangladesh Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina visits New Delhi
in the second week of January, she will see for herself the changed atmosphere
in New Delhi and a new horizon will
be ushered in on Indo-Bangladesh relations.
A few other facts also came out:
-With regard to Indian investment in Bangladesh,
according to him, the rejection of Tata's proposal has been a huge setback for Bangladesh
as it conveyed a negative impression to Indian investors, but there will be
more opportunities in future.
-On the question of Bangladesh's
cable TV not being operational in India,
he explained that Bangladesh's
foreign exchange regulations posed a problem in the payment to the cable
operators in India.
Cable TV from other countries such as Russia
and Pakistan
are operational in India
and there is no reason why India
should put restrictions on Bangladesh
cable TV operators.
-On the implementation of the 1996 Ganges Water
Treaty, the high commissioner said that Bangladesh
was getting more than its share of the water under the Treaty, to which one
eminent Bangladeshi responded that the arrangement should be permanent.
-On visa matters, he said that the process had
been made much easier at present because one could fix an appointment with the
Indian High Commission for visa through electronic token through the website:
www.ivacbd.com
To me, it appears that the positive attitude of
the Bangladesh
government has not gone unnoticed in New Delhi,
and the Congress-led government wants to seize this opportunity.
Bangladesh's
gains do not have to come at India's
expense, or vice versa. India
and Bangladesh
are not locked in some Manichean, existential conflict. "Win-win"
solutions are possible on all the issues if sincere efforts for mutual
accommodation exist.
It is easy and pointless to spend endless amount
of time in a dialogue of the deaf discussing how one country has never done the
right thing by the other. The time has come to look forward to move on a mature
partnership on the economic, social and political levels.
Barrister Harun ur Rashid is a
Former Bangladesh Ambassador
to the UN, Geneva.
