India's food diplomacy: The other face of a friend

By Igor Siljanoski

http://www.globalpolitician.com/print.asp?id=4010

It is very strange to note that India's food business with Bangladesh is directed not only to minimize her strategic importance, but also to undermine her sovereign and independent identity. To create famine India in mid September of 2007 banned exporting 5.5 lakh tons of rice to Bangladesh though the Bangladeshi importers paid the total price of the consignment. After the debacle cyclone of mid-December, when other friendly countries of Bangladesh like America, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, etc., stood beside Bangladesh with abundant assistance, Indian foreign minister Pronab Mukharjee went to Bangladesh at the last moment and declared in Dhaka that India would lift the ban of exporting rice that Bangladeshi importers purchased earlier. But during his talks with the Bangladeshi officials, Pronab Mukharjee and his entourages raised the issue of transit along with Chittagong port facilities and indirectly tagged preconditions with food export to Bangladesh.

It means Indians want to say, India will ease exporting rice and other edible goods to Bangladesh, if she provides transit to India. Due to geographical proximity and less transportation cost, Bangladesh prefers to import rice and other materials from India. India considers this policy of the Bangladeshi importers and government as weakness and dependence on India. India showing total disrespect to international norms and morality, uses Bangladesh's dependence on India for food and other consumers' goods as tool to squeeze the successive governments, including the current one. India tries to compel it to provide transit and other facilities, including Chittagong seaport facilities to India. India violating normal practice, imposes undesirable and unacceptable conditions on exporting rice and other edible goods, including pulse, onion, sugar etc., Bangladesh to create artificial scarcity of consumers' goods to 'discipline' Bangladesh government.

International observers who keep their eyes open on the subcontinental affairs say, India would not have withdrawn ban on exporting rice to Bangladesh if American Army did not land on Bangladesh soil to rescue and assist the cyclone-victims of 30 coastal districts of Southwestern Bangladesh. Indian policymakers considered it a threat to Indian hegemonic design in Bangladesh. (It seems strange to recall that India unconditionally invited American Navy, Air Force and Army to use Indian soil during US war on terror in Afghanistan. India will do the same if America ever tries to invade Iran, Pakistan or China, but its leaders could not tolerate presence of American Marines in Bangladesh territory.) Indian government not only used its Bangladeshi payrolls to raise hue and cry against the presence of American Army in Bangladesh territory, but also to please the people lifted its illegal embargo on exporting rice to Bangladesh that it (India) imposed earlier. Indian foreign minister Pronab Mukharjee visited Bangladesh after the withdrawal of American soldiers from Bangladesh and shamelessly tagged the transit issue to/with exporting food grains to Bangladesh. Such covert pressure and preconditions for transit in exchange of exporting food and other assistance dismayed the diplomatic circle in Dhaka.

Now let us see what type of transits and facilities India wants to get from Bangladesh.

*India placed fresh proposal to Bangladesh to provide her railway transit from Agartala to Chittagong port via Akhaura. Earlier India wanted to get railway facility through Jamuna Bridge. But due to cracks in the Jamuna Bridge and apprehending its (Jamuna Bridge) inability to bear heavy railway carriages and wagons, Bangladesh showed disinterest in providing railway transit from Kolkata to Chittagng Seaport. India without delay placed fresh proposal of reconstituting the Agartalata-Chittagong missing railway link. ADB (Asian Development Bank), primarily led by the Indians and heavily influenced by Indian government, also emphasises on implementing this proposal on an emergency basis. It also proposed lucrative investment proposal in this project. It was also proposed to construct another new bridge for railway alongside the Jamuna Bridge spending Tk. 10 thousand crores. India also proposed to solely finance to reconstruct Agartala-Akhaura rail-line, reconstruct the required infrastructures from Akhaura to Chittagong and construct double gauge rail-lines. India outwardly seeks such facilities to transport merchandises to and from Eastern Asia, what India terms as Northeast India, through Chittagong Seaport spending less money and time. Though such reconstruction will cost Tk. 2,000 to 2,500 crores, but once commissioned it will save only oil of worth Tk. 4 thousand crores every year. India has already completed the construction of rail line from Agartalta to Akhaura border.

*To go and come from Eastern Asia India also seeks road transit via Tamabil under Sylhet District of Bangladesh. Moreover, India has already sought road transit to ply lorry carrying merchandise from Benapole to Akhaura via Dhaka. India did not seek such facility earlier. India wants to carry goods from Akhaura to Agartala. The proposal of road transit was placed after reconstruction of Akhaura-Agartala missing rail-line. If construction of road from Akhaura to Agartala is delayed, India wants to carry the merchandise by rail.

*India proposes to ply four direct passenger buses every week from Kolkata to Chittagong via Dhaka and Kolkata to Gwauhati via Dhaka. India also asked to increase the number of buses that presently ply between Dhaka and Kolkata. Moreover, India sought the permission of landing 16 aeroplanes in Dhaka and Chittagong airports from different Indian aerodromes. India suggested Bangladesh to start similar number of air service to Indian airports. India deliberately placed such proposal, as Indian government knows it well that Bangladesh cannot afford such number of planes. So Indian proposal will only serve Indian interest, as India has sufficient aircrafts to ply along these routes. Once Air India gets chances to operate in these routes, Bangladesh Biman will lose its prospects to ply along these routes in future. Any prudent and judicious analysis will find Indian transit and other proposals as danger signal to Bangladesh. As India is not a landlocked country, so Bangladesh is not morally or internationally obliged to provide such transit to India. Now India to compel Bangladesh to concede to Indian demand tags its food business with transit.

Thanks to Indian policymakers and helmsmen of their statecraft to unfold the curtains of their real face once more by imposing indirect, but understandable preconditions in exchange of exporting food to Bangladesh, which are unprecedented and undesirable among the friendly nations of the contemporary world. The ulterior motive of their dubious diplomacy with Bangladesh is to delete the map of Bangladesh in course of time from the map of the globe. Under the cover of friendship and good neighbourly relations, Indian leaders passionately designs to implement their goal of binding Bangladesh under Indian cage.

Bangladesh government should not bend on the face of Indian pressure. Bangladesh should try to import rice and other necessaries from other sources, still it cannot sell out its sovereignty to India under the cover of transit. Bangladesh, however, can consider providing transit to India on the following conditions. India should:

*shun all of its hostile attitudes and activities to Bangladesh;

*stop unilateral blockade of waters of the international rivers and officially declares that it will not go ahead with the construction of Tipaimuk Dam and interlinking rivers project to divert the waters from India's eastern region to southern-western region that will virtually affect Bangladesh seriously;

*halt border aggression and create Indo-Bangladesh border a 'zone of peace';

*abandon anti-Bangladesh media propaganda in home and abroad and stop nursing tentacles and terrorists to carryout sabotage and destructive activities including campus and street violence, arson, impose strike and blockade, etc. inside Bangladesh;

The above preconditions mean that India must prove that she is no longer a hostile country to Bangladesh and only after fulfilling these conditions Bangladesh can provide transit to India if India also provides transit facilities to Bangladesh to connect her with Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and China (via Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh). Bangladesh should remain static to this demand. We cannot barter transit with food. Transit should be bartered for transit, but not with money or food, even with water.

Bangladesh government should not be afraid of India to remain in power. Government should remember that if it enjoys the popular support of 160 million Bangladeshis, all types of Indian hegemonic design, pressure, threat or embargo will be of no use. The incumbent government should not concede to any Indian pressure, which will ultimately brand it as pro-India tool. On the other hand, if they bow down to Indian pressure for their any hidden interest, history will never pardon them, they will be treated as Indian agents and traitors.

Igor Siljanoski is a policy professional working and residing in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. His previous experience was in the public sector as an economist, economic development consultant and business and financial planner. Igor is lecturing macroeconomics at the St.Clair College of applied arts and science in Windsor, Ontario. Igor holds Masters Degree in Political Science and Honours Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Windsor, Canada. Email: igor.siljanoski@gmail.com