INDIA has delivered a hard blow on the face of Bangladesh by terminating the 2020 agreement that allowed trans-shipment of export goods from that country to other (third) countries such as Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. From now on, Bangladesh will not be able to use land-ports and air-ports in India to send its goods to third countries. In financial terms, this may mean a loss of countless millions of dollars to Bangladesh -- which is already smarting under severe economic constraints, thanks to its inept handling of its own internal and economic affairs.

 

This step by New Delhi is being seen as India’s response to some irresponsible statements and utterances by Prof. Mohammad Yunus, the celebrated Advisor to Bangladesh Government, though India has not said a word officially about that part. The Indian termination of the trans-shipment facility to Bangladesh has reportedly come in the wake of increasing pressure from the country’s domestic textile and apparel sectors to give them greater export space (which had shrunk due to the export load from Bangladesh). In the process, India may lose some earning all right, but its indigenous textile and apparel sectors would benefit much, thus more than making up for whatever the loss. There is no doubt that Bangladesh will pay through its nose to get its exports to the countries in the Indian subcontinent back on track -- which may not become easily possible in the near future.

 

In all likelihood, Bangladesh, therefore, would approach India for a rethink on the matter -- in which case India will have a huge upper hand in the matter. Experts in international trade, therefore, are treating this development as a rare display of Indian might to its immediate neighbourhood. Though India has not said so in so many words, it is obvious that New Delhi has taken an umbrage on the thoughtless utterance by Prof. Yunus some time back urging China to treat Bangladesh as sort of its extension and use the Chittagaon area of Bangladesh as a special economic zone of sorts. To some extent, this invitation to China was understandable from Bangladesh point of view -- since every country has a right to decide what to do with its relations with other countries. But Prof. Yunus went many steps forward to hurt India -- of course deliberately (in an attempt to please his Chinese ‘friends’). He said, in effect, that Seven North-Eastern States of India were land-locked and had to depend on Bangladesh for their connectivity with the world. He had no business making any such statement referring to the Indian geography. But, in his thoughtless enthusiasm, Prof. Yunus went overboard and hurt the Indian feelings.

 

This background now has goaded some segments in India -- and possibly elsewhere -- to suspect that India reacted sharply to that statement of Prof. Yunus and terminated the trans-shipment agreement to third countries from Bangladesh. Actually, such a situation should never have come about. However, since its inception in 1971-72, Bangladesh has indulged in hurting Indian sentiment for no reason from time to time -- without keeping in mind that it owes its existence to India’s support in its struggle for independence from Pakistan. There have been patches of good behaviour by Bangladesh, all right, but on many, many occasions, Bangladesh has gone many fathoms deep to hurt India’s sentiment and interest. The latest such point was with the “land-locked” statement of Prof. Yunus. Frankly, Bangladesh has nothing to fall back upon to take on India, one of the mightiest countries in the world. If India decides to take a non-negotiable stance, Bangladesh may get pushed to its brink. Unfortunately, Dhaka does not seem to realise this -- and kicks up issues much to its own peril on multiple fronts.