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On December 4, Ms Sujatha Singh visited Bangladesh for the first time as Foreign Secretary. Though the goodwill visit yielded no tangible outcome, it certainly helped boost the country's image in Bangladesh where, of late, there have been serious questions about India's commitment to a better relationship. Since the Foreign Secretary's visit coincided with the ongoing political turbulence in Bangladesh, it became far more than a routine diplomatic visit.
The visit, undoubtedly, reflected the importance India gives to Bangladesh and its desire to see a strong, stable and peaceful Bangladesh. The visit was, in clear terms, an affirmation of India's undeterred support for democracy and strengthening of democratic ideals in the region.
The visit, described as 'fruitful' by Ms Singh, was a timely initiative by India considering the political crisis in Bangladesh. During her day-long visit, the Foreign Secretary met with top leaders of the country, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia, Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad, Foreign Minister Abdul Hasan Mohamood Ali and Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque. This was encouraging as its indicated India's openness to engage with all kind of political streams in Bangladesh.
There is a popular belief in Bangladesh that India is partial to Awami League (AL) and wants the party to be back in power. This belief has hampered the growth of the relationship in the past as parties like Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have been wary of India and its intentions. This distrust and scepticism had prevented BNP from strengthening the bilateral relationship in the past when it was in power. BNP and AL have shared the seat of power in Dhaka since 1991. Going by the past trends, there is a likelihood of changing the baton this time around, if and when the elections are held. It is therefore important for India to reach out to key stake holders in Bangladesh other then AL.
The import of Foreign Secretary's visit in the midst of a political crisis in Bangladesh should also not be lost. The crisis has been brewing for quite some time. But when both AL and BNP took divergent stand on the conduct of elections, the crisis came out into the streets. The principle bone of contention was the dissolution of the caretaker government system, which supervised the parliamentary election from 1996-2008, following a constitutional amendment in 2011. The amendment resulted due to a Supreme Court's verdict that declared the system null and void. BNP opposed the amendment and demanded restoration of the impartial caretaker government system and threatened to boycott the elections. While AL advocated for the election be held under the elected government, BNP refused to relent, creating a political stalemate.
The situation deteriorated further after the election date was declared in November. The Election Commission set January 5, 2014 as the Election Day. The Opposition took to the streets and launched a series of shutdowns across the country. Over 50 people have since been killed in violence, triggering a world wide concern about the situation in Bangladesh. Countries like United States of America, European Union and China have expressed concern over the emerging political scenario in Bangladesh. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of United Nation, had written separate letters to the leaders AL and BNP but these efforts have failed to yield any result.
Being the leading country in the region, much is expected from India to resolve the crisis. The visit provided the top Indian diplomat to make a realistic assessment of the situation and evaluate possible fallouts on regional stability and in particular to India's own security concerns.
During her interactions, the Foreign Secretary articulated India's concerns about the deteriorating situation and the need for a free and fair election. This was evident from her during her interaction with the media in Bangladesh where she categorically said that 'successful completion of democratic process is very important for India'. She also made it clear that India wanted participation of "maximum" number of parties in a peaceful and violence-free election. She was greatly appreciated for emphasising on the need for a dialogue among the major political parties.
Though the visit was kept low key, the Foreign Secretary's timely interaction helped India shed its image of a reluctant neighbour.
(The writer is an Associate Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, Delhi)
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