I think the rhetoric got deviated to get the answers of some burning questions that are inside many Indians- “Why majority of Bangladeshis have Anti-Indian feelings? Why Bangladeshis are ungrateful to India? How come the people who got help from their big brother can possibly not like them?”

The India-Bangladesh relation is really an enigma to many. You would be surprised to know how diverse people’s opinions and feelings of love and hatred are.

I think this is primarily due to lack of knowledge and understanding between the people, who are sadly distancing themselves between one another.

In contrast, since 1947, after the divide of India & Pakistan on the basis of religion, millions of Hindu Bengalis migrated to West Bengal and other parts of India and many Muslim Bengalis migrated to Bangladesh (former East Pakistan). Memories of their roots are still afresh in many migrants and their descendents. These feelings are of love and earnings and they always carry a dream within, to visit their roots to be with fellow Bengalis separated by a border; who share the same language, culture and traits. The Bangladeshis love Indian cloths Indian music, movies and TV channels. The Indian Bengalis love Bangladeshi food, music, cloths. You couldn’t imagine the warmth of this feeling if you had not been close to them. But still in Bangladesh officially Indian movies are not screened in Theatres, In India Bangladeshi TV channels remains taboo in this 21st century.

There is a huge trade gap between India and Bangladesh, where illegal trade is twice as much in volume as the trade goes in official channel. Bangladesh is not yet self sufficient in producing all the consumer goods it needs. So Indian goods naturally finds their market here legally or illegally. India and Bangladesh share some major water resources. These two countries could benefit so much if they could solve all the border problems, share water resources equally and enhance legal trade with minimal protection.

India hating is a political stance taken by anti Awami League politicians and pro-Pakistan individuals after the liberation war in 1971. In the liberation war India gave shelter to millions of Bangladeshi refugees and engaged in war with Pakistan for 12 days to help liberate Bangladesh supporting the freedom fighters. Bangladesh is surely indebted to India for that. It was for the great leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, India pulled out its troops from Bangladesh and acknowledged Bangladesh’s sovereignty. But those who are anti Awami league made a farcical issue that Bangladesh being sold to India citing numerous disputes over the years, which still remains live. They cited the following examples:
*Indian army took away, all surrendered arms, ammunitions, equipments and vehicles worth millions of US dollars.
*Bangladesh govt took trade relaxation decisions in favor of India.
*Bangladesh Government’s decision to print currency notes from India was disastrous as fake notes were abundant and India got blamed.

Both Awami League and India did not consider paying any heed to such feelings and took no measures to eradicate such sentiment.

After Mujib’s assasination in 1975, Gen Ziaur Rahman’s government rekindled some border issues and took a stand to uphold Bangladesh’s rights but lack of diplomatic initiatives to solve the differences widened the gaps. A Bangladesh government which was not obviously pro-Indian, as it was under Mujibur Rahman, was automatically dubbed by India, Cold War-style, as being pro-Pakistan.

These types of stereotyping are being carried over till now. In Bangladesh people general people are naive and sentimental; personal likings dominate logic. They can be easily mislead by the shrewd politicians. That’s why during Awami League government (believed to be pro-Indian) the relationship did not improve significantly but only reduced some tension.

India-bashing is the powerful political weapon that is now being used by present BNP government.

But I think the way forward would be to promote more interactions between the people of both the countries.
Indians need to be generous and be relaistic to conquer the anti-India feeling in Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi think tanks need to be vocal and take measures to reduce the tensions the political leaders are inflicting upon the relationship.

I believe that all these political rhetorics do not touch people at personal level. A girl in Bangladesh will continue to adore Shahrukh Khan and watch all his movies in pirated discs and girl in India will pay any price to get a Dhakai Sari smuggled through the borders. A Bangladeshi boys favorit tourist attraction would be in Darjeeling and an Indian’s Cox’s Bazaar Beach. I think many of the Bangladeshi politicians who cries against India in a political speech, go home and watch popular Hindi soap operas in Indian Channels and some would send his kid to a school in an Indian hill convent. India-Bangladesh relations will remain so bitter sweet and quite prone to exploitation by the political leaders.

The Bangladesh-Pakistan relations are much more complex as almost every family has some scar inflicted on them by the Pak Army in 1971. They just can’t forget. Hoever, much of these atrocities were not exposed to the common citizens of Pakistan and the truth is not told to many even after 35 years. When the reconciliations are done then we will find that we are all good humans of flesh and meat and need not bring the two nation theory in front whenever we interact.

“i want to discuss…and learn…and hear…there are other opinions in this world besides mine…besides ours…i want to understand…why we feel these things…where is it all coming from…where will it all go…”

http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/009275.php

I have a relative(maternal uncle) still living in Bangladesh. You know what he is doing ? He is sending his chiledren to India and selling his properties to settle in India to have a peaceful life.So much for Bangladesh being a heaven for Hindus and minorities. Fool !

Stop threatning a 16 year old. Try taking on Hugh Fitzerald of JW or Charles of LGF and you will end up with blood on your nose.

Dont forget to delete this post as soon as you see it.

Thanks for sharing.

Tradewise, BD figures very highly with India. BD is a captive audience for Indian made goods. That Indian made stuff floods in and lovely Foreign FX Dollars flood out of BD. India loves it. The ayuvedic health stuff India makes is great. The ANNarayan elephant brand Neem plant cream got rid of a very embarassing eruption on my bee hind.

Tavir you cant treat people like shit and expect them to take it silently. Those Buddhists whom you describe as tribals are more cultured than Jamaat and gang.

Tanvir says:
No doubt India played a big part in Bangladesh’s independence but that is all but forgotten now.

Rubbish, I know plenty of British Bengalis who are still prejudiced towards Pakistanis over Indians because of what happened then and what they perceive now as religious arrogance by Pakistanis.

The most vocal of all politicians against Islamic extremism has actually been Jamat-e-Islam and Islamic Oike Jote, and their integration in mainstream politics has meant the small minded extremists have been sidelined.
That still doesn’t take away from the fact that the government has refused to deal with its extremist elements, or done anything to stop the opression of Balngladeshi Hindus.

You seem to be blaming India for insurgency, without taking into account that the government of India is concerned not only of the illegal immigrants coming into West Bengal and the terrorising of Hindus in the country. Both of which your govt has once again comprehensively failed to deal with. How many Imams have spoken out against that and actually done something about it??

Blue Mountain
The fact that Bangladesh is their main market because Bangladesh lacks the ability to produce the goods it consumes.
Stop crying about trade imbalance . Learn to manufacture goods so that you wont need to import it from your enemy!!

Stop chatting rubbish all your life man! India had the same strategy of growing infant industries and focusing on ’swadeshi’ goods for ages. There isn’t anything wrong with that when used initially to build up an industry.

There you speak the real truth man!!! Thanks for being frank.
Meaning, you both are justifying your own prejudices. Sadly for you though, I’m not about to fall into that trap. Fools.

Let me assure you India doesnt give a damn for the swamp.
Yeah, like you speak for anyone but yourself.

After BNP came to power unmentionable attrocities have been commited upon ethnic and religious minorities especially Hindus and few remaining Buddhists in Chittagong hills.

Vikrant:: Yes thats true. But thats more the handiwork of Islamist Extremists like the Jamaat who are in cahoots with the BNP. Sure, the BNP is sullied by association and they are as much to blame as Jamaat for acting on these crimes. But all in all, your statement is true.

A long-established and reputable Bangladeshi blog called alochona [ http://www.alochona.org recruited researchers to look into what HRCBM …i promise you it is a very very interesting read if you have the time the report the link is : http://bangladeshunited.alochona.org/bangladeshunited/HRCBM.html

LOL. Its your reading-comprehension thats shocking. Where is anyone defending tne BNP? Point out the references pur-lease…

“First rule of comment box posting: Always misquote and mistranslate other people’s posts in order to ram home your own beliefs even if that means distorting the text of other posters.”

Looks like you and your mate blue pass rule number one

Tavir that was 2 kb worth of bullcox. Let me assure you India doesnt give a damn for the swamp.

I wish that were true. But BlueMountains just spent 30 posts arguing for the right of Bangladeshi Islamic extremists to consider India before everything else! LOL.

And he can’t seem to get over not Bangladeshis remembering India as part of their daily bread.

Listen mate, look at your posts. India, in spite of its growing economic prowess, seems to be obsessed with the “swamp” that is Bangladesh. Look at your own input to this thread.

Tavir that was 2 kb worth of bullcox. Let me assure you India doesnt give a damn for the swamp. B’Desh has over past 20 years helped more than 10 militant groups in India’s troubled N East. After BNP came to power unmentionable attrocities have been commited upon ethnic and religious minorities especially Hindus and few remaining Buddhists in Chittagong hills. Awami League and RAW? haha haha thats ridiculous.

We may have a deabte sometime.. sonny. But i g2g.

Sunny time for your lesson 1 on Bangladeshi politics.

http://www.hcrbm.org

Regards

Prof. Vikrant

This doesnt need to be a conflict thing, and progressive politics in Bangladesh has shown this, with joint ventures, and giant Indian corporations investing billions of dollars into Bangladesh.

I think we are seeing good times ahead with the likes of BJP and Awami League out of power.

No doubt India played a big part in Bangladesh’s independence but that is all but forgotten now

There you speak the real truth man!!! Thanks for being frank.

Political instability in Bangaldesh means greater profit for its neighbours, for some of which, Bangaldesh is like their main market

No prizes for guessing who is the sole beneficiary of the troubles in Bangladesh !!

The fact that Bangladesh is their main market because Bangladesh lacks the ability to produce the goods it consumes.

Stop crying about trade imbalance . Learn to manufacture goods so that you wont need to import it from your enemy!!

Post no. 44….Tanvir

I personally am hoping neither BNP nor Awami League get an outright majority next year, and the Jatiya Party of General Ershad gets around 50 seats, giving him the power.

Omg!!! This man wants a former ruthless despot who ruled the country with an iron fist to get reelected!!

All hands on deck!! The ship is sinking!!

As for the loyalties between Indian and Pakistan, traditionally the country was split into two. The Pakistanis tried to wipe out Bengali culture and heritage – saying it was ‘un-Islamic’ – rather than tell the truth that Islam is for all races and creeds and you can maintain your cultural identity – this is what led to the language movement, and further suppression of Bengalis despite being a bigger contributor to the economy is what led to the rebellion. The Indians hardly acted as a peacemaker in the situation, neither did it help Bangladesh out of the goodness of its heart, but foresaw not having to fight a two-front war again, it then did a deal with Sheikh Mujib to integrate Bangladesh with India over time – he was wiped out. I think generally people have made peace with Pakistan, acknowledging the genocide and war crimes were by a military rather than the will of the people, and Musharaff’s last visit to Bangladesh where he publicly recognized the genocide was further steps to the peace. No doubt the anti-Pakistan bandwagon is one the Awami League (known to be funded and controlled by RAW) uses to rally support, but it is old now. No doubt India played a big part in Bangladesh’s independence but that is all but forgotten now. Bangladesh has had terrorism problems for decades, the Islamic militancy one is in fashion now, but political instability in Bangladesh has been pushed for by neighbors for a long time. Bangladesh is the first to promote economic co-operation into he region having founded SAARC but, the more conservative politicians want Bangladesh to develop its basic infrastructure first (just like India did) taking a more open market way of trading later, whilst the Awami League, want a free for all trade system, which effectively means small industries in Bangaldesh not being even able to establish themselves cos they cannot compete with influx of Indian goods.

Why should the BNP distance itself from the Jamat-e-islam?? by forming the alliance with the Jamat, they brought Jamat into mainstream politics, and allowed the forward thinking politicians of the religious parties to flourish, and it has led to greater integration, and given a huge religious chunk of the country a voice in the civilized and proper manner that it should conduct itself. Its easy to blame the recent acts of violence on all Islamic politicians its pretty much saying it’s the fault of all Muslims.

The most vocal of all politicians against Islamic extremism has actually been Jamat-e-Islam and Islamic Oike Jote, and their integration in mainstream politics has meant the small minded extremists have been sidelined. The opposition Awami League have talked about extremists a lot more, but nothing constructive, just blaming all their opposition left right and centre for it, and going out of their way to tarnish the countries image internationally just incase people pay attention and help bring them to power again. The funny thing is, when politicians get sidelined in Bangladesh they start to get desperate and do more out of order things, there are no principles involved, the most unlikely alliances form which is why I think the recent outrages have been solely for the purpose of de-stabilizing the government.

( now this is just a reflection of the violence displayed by everyone)