Our geographical location makes India dependent on Bangladesh for only one transit-route. That is Kotkata -Dhaka – Chittagong – Yangon transit-route. We also feel that India should reciprocate this goodwill on our part by allowing a transit-route between Kathmundu – Dhaka and by allowing a transit-route between Thimpu – Dhaka.
We have said it all in the headline and sub-headline of the article. The only left is to answer this question -"If that is true, then what is all the fuss in a portion of the Bangladeshi press?"
Well, to find out about that you will have to ask those stupids. Its perplexing though, how come so many journalists and so many editors can simultaneously act such stupid? Well, if they are not stupids, they should work on their vocabulary. They need to get their definitions right.
There might be a supplimentary question from those newspapers who have been publishing with serious errors – "Well, we understand, what you are saying. Lets say we don’t call that transit-route anymore. We stand corrected. Lets say, we call those alleged demands from India as something else – corridors. What do you say about that?"
Our answer would be – first start using the correct vocabulary. Lets first see how the transit-routes work out. Let India prove whether they really are "Incredible India" or whether they are "Irresponsible India" as far as its immediate eastern neighbors (Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar) are concerned. Once a good reciprocity is achieved on these proposed transit-routes, that will improve the body language of the relations among different nations in this region. Let the first step to happen. That would take a generation. Let the next generation think about what can happen in their time.
Ok, ok, eta na hoi bujlam. But what do you say about this question – "We might have our problem with the India’s attitude or behaviour. But doesn’t that hurt the general people of their north-eastern states (the so-called seven sisters). Because, even Indian government doesn’t take care of the people in those states, it’s often alleged. A direct proof in support of that allegation is that India has an Emergency Power Act imposed on those seven states for several decades. Don’t we have a responsibility for those people?"
Our first response would be – ‘Ma er cheye, mashir dorod dekhano ta ki valo?" On a serious note, we think we are addressing that, too. At least a portion of that concern. See the news time attached below, from the Bangla version of bdnews24.com.
Moreover, we have previously proposed to empower the cheif executives of the district councils of our bordering districts to take combined local projects in partnership with their Indian and Burmese counterparts so that more uniform and people-to-people exchange infrastructure are developed in our regions. We hope that would happen in coming years. On the same note, we have also previously proposed that Bangladesh should setup special economic zones for re-export processing in the bordering districts that can effectively proxy the corridor as far as economics is concerned.
In the meantime, let us start with the transit-route projects. Bangladesh should allow transit to India, only if reciprocated. Our geographical location makes India dependent on Bangladesh for only one transit-route. That is Kotkata -Dhaka – Chittagong – Yangon transit-route. We also feel that India should reciprocate this goodwill on our part with allowing transit between Kathmundu – Dhaka and Thimpu – Dhaka transit-route.