By Satyaki Chakraborty
At long last, there are clear signs that India-Bangladesh bilateral relations are set to be normalised under the new Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman who took power only two months ago following the historic national elections held on February 12 this year. Tarique Rahman has just initiated his steps to improve bilateral relations with the neighbouring countries, the most important being India and China. It is therefore very crucial for Indian diplomacy to move fast in bettering relations with Bangladesh which faced serious deterioration during the regime of the interim government headed by Dr. Muhammad Yunus.
It is a welcome development that New Delhi has announced the nomination of a new envoy to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi. Dinesh, an active politician was a railway minister at the centre. He is a Guajarati, speaks Bengali fluently as his family was based in Kolkata. More importantly, he is close to the PM and is in a position to make his personal contribution in settling issues. Under Dinesh, Indian High Commission in Dhaka can function in a more open and cordial atmosphere.
This announcement was preceded by the first visit of the foreign minister of the new BNP government Khalilur Rahman to Delhi to have formal discussions with the Indian officials and the foreign minister Dr. S. Jaishankar. The talks were cordial excepting the issue of Bangladesh government demand for the extradition of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who has been staying in India since her ousting on August 5, 2024 by the student agitators. The Bangladesh officials however took note of the change in stance of New Delhi in stating that the issue was under review.
The extradition issue is delicate for India at this stage. It has legal implications, Bangladesh knows that. It may take time but in the interests of both countries, this issue alone should not be a dragon the path of betterment of bilateral relations between the two countries in other areas, especially in the sphere of economic collaboration. But at the same time, India will have to take every step to see that this extradition issue can be sorted out amicably.
Latest indications from Dhaka suggest that Bangladesh is not in a hurry to get immediate results from Delhi since the issue is sensitive for India. Although still non-committal, the Indian foreign ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said on April 17, the request was being “examined as part of ongoing judicial and internal legal processes”.
Bangladesh had previously raised the issue at several bilateral meetings and requested for Hasina’s extradition. Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman reportedly discussed it with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar during his recent visit to Delhi. Given the sensitivity of the matter, there are reasons to believe that this delicate issue has to be settled at the highest political level not just through legal course since that is very complicated.
While there is an extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India, the legal process that Jaiswal mentioned also relates to India’s Extradition Act of 1962. “The legal steps would have to adhere to this law,” according to legal experts on extradition. Bangladesh PM is committed to the demand of the BNP manifesto on extradition. So, Tarique has to pursue this issue with the Indian PM. Narendra Modi has invited Bangladesh PM to visit India. Tarique has agreed to that. It will be in best interests of both countries to see that a way was found out to proceed with the extradition issue.
A high level BNP delegation has just returned to Dhaka from a weeklong visit to China at the invitation of Chinese government. China is also making efforts to see that Tarique accepts to make China his first destination for a foreign visit. India should carry out back channel talks to see that Bangladesh PM chooses Delhi first. So far Tarique has indicate to follow a foreign policy which serves his country’s interest. No tilt has been shown regarding China or Pakistan as against India. PM Narendra Modi and the foreign ministry must explore all the ways to ensure that Bangladesh feels again comfortable in the company of India. (IPA )
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