Description

Bangladesh-India relations has undergone unprecedented transformations in the past 50 years. As Bangladesh celebrates its 50 th year of independence in 2021, it is an imperative to revisit one of the most significant bilateral relations for Bangladesh. The Bangladesh of 1971 and the Bangladesh of 2021 are two different entities, which should compel India to take a fresh look at this bilateral relation as well. While it has been argued that Bangladesh-India relations is “trapped in nationalist discourse”, the Westphalian sovereignty dictates that both the countries are indeed trapped in such a manner. Additionally, the territorial trap of the two countries sharing the fifth largest international land border has also contributed to creating muddy waters. Nonetheless, it is a time-tested friendship that has often proved Kautilyan dictum wrong—that your neighbor is your first enemy and thus, his system of Mandala where your neighbor’s neighbor is rather a friend has been tested ineffective in the case of Bangladesh-India relations. Despite some hiccups, Bangladesh-India relations remained largely friendly but never completely inimical. Friendship does not happen in a day—both of the countries have invested to keep a cordial relationship—although much work still needs to be done.