by Anisur Rahman 3 February 2024
After the farcical election of 7th January 2024, it can be said that the Hasina-led illegitimate regime of Bangladesh is not “a government of the people, by the people, and for the people?” Rather it is a puppet regime of India, by India, and for India. One can argue, it is also subservient to China and Russia. In reality, it is overwhelmingly an India-dependent fascist regime. If New Delhi withdraws its support to it or becomes neutral, this syndicated clique will fall like a house of cards in no time. China and Russia will not be able to save it from falling apart. Only the US to some extent, can neutralize India provided it exerts 100% pressure on New Delhi. But in that case, some complex calculations must be sorted out.
One must understand that India “helped” us in 1971 with two ulterior motives. First, they wanted to disintegrate Pakistan. Secondly, India wanted to make Bangladesh an economic colony of hers instead of Pakistan´s.
Shortly before our independence from Pakistan, India forced the provisional government of Bangladesh to sign a 7-Point Secret Treaty with New Delhi which virtually made Bangladesh a subservient state to India in advance. This treaty was signed in October 1971. Under this treaty, Bangladesh pledged not to have an army of its own and she was asked to consult with India when it deals with other countries. After independence, a required number of Indian troops will remain on duty in Bangladesh.
Yes, at the insistence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, India had to withdraw her troops from Bangladesh. But in return, Sheikh Mujib had to sign a 25-year-long treaty with India. This treaty named “The India-Bangladesh Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace” is also known “Indira-Mujib Treaty.” It was signed on 19 March 1972 in Dhaka. That treaty served the interests of India more.
Sheikh Mujib had some leverage to put up some resistance because he did not go to India after the Pakistani army´s crackdown and massacre, particularly in Dhaka on 25th March 1971. He was very shrewd and calculative in his political steps. Mujib intentionally surrendered to the Pakistani authority and at the same time let Taj Uddin, Mushtaque, and Syed Nazrul Islam go to India. He had one foot on the Pakistani boat and the other on the Indian vessel. Taj Uddin´s role during those 9 months was pivotal. But according to most analysts, he was or became the main man of India. On the other hand, Mushtaque was pro-American. Whoever had won Mujib could side with him later. Mushtaque tried to have a confederation with Pakistan. But India who by that time finally decided to disintegrate Pakistan made preemptive measures and foiled Mushtaque´s attempt. One reason for Mujib´s hesitation to fully surrender to India was his pre-partition political activities and experiences. He was a Muslim Leaguer, took part in the Pakistan movement, and worked as an assistant to H. S. Suhrawardy. He saw how Muslims and East Bengal were neglected and discriminated against before 1947. Sheikh Mujib wrote in his autobiography that at that time he thought “life would be meaningless without Pakistan.” Under these circumstances, he had valid reasons to believe that if Bangladesh became independent under Indian terms, it would be subjugated by its big neighbor.
India´s design of “looting” Bangladeshi property became evident in the very beginning when soldiers of the Indian army returned home with dozens of trucks loaded with looted valuables after the “liberation of Bangladesh”. A valiant freedom fighter and one of the sector commanders of our liberation army Major Jalil faced severe adverse consequences when he protested it. They silenced and finally eliminated him with the warning signal that any such resistance would be dealt with similarly.
Nowadays a dominant country does not physically annex another country. They install puppet governments to serve their interest. India adopted exactly this policy in Bangladesh. Even before 1971, there was a powerful pro-Indian group in the Awami League that was created and nurtured by India.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was aware of the power and position of the pro-Indian group in the Awami League. They were around him. Besides, he was a beneficiary of the Indian involvement in the politics of the then East Pakistan. On the other hand, he took part in the Pakistan movement. However, he could maintain some sort of balance because of his personality.
After 1975 General Ziaur Rahman made national interest the cornerstone of his government´s internal and external policy. India could not digest his uncompromising stand on these points. He established diplomatic relations with PR China and Saudi Arabia. He took the Farakka issue to the UN and forced India to include a guarantee clause in the water-sharing agreement on Farakka. That clause guaranteed a minimum amount of water to Bangladesh even during the lean period which was deleted in the subsequent agreement signed during Ershad´s tenure. No question, Ershad was India´s man.
India often accuses, Zia gave shelter to the secessionist Mizo and Naga rebels of India and they were trained in camps inside Bangladesh by Pakistani army personnel. But they do not mention that secessionist Chakma rebels got military training in India. They encouraged thousands of Chakmas to leave Bangladesh and enter India. There were numerous training camps in India for the Chakma rebels who often crossed back into Bangladesh to carry out military operations. It was done under direct Indian army supervision.
Interestingly, when the Hill Tracts agreement was signed India was included as a party to it with the ulterior motive of giving India a free hand in case of any future disagreement on the explanation of the agreement. The goal was to keep the pressure on future governments so that they would not take a stand against the Indian hegemonistic attitude and activities. In that case, India will again use the Hill Tracts issue to her advantage.
India does not spare even her trusted “Yes-men” if they try to disobey New Delhi´s unjust demands. The then-Indian foreign secretary Sujata Singh´s role during the 2014 election is known to all. General Ershad tried to avoid that farcical election and got himself admitted to the Combined Military Hospital. But he could not escape. He was shown his own Death Certificate while he was in the hospital and very much alive. It was a clear threat that if he did not participate in the election, he would be dead!
The same thing happened this time. G M Kader, chairman of the Jatiya Party was summoned to New Delhi where he was briefed before the election. It is believed that this is the reason why JP took part in this year´s farcical election too.
India is desperate to keep the Awami League and the Hasina dynasty in power just to perpetuate her lootings in Bangladesh unhindered. They are afraid of the patriotic nationalistic forces of Bangladesh.
One can just look at the balance of trade between the two countries. The present yearly turnover is approximately 16 billion US dollars. Out of this, India´s export to Bangladesh amounts to nearly 14 billion dollars and Bangladesh´s export to India amounts to roughly 2 billion dollars. India´s official trade surplus with Bangladesh is 12 billion dollars. Unofficially, the gap is much higher.
Some pro-Indian idiots argue India has a huge economy and vast population and therefore Bangladesh cannot have a balanced trade with India. They ignore that Bangladesh is a market of 180 million people for India. On the other hand, India is a market of 1.45 billion people for Bangladesh. Bangladesh needs only 2 items whereas India needs 16 items to earn the same amount of money. Besides, if Bangladesh gets duty-free facilities to import Indian raw materials, it can produce the finished products at a cheaper cost because in Bangladesh labor costs are cheaper than in India. In most cases, the World Trade Organization prescribes for duty-free trade. If India is a friend and wants balanced trade with Bangladesh, it will give duty-free facilities to Bangladeshi importers.
Officially Bangladesh has become the fourth largest remittance source for India. Approximately 5 lakh Indians work in different Bangladeshi enterprises. India´s remittance from them is around 5 billion US dollars. But the actual amount is much bigger. It is estimated more than 1 million Indians are working in Bangladesh. And India´s remittance from Bangladesh is more than 10 billion dollars.
It is rightly assumed that some of these employees work as industrial/commercial spies for India. They are inside informers. This practice is seen elsewhere too.
Bangladeshi unemployed educated youth force can fill the positions of Indian employees working in Bangladesh. In case of necessity, they can be given complimentary training and education.
Besides these economic factors, there are some political, strategic, and security factors for which India wants an obedient regime in Dhaka. India has established a shortcut link between the mainland and its distantly located Northeastern states known as Seven Sisters through Bangladesh because the Hasina regime gave her “protector” some undue privileges. Economically India gained and Bangladesh incurred losses. One day it might pose a security threat to Bangladesh if some of the Seven Sisters revolt against India or China becomes involved in the dispute.
Knowing fully well the possible consequences, Hasina tied herself with India just to hang on to power with farcical elections. And India patronizes and does everything to keep this regime in power to perpetuate its undue interests in Bangladesh. They know that by doing so, they have antagonized 80 to 90% people of Bangladesh. In the long run, it will be detrimental to her interest. It seems they do not care about the distant future. They want to cash in what they can on an ad hoc basis. A perfect and instant “Benya.”
Under these circumstances, an unprecedented campaign named “Boycott Indian Products” is now going on in Bangladesh. India should now take notice of the ever-increasing and more intense anti-Indian sentiment amongst the Bangladeshi people for her own interest.
- Anisur Rahman is a senior Bangladeshi journalist living in Sweden.