A new crisis on the border?<\/p>\n
The uncommon ferocity of the latest clash between some units
\nof the Bangladesh Army as also Bangladesh Rifles, on one side,
\nand the Indian Border Security Force (BSF), on the other, should
\nserve as a wake-up call against complacency in bilateral
\nneighborliness. The death of 16 BSF personnel and at least two
\nsecurity men of Bangladesh on Wednesday, besides the reports of
\nsustained tensions on Thursday, can only be seen as the price of
\nneglect by both countries in keeping their ties in a state of
\ngood repair.<\/p>\n
On the whole, the Bangladesh Government, headed by Sheikh
\nHasina, seems to have so far adopted a somewhat cautious line in
\nmaking sense of the flare-up and its fall-out. The Bangladesh
\nForeign Ministry has been reported to have called the Indian
\nenvoy in Dhaka to discuss ways to defuse the rising tensions in
\nbilateral ties. The general impression conveyed by Dhaka thus far
\nis one of a desire to de-escalate a growing crisis on the border
\nwith India. Yet, it is too early to predict how Bangladesh will
\nmanage the highly emotive issue, given especially the constant
\nrefrain of the opposition forces in that country about Ms.
\nHasina's presumptive pro-India bias.<\/p>\n
New Delhi's relationship with Dhaka, unique in many ways with
\nsome signs of maturity too, is still a matter of powerful
\nemotions that are directly traceable to the circumstances in
\nwhich India had facilitated Bangladesh's liberation from
\nPakistan. The leaders of India and Bangladesh have had to deal
\nwith problems about the status of border enclaves as also the
\nfreedom of movement of people across what some tend to regard as
\na potential frontier of friendship. Of prime relevance to the
\ncurrent context is the need to revive the spirit of border
\ncoordination talks and of the accord, reached last December, on
\nthe formation of working groups to resolve all boundary related
\nmatters.<\/p>\n
-- The Hindu, New Delhi<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-new-crisis-on-the-border-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }