India’s central government has urged West Bengal to permit 2,680 Indian citizens to enter through its border with Bangladesh. A similar request was also made to the state’s government a few weeks ago, wherein the union government pressured the state government to open up two out of six of its border posts with Bangladesh. In a letter to Chief Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs Rajiva Sinha, Additional Secretary Vikram Doraiswami wrote, “Our Mission in Dhaka has once again reported that 2,399 people are seeking to return to West Bengal from Bangladesh through the Petrapola-Benapole integrated check post and further 281 citizens are seeking to do so through the Phulbari-Banglabandha land border.”
The letter also highlighted that the stranded Indian migrants in Bangladesh, most of whom are “unskilled or semi-skilled labourers”, were living under “extreme distress including sheltering in school verandah or public parks”. In response, the state government said that the authorities were assessing the request by the Central Government. However, officials of the West Bengal government urged to central government “to ensure that health screening of the stranded people is carried out before they board the trains”.
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In fact, the central government has had similar disagreements with the state government in West Bengal in the past as wel, which the centre believed could prospectively have “international implications”. The Centre has previously urged the state to open up its border for passage of essential goods to Bangladesh, saying this was necessary due to India’s obligations under its bilateral treaties with Bangladesh. In a letter from the home secretary to the state, the Home Ministry said, “The unilateral action on the part of government of West Bengal to stop the cross-land border movement of essential goods would have larger implications for the Indian government with regard to its legally binding international commitments.”
Such disagreements and West Bengal’s actions are hampering the centre’s efforts to reconcile its differences with Bangladesh. Following the passage of the CAA-NRC and the statement by Home Minister Amit Shah that described Bangladeshi migrants in India as “termites”, the India-Bangladesh relationship was at an all-time low. However, amidst growing paranoia over losing Bangladesh’s support to China, India is working towards reviving this decades-long friendship. For instance, India has expressed its happiness at the initiation of several “transport corridors to Bangladesh, including freight trains”, and has also provided Bangladesh with medical supplies to assist it in combatting the COVID-19 outbreak.
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Bangladesh, too, has reassured India of their continuing friendship, despite its deepening economic relations with China. Bangladesh’s foreign minister, AK Abdul Momen, said, “We must not compare the relationships from an identical standpoint … Our ties with India are historic … rock-solid; it is a blood relation while economic issues mainly shaped our relations with China.” He further said, “Recently, China has given permission to bring almost 8,000 products without taxes, which is a big achievement for us.” However, he said that this decision will not impact Bangladesh’s relationship with India. Earlier this week, in a move that deepens Bangladesh’s effort to strengthen its friendship with India and resist diplomatic pressure by China and Pakistan, Bangladesh also decided to set up a memorial to commemorate the Indian soldiers that were martyred in the struggle for Bangladesh’s independence in 1971.
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