MH Rajesh writes: As per the article “37 Passengers take first Dhaka-Agartala Bus” in the Hindu, the first bus between Kolkata to Agartala via Dacca has been flagged off. Though the exchange of conclaves was a significant step, the steps taken for connectivity are likely to have far reaching implications to the North East of India, besides offering options in regional geopolitical transportation initiatives. Here are some ways in which it will affect India.
Partition was unfair to subcontinental geography. To the East, it cut traditional lines of supply to India’s North Eastern Region (NER). For past 67 years since independence, the supply lines to North Eastern Region wound its way tediously and slowly through the Siliguri corridor. The effect was drastic to the Southern Areas in NER. For instance the distance from Kolkata to Agartala, the Capital of Tripura which was 450km increased to 1687km, nearly four folds, at the stroke of that Midnight. If one shifts the start point to Chittagong harbor, the natural entry point, the comparison will only get starker. Indo Pak war of 1965 worsened the transit problem with little transit to NER via Bangladesh.
Transportation plays a significant role in economy. The distance coupled with hilly terrain en-route complicated the transportation problem. This complexity in access was one significant reason behind the economic back ward ness of NER. What lay between littoral subcontinent and NER was East Pakistan, what is now, Bangladesh. It is distressing to note that despite being instrumental in liberating Bangladesh in 1971, India could not convert that geopolitical gain to solve a geo strategic problem with NER. Relations with the new found nation took its own trajectory; further the legacies of partition stopped us from realizing the access issue to NER through Bangladesh. For hauling heavy loads, an essential for economic development and even for basic necessities such as rice, India had to be dependent on Bangladesh on a case to case basis.
A few thorny issues were the unsettled enclaves on either side, indirect trade to Bangladesh, water sharing issues and maritime border demarcation. In an unprecedented decision in 2015, the Indian Parliament passed its 100th amendment on 07 May 2015 to exchange the enclaves with Bangladesh. This step paid dividends quickly. The recent visit by PM Modi to Bangladesh formalized the agreement. The most significant results were in the land and sea connectivity. Direct trade routes were opened by sea in lieu of a contorted maritime trade via distant ports like Singapore. Ships from Kolkata or Vizag, can now head to Mongla or Chittagong. On 22 Jun 15 the first Kolkata- Dacca- Agartala Bus was flagged off. This is a land mark achievement and water shed moment in NER development.
It is not that efforts were not in hand to resolve the NER transportation imbroglio. Several bilateral and multilateral initiatives had gained traction for greater connectivity to North East. When bilateral measures were not yielding desired results, multilateral initiatives were initiated. The issue became complicated a variety of proposals in the region. One such was BCIM proposal under Chinese Initiative. To China it provides another eastern access into Indian Ocean besides Sittwe in Myanmar. China always had an access to Indian Ocean via a friendly Myanmar. However, stretching it west ward to Bangladesh wasn’t easy. The small strip of 270km border between Bangladesh and Myanmar is shared by the hilly Burmese state Chin in the North and the trouble torn Rakhine province in the South which is home to the Rohingyas. The Rohingyas have been a sensitive issue between Bangladesh and Myanmar and therefore such an access was not easy to evolve. BCIM was therefore an appropriate common forum to address access Bangladesh via India without going through the troubled southern strip of Myanmar. India had its own initiative, the BIMSTEC to open up corridors to East. It is in the backdrop of such geopolitics that the access to NER lay in slumber.
This much awaited development of better relations with Bangladesh is nothing short of game changer in to the NER. It is a watershed for transportation through Bangladesh to NER, be it the road, riverine or direct sea route. The short access via Bangladesh not only opens access to NER, but India’s overall maneuvering room in other geopolitical constructs in the region like BCIM. To read further please see the link