For neighbourly trust

A SOLEMN EXPRESSION of regret by the Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, over the heinous action against India's security personnel, suspected to have been perpetrated by her country's security guards, can serve as a meaningful step towards the restoration of trust between the two neighbours. Despicable indeed was the apparent manner in which some units of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) had either themselves tortured or allowed others to brutally assault several men belonging to India's Border Security Force (BSF) before killing them during the latest skirmish on the boundary between the two friendly countries. A tense calm now prevails on the frontier following a conscious agreement between New Delhi and Dhaka to defuse the crisis arising out of the firefights that suddenly flared up between the BDR and the Bangladesh Army, on one side, and the BSF, on the other. The two sides seem convinced that status quo ante has been restored on the border at this time as a result of the withdrawals by both from the pockets of territory that they occupied during the latest operations. Given the unprecedented scope of this appalling turn of events, Sheikh Hasina has struck the right note, even if somewhat belatedly, by telephoning the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, to express her sorrow and to assure him of her determination to conduct a ``full and thorough'' investigation of ``all aspects'' of the trouble on the border as also the related incidents. While her offer is a welcome gesture in a bleak ambience, it still remains to be seen how far she will be able to convince her bitter political opponents at home that she made a right move towards India at the right moment. However, Sheikh Hasina seems to have reckoned that nothing should override the civilised imperative of investigating the deplorable condition in which mutilated bodies of slain BSF men were handed over to the Indian side.

Sheikh Hasina may have exposed herself to a fresh round of domestic criticism about her alleged India-friendly disposition of a deferential kind. To this extent, her virtual apology is a testimony to her political courage ahead of a prospective general election. More significant, though, is the sign that her telephonic call and India's conspicuous restraint have defused a potentially explosive situation. However, if neighbourly trust is to be restored, the two countries should intensify the search for answers to some divisive issues, which often overshadow the symbolism of bilateral friendship. New Delhi not only played a catalytic role in freeing Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971 but also withdrew the Indian forces from the new country immediately thereafter. This aspect deserves to be affirmed if only because a potent strand of the latest political rhetoric in Dhaka is that the BDR has only tried to recapture an area under India's ``occupation''.

Now, the territorial question by and large pertains to the ``enclaves'' which the two countries control in each other's domain in what is regarded as ``adverse possession'' pending the finalisation of the de jure boundary in some clearly recognised sectors. A historical legacy of the colonial period as also the nature of the terrain account for this anomaly. Viewed thus, the border is not really in dispute. In any case, a referral document is the bilateral agreement of 1974, reached by Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, founder of Bangladesh and father of Sheikh Hasina. Dhaka has now begun to urge India to ratify that treaty in the latest context, while New Delhi seems inclined to sort out all ``boundary related matters'' first under a mechanism that was mutually agreed upon last December. Enhanced bilateral dialogue and border vigil will surely build mutual confidence. However, New Delhi will be well advised to ensure that its equation with Dhaka does not become hostage to the cynical calculations of how far Pakistan may be able to influence Bangladesh's foreign policy. For Dhaka, too, its long-term friendship with India is a substantive choice in itself.

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