India and Bangladesh: Tricky ties

Recent tensions have focused on border security

By Mahmud Ali BBC South Asia analyst

Trouble between India and Bangladesh began after a right-of-centre coalition in Bangladesh led by Khaleda Zia of the BNP toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the 2001 polls.

Defensive insecurity has led to a demonstration of uncompromising will, and unless the two sides show some flexibility, tensions can only rise

Delhi then demanded that Dhaka dismantle nearly 100 camps, alleged to be sheltering Indian separatists - an accusation Dhaka steadfastly denied.

Bangladesh's refusal to grant India transit rights linking its north-eastern states across its territory also angered Delhi.

More recently, Indian threats to deport 20 million "illegal Bangladeshi immigrants" deepened Dhaka's anxieties.

Close ties

However, tensions between Dhaka and Delhi had already heated up when the current opposition leader, Sheikh Hasina, was the prime minister.

Her government signed a 30-year agreement to resolve a long-festering dispute over sharing the water of the River Ganges during the dry season.

Sheikh Hasina: Critics said she was too close to India

Another agreement, aided by Delhi, ended an insurgency in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

But Sheikh Hasina's nationalist critics saw her as being too close to Delhi.

The current government in Dhaka now says the Ganges treaty favours India and needs to be revised - India rejects this.

And it has not fully implemented the agreement to end the insurgency in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

After initially favouring the export of natural gas to India, the BNP has now joined the Awami League in saying exports will be authorised only after enough reserves for meeting domestic demand are secured.

This has angered Delhi.

Dhaka also seeks access to the Indian market to reduce its $1 billion-plus trade deficit.

Dhaka also strongly refutes Delhi's accusations that Bangladesh has become more Islamist and a home to radicals including al-Qaeda.

Insecurity

The Bangladeshi Government and parts of the middle classes suffer from acute insecurity vis-a-vis India.

Dozens of people were injured in the cinema blasts

This became evident in December 2002 when near-simultaneous bomb attacks in four movie theatres in Mymensingh killed and wounded many.

The level of sophistication of the attacks led many Bangladeshis to describe these as "a warning from Delhi".

Since then, tensions have grown. The recent rows over immigration have deepened Dhaka's anxieties, reinforcing the suspicions of many that India is determined to coerce Bangladesh into submission.

Defensive insecurity has led to a demonstration of uncompromising will and, unless the two sides show some flexibility, tensions can only rise.